"My impression is that most people come here for economic reasons just like human trafficking related to other professions like construction or agriculture."

I wanted to add that Latino guys (who are probably not here legally) can stand in lines on the sidewalk all day long in the Mission or San Rafael to get work...but if a female prostitute (who probably is a US Citizen) does the same thing she's immediately arrested. What's up with that?? Everyone is just trying to make a living...we have a real stigma against prostitutes and this is one of the ways it really shows.

More than half of the women rounded up during "Operation Gilded Cage" were deported within the first two weeks. The rest were considered material witnesses and had to stay for the duration of the trial. I doubt any of them willl be allowed to stay afterwards. They have all these incentives to claim victimization, and still these women claim they knowingly and willingly came here to work as prostitutes. They're just needed to testify about the debt bondage, and then it's "get out of our country, criminals!"

It should come as no surprise. We've bullied other countries around the world into cracking down on prostitution, and in South Korea there were massive demonstrations and hunger strikes in protest of the actions taken to avoid being put on our shit-list (tier III). It is outrageous and disturbing- particularly because it's done with the pretentious attitude of helping out the very women it hurts.

One of the agents involved in the Peninsula AAMP busts last year claimed that "{t}he alleged crimes involved in this case degrades <sic> the women involved." Poverty is degrading. Getting arrested is degrading. Being deported as a criminal is degrading. Sex work is work.

A few of the Operation Gilded Cage trials are over as are those tied to Operation Bad Neighbor (Peninsula AAMPs) and while there were no signs of sex slavery, the results of these cases are rather scary. The first three OGC trials resulted in convictions for conspiracy Mann Act violations, harboring aliens and using the telephone in aid of committing a crime (!) They got 6-9 months in jail with credit for time served and had to pay small fines. These all involved MP owners/operators who paid local, state and federal business taxes. They weren't subjected to asset forfeiture aside from one guy who lost $1600 worth of postal money orders.

From OBN:

"According to the plea agreements, Shen, Sun, Chu, and Chang admitted that in 2004 and 2005, they concealed, harbored, and shielded from detection alien women from Asia, knowing that some of these women were not lawfully in the United States. The individuals admitted to employing women as prostitutes in rented, residential locations that masqueraded as unlicensed massage parlors. According to the plea agreements, they would rotate the women through the locations periodically and took measures such as keeping the apartment curtains closed so as to avoid drawing public scrutiny. They would use these measures to avoid attracting attention from law enforcement officials. They provided the aliens with housing, local transportation, supplies for use in the sex trade, and sources of income."

The indictment claimed that they operated brothels that "masqueraded as unlicensed, UNDERGROUND massage parlors" but I guess they realized how absurd that sounded and dropped the underground part. What is upsetting about this is that it means they can charge people with being prostitutes masquerading as escorts or masseusses- in addition to all the other stuff. Also note the mention of drawing the curtains to suggest a deliberate attempt to avoid detection.

Additionally, they plead guilty, as part of the money laundering conspiracy, to "collecting the cash proceeds from the locations where the alien women were being harbored. They would use the proceeds to further promote the operation by paying expenses associated with the harboring of the women."

From the press release:

According to IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Roger L. Wirth, “IRS is proud to have added value to this combined law enforcement effort with our financial investigative skills. The considerable funds seized in this investigation will be used in future efforts to eliminate any profits from this type of criminal activity.”

www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/pr...as.press.htm

It's pretty unsettling.