SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Turns out, it’s not simple to lawfully enter and work in the U.S, which can lead to the exploitation of immigrant workers, especially in cases of human trafficking.
“When there’s such a high demand for labor, the opportunities for exploitation increase,” Taneeza Islam, CEO of South Dakota Voices for Peace, said.
“Labor and sex trafficking are extremely prevalent among the immigrant community,” Amanda Bahena, immigration and estate law expert and shareholder for Woods Fuller, said in a statement to KELOLAND News.
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“The vulnerabilities tied to a person’s country of origin or ethnicity can unfortunately be manipulated by traffickers, who may use these factors to control or coerce people,” Rachel Schartz, director of grants management for Call to Freedom, said in a statement to KELOLAND News.
Limited Lawful Immigration
When there is an increase or decrease of immigrants entering the U.S., it could be based on the demands of the U.S. labor market, Islam explained.
In many cases, when there are thousands of job open and unfilled by U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizens will apply to make a lot more money than what they would make in their home country, according to Islam.
“People will find a way to come here to work because they need the money,” Islam said. “They want to send it back to support their families… just for a lot of different factors.”
Immigrants must find a lawful way to enter and work in the U.S., but Islam explained that it’s easier said then done.
The U.S. refugee process only applies to displaced people on the eastern hemisphere, like people from China or Sudan, according to Islam. So, people on the western hemisphere, like people from Mexico or Canada, must find other options.
Within the first 100 days of his administration, President Donald Trump ended two ways to seek humanitarian refuge in the U.S.
The first termination is asylum seeking. Theoretically, if you can’t be a refugee, then the only way to seek refuge in the U.S. is to come to the border and seek asylum, according to U.S. law. However, the Trump administration ended the asylum refugee process, which an appellate court approved on March 25.
The second termination falls under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app. The CPB One App allowed certain people to lawfully enter the U.S. and obtain a lawful work permit. However, the Trump administration revoked all legal status under the CBP One app in early April.
With these humanitarian options eliminated, Islam believes there is no legal way to come to the U.S. on foot right now.
“What you would have to do is essentially apply for a visa, which is next to nearly impossible,” Islam said. The wait times to be approved can take up to 20 years, Islam said, as the wait times continue to rise.
As Islam explained, there are currently two ways to lawfully enter and work in the U.S: family-based and employment-based.
Family-based immigration requires sponsorship by a qualified immediate relative or family preference. According to Islam, when she worked for family-based immigration law, she would tell people to apply as soon as possible, because the wait times for approval could take decades.
“You can’t base your life on this application because it’s taking so long,” Islam said.
Most visas have a numerical cap, according to Islam. The U.S. releases 10,000 new visas every fiscal year, Islam said, which doesn’t help with the wait times for applications.
“If 10,000 are released every year, and you already have a line of 1,000,000 people, and every year there’s 20,000 more people applying for a U visa, you can start to see why the wait times increase,” Islam said.
Employment-based immigration allow both the immigrant and employer to apply for the worker’s visa. Islam explained there are many categories, but each visa has its own criteria for eligibility, terms, and time limits.
Islam explained that employment-based visas are hard to obtain for average jobs. These visas are typically for highly skilled workers, such as scientists or doctors, or temporary seasonal workers, like those who work in South Dakota’s agricultural sector. You can only stay for the season under a temporary worker visa, Islam said, which makes reapplying an arduous process.
“You have to go back to home country and employer has to reapply for you, then you can come back lawfully,” Islam said.
The immigrant employee would be considered undocumented if they didn’t leave the country once the visa expired and continued working. Or, in some cases, employers could bypass the system.
Abuse in the System
“For others that are already in the U.S., either from entering without permission or from losing their lawful status after they entered, desperation can make them vulnerable to threats and manipulation,” Bahena said in a statement to KELOLAND News.
Bahena said immigrant workers, with a loss of a safety net and no access to resources in their native languages, become a prime target for trafficking.
Bahena, Islam, and Schartz say there are many ways employers can abuse the U.S. immigration system, These are some examples.
Employers misuse visa programs or file fraudulent paperwork.
Employers recruit immigrants through lies: they promise legal jobs or favorable conditions, but deliver exploitative conditions, such as labor or sex acts.
Employers confiscate documents, isolate the worker, coerce the worker into silence, and threaten deportation or harm to families if the worker speaks up.
“If the victims do not obey the traffickers or try to leave, the traffickers may have them deported,” Bahena said in a statement to KELOLAND News. “Once outside the country, the victims are not only left with no recourse, letting the traffickers go unpunished, but they are also often at the mercy of the trafficking organization’s contacts in that country.”
Schartz shared a more specific example of labor trafficking:
“Maria” is recruited from another country to work in the U.S. as a housekeeper. The job recruiter promises her good pay, a place to live, and legal work papers. But when she arrives, her passport is taken away; she’s forced to work 16-hour days, 7 days a week, without pay; she’s told that if she tries to leave or report the abuse, she’ll be arrested or deported; and the employer threatens to harm her family back home if she doesn’t stay. Maria is a victim of labor trafficking—her labor is being exploited through force, fraud, and coercion.”
Rachel Schartz, Call to Freedom
“There’s a historical lack of enforcement of U.S. labor laws that enables trafficking,” Schartz said in a statement to KELOLAND News.
Coupled with language disparities and dependency on employers, Islam explained how difficult it can be for victims to speak out against abuse.
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“People just did it because that’s what they thought they had to do. I mean, I don’t know how else to describe that,” Islam said. “As implausible as it may seem to you and me, right. But if you were completely dependent on this one person and now they’re taking advantage of you and exploiting you and not paying you over working you. Like, how would you know where to go?”
Islam added that some law enforcement agencies aren’t equipped to help victims in a trafficking situation.
“They don’t have the training and skillset to work with victims from different languages; it can be very easy to dismiss the situation or just not know what to do,” Islam said.
Islam said her biggest client base comes from Central America, where it’s difficult for victims to trust government agencies and, therefore, difficult for victims to report trafficking.
“They’re coming from governments that are so corrupt and police departments that don’t work for community protection, that are associated with gangs,” Islam said. “There’s a lot of mistrust of those entities when they come here, too, because they don’t know any different.”
In 2024, Call to Freedom helped 29 people who experienced labor trafficking, Schartz said in her statement, many of whom were housed by their employers. According to Schartz, the majority of labor trafficking victims served by Call to Freedom have been people with Hispanic origin and limited English proficiency.
“Employers are supposed to protect workers by following the law, ensuring fair conditions, and giving them safe ways to report abuse,” Schartz said in a statement to KELOLAND News. “But in cases of labor trafficking, the opposite often happens—employers isolate or threaten workers, hide their documents, and make them believe they have no rights. That’s why outside oversight, education, and nonprofit advocates like Call to Freedom are critical to protecting vulnerable workers.”
Solutions?
“There is not an easy solution other than, in my opinion, to create a safe environment for trafficked immigrants to come forward to report abuse without fear of deportation,” Bahena said in a statement to KELOLAND News.
The U.S. provides a visa for victims of trafficking, called the T visa. Bahena said the T visa has become more widely used, but “the current administration does not treat that visa as favorably as the prior administration.”
And, as Islam explained, the T visa, like any other visa, can be difficult to qualify for and can take decades to complete.
“Furthermore, if law enforcement is not willing to support immigrants being trafficked and trying to apply for T visas, the T visa can be impossible to obtain,” Bahena said in a statement to KELOLAND News. “Access to T visas varies greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, depending on the willingness of local law enforcement to support immigrant victims.”
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Islam said there’s a flaw in the visa system that needs to change.
“The numerical cap is what I would say. If we could change that and speed up the process and at least give people who have to wait for so long, because in most of these pending application cases, you can stay here without any deportation consequences, unless you commit a crime,” Islam said.
With recent cuts to federal agencies like the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Islam said the funds need to come back to USCIS for staff to do the work at the pace of the visa applications coming in.
“You need staff to do this work, you need to fully fund if you really want to have lawful immigration,” Islam said.
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Islam added that these issues are not new- these are decades worth of issues that Congress hasn’t fixed, and the subject of immigration has become politically polarized.
“It’s just so unfortunate on how politicized the issue is, because it is not about coming the legal way,” Islam said. “All the legal ways have been taken away, and some of the legal ways that are still possible, people just don’t like them.”
To keep our communities growing, Islam said the immigrant community must be supported.
“The reason South Dakota is growing, Sioux Falls is growing, is because of Hispanic and Asian populations coming into those places,” Islam said. “When they come, they bring their families, they have kids, they revive communities, school districts, employment places, public library usage.”
According to its website, South Dakota Voices for Peace is a non-profit organization with a mission to dismantle bigotry and racism, all while offering support, for immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities.
Call to Freedom is a faith-based non-profit organization with a mission to help victims of sex and labor trafficking and commercial sex exploitation, according to its website.
Woods Fuller is a law firm with one of the region’s largest and most experienced legal teams, according to its website.
All three organizations are based in Sioux Falls.
