Between a Sharp Rock and a Very Hard Place: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Unintended Consequences of the Law Enforcement Cooperation Requirement

Authors

Charles Song, Legal Advocacy Program, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking
Suzy Lee, Legal Advocacy Program, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking

First Page

133

Abstract

This article will examine whether it should be mandatory for victims of severe forms of trafficking to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in order to be eligible to receive critical victim protections. As part of this examination, this article will introduce the landmark TVPA, as amended by the TVPRA and VAWA, and in particular TNS, otherwise known as the T Visa provisions. Second, this article will analyze the practical application of the requirement, which mandates that victims of severe forms of trafficking must comply with all reasonable law enforcement requests to be eligible for a T Visa. Finally, this article will argue that survivors of trafficking, who have proven to authorities that they escaped the threat of violent criminals, demonstrated their previous enslavement, and established that they will face extreme hardship involving severe and unusual harm if removed from the U.S., should not be required to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement in order to receive critical services and protection.

Recommended Citation

Charles Song & Suzy Lee, Between a Sharp Rock and a Very Hard Place: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Unintended Consequences of the Law Enforcement Cooperation Requirement, 1 Intercultural Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 133 (2006).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/ihrlr/vol1/iss1/15