Another Slavery Conviction: A Sign of the Times

As we have reported on this blog, slavery has been on the upswing in recent years.  Earlier this week, ICE announced that a woman was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to holding her Filipino domestic worker in forced labor  An investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Labor uncovered the crime. According to the ICE press release, ii 2001, Elizabeth Jackson arranged to have the victim brought to the United States. After the woman arrived, Jackson confiscated her passport and forced her to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week for less than $400 per month. From 2001 to 2002, Jackson used intimidation and repeated threats of deportation to keep the victim from leaving without permission. Also in federal court today, James Jackson, Elizabeth Jackson’s husband, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and assessed a fine of $5,000 for harboring the Filipino woman in the couple’s Culver City, Calif., home.

On the subject of slavery, Professor MARIA ONTIVEROS (USF) wrote an interesting article that offers a Thirteenth Amendment analysis of “guest worker programs.” In these visa programs, non-United States citizens may come to work in the United States for a limited period of time. Under most of these programs, the worker must leave if they get fired or quit. The article offers a historical perspective of agricultural guest worker programs from 1770 through today and concludes that poorly crafted guest worker programs may violate the Thirteenth Amendment.   To see the article, click here.

KJ