Anti-Trafficking Symposium Marks 20th Anniversary of El Monte Garment Slavery Case
On Aug. 3, 1995, the Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC), along with state and federal agencies, helped liberate 72 Thai nationals from the first case of modern-day slavery in the country.
As a California State Senator representing El Monte at that time, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis took up this issue as the California State Senate convened on hearings on the plight of these workers. Thai CDC went on to pursue justice for the workers, bringing them redress and restitution. This case led to an anti-trafficking movement that led to the founding of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking in 1998 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by Congress in 2006..
This symposium honored 20 years of work combatting human trafficking and the El Monte Thai garment workers’ spirit of human resiliency. nd the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by Congress in 2000.
KJ