Complete Your CE Test Online - Click Here and sold her for money, and she was forced to stay in the house and watched continuously. For four years, this continued until her traffickers decided they would make more money in the U.S., so Maria and two other girls were trafficked into the U.S. from Mexico City via a van that took them to New York. There they were delivered to apartments in Maryland, Washington, New York and Ohio and trafficked for sex. The traffickers kept the money, telling Maria it was for her housing and other expenses, and beat or threatened her and the others when they did not do exactly as they were told. Fortunately, when a customer learned what was happening to Maria, he helped her escape to a safe location, where she currently lives, fearful of the traffickers and deportation authorities. A study by Clawson, Layne, and Small (2006) researched human trafficking origination countries to the United States. They identified “push” factors in the countries of origin that lead vulnerable victims to human trafficking, which include: ● ● Poor economic growth or collapse of economic systems. ● ● Increased war and armed conflict. ● ● Natural disasters and environmental degradation. ● ● Family violence. ● ● Country-specific factors, such as the ease of moving across countries. ● ● Unemployment levels and inflated cost of living. The study identified reasons why victim turn to trafficking in a particular state. A subcommittee identified the “pull” factors that would attract traffickers and their victims after they arrive in the U.S., and the study determined the number of undocumented foreign-born persons at risk of being trafficked into labor and sex trade in given states throughout the U.S. These factors have not been empirically tested but are used to provide a measure to build estimates. Those at greater risk are individuals between 12 and 54 years old. The Clawson et al. study determined the three most important pull factors are: ● ● The presence of markets for human trafficking. ● ● The demand for sexual and labor services in neighboring states close to the destination state. ● ● The existence of sizable populations of foreign-born individuals. The presence of markets for human trafficking Data shows there are markets in destination states seeking cheap labor with few enforceable regulations. States with agricultural markets such as corn, soybeans and seasonal crops as a major resource may have high numbers of victims. For example, one Midwest state with high trafficking rates has 130-plus migrant labor camps that employ a majority of individuals from Hispanic migrant labor pools. Agricultural markets along with restaurants, textile industries, landscaping and small factories attract many foreign-born immigrant groups, documented and undocumented, seeking work. Markets for the sex trade to meet the demand of native-born and foreign-born men are strong, and many states have more than enough strip clubs, sometimes called gentlemen’s clubs, to meet that demand. High numbers of trafficking victims are found in states with the largest number of strip clubs and sex trade markets, which include massage parlors that operate as fronts for prostitution and markets to serve migrant men, as noted in Operation Cross Country IV (Snyder, 2007). Research teams located at least one massage parlor engaged in sex trafficking in every major city in the U.S., and many in proximity to highways for easy access to clientele such as truck drivers, businessmen, military men and conventioneers. Demand for sexual and labor services in neighboring states and countries Traffickers often set up venues to meet the demand of people from neighboring states and countries. Estes and Weiner (2001) found that foreign-born children at risk of being trafficked in the United States most commonly entered from 41 different countries of origin. The study tracked victims found in the United States, where there is a frequent movement of trafficking victims. The trafficking routes of international child victims often goes through major cities like Miami, Orlando, San Diego, New York, Chicago, and Detroit and then out to nearby areas. The reports showed victims trafficked through Detroit or Chicago were from the following countries of origin: ● ● Burma, Korea, China, Vietnam. ● ● Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka. ● ● Columbia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico. ● ● Bosnia, Poland, Russia Federation, Byelorussia. ● ● Canada. The most frequently reported borders used to enter the U.S. are the Southwest and Canadian borders. In the case of Latinos, it is more likely that they are brought in through the Southwest border and travel throughout the U.S. In the case of other non-Hispanic victims, it is likely that they are brought in from the Canadian border. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police estimated that 600 to 800 persons are trafficked into Canada annually, and that an additional 1,500 to 2,000 persons are trafficked through Canada into the United States (Canadian Press, 2004). Estes and Weiner believe that Korean victims were most often being brought in via Toronto to Detroit, and that Chinese victims were being brought to Chicago and New York by way of Toronto and Vancouver by boat, plane and vans. Traffickers move victims to more remote areas where they are sold while they are moved across the country. Once the traffickers have an established market demand in a state, the state becomes the direct destination route from the country of origin. The existence of human trafficking in neighboring states becomes a pull factor for the distribution of victims from the destination state. The presence of sizable populations of foreign-born individuals One state with high trafficking numbers has 11 million residents and is ranked seventh among U.S. states with the most residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). From 1990 to 2000, the Hispanic population in the state increased 54.4 percent, and the Asian population increased 48.5 percent (U.S. Census, 2000, Davis 2006). In another example, almost half of the foreign-born residents in Ohio came from 10 countries, as reported by the Federation of Immigration Reform (FAIR), 2007: ● ● Mexico (43,178). ● ● India (37,009). ● ● China (27,761). ● ● Germany. ● ● Canada. ● ● Philippines. ● ● Vietnam. ● ● Korea. ● ● England. ● ● Italy. It should be noted that as a result of changes in trafficking laws, better training for first responders and stricter criminal sanctions for traffickers in 2011, Ohio moved from a state in the top five highest numbers of trafficking to one of the four most improved states in 2012, according to the Polaris Project. While the FAIR report did not list all the numbers, the Somali population in Ohio has also accounted for more than 15,000, with Franklin County having the second largest Somali population in the United States, followed by Minneapolis (Community Resource Partners, 2009). The Polaris Project (2010), part of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, includes a comparison of primary sex trafficking networks in the United States, and some are listed below. Page 22 Massage.EliteCME.com