Thread: FL: Manatee case sheds light on human trafficking

Manatee case sheds light on human trafficking
Attorney says those smuggled in may be eligible for visas
By HALLE STOCKTON


Published: Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 12:44 a.m.
MANATEE COUNTY -
Victor Gomes-Lopez arrived at a parking lot Thursday night to welcome his brother to the United States.

But when he did not cough up $1,500 to the two men who smuggled his brother into the country from Mexico, the smugglers took off in a minivan packed with his brother and four other illegal immigrants.

Then, the authorities got involved in the case, which has revealed how some illegal immigrants make it to Florida and how the smugglers hold the upper hand in the transactions.

Gomes-Lopez called the Sheriff's Office to report the coyotes who went back on a promise to allow his brother, Pedro, to work off the payment here in Manatee County, said sheriff's spokesman Dave Bristow.

Gomes-Lopez set up a second meeting with the smugglers, but this time, deputies backed him up.

When the smugglers showed up about 11 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of an Ellenton McDonald's, deputies intervened and had to chase one of the men down, Bristow said.

They confiscated $17,990 from the men.

The U.S. Border Patrol office in Tampa now has eight people in custody -- all Mexican nationals who are in the country illegally -- including Gomes-Lopez, who had been living in Manatee County, said Steve McDonald, the agent in charge at the Tampa Border Patrol station.

Immigration and criminal investigations are under way, he added.

Busting a human trafficking operation in Manatee County is rare, Bristow said.

"I'm sure it happens, but it's not something we've run across in a long time," he said. "This is the first case that I can remember."

But, he said, "we know it's out there and we have some people that are trained to handle it."

McDonald, the border patrol agent, said Interstate 75 is a common path used by smugglers of illegal immigrants.

Since 2004, the Border Patrol has prosecuted nearly 90 smugglers from operations on the interstate in and around Tampa, McDonald said. The smuggling adds danger to the interstate, he said.

"I-75 is a main artery that is often exploited by these smugglers; it's a rapid transit," he said. "They drive unsafe, overloaded vehicles, generally don't have a license or insurance, and are overtired because they limit their stops."

The financial arrangements often begin at a safe house after crossing the border, McDonald said.

"Generally, these smugglers are not nice people. They have a duty to keep these people under some semblance of control," he said. "And always associated with these events is the threat of violence should the aliens breach the agreement."

Donna Scarlatelli, a Sarasota attorney who specializes in immigration law, said the immigrants who were smuggled may be eligible to stay in the United States if they are viewed as victims of human trafficking.

There are two visas under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act enacted in 2000 that may be pursued in their cases.

To be eligible for those visas, an applicant must show that he or she either underwent trafficking with the use of force, fraud or coercion, or endured mental or physical abuse as a result of trafficking, Scarlatelli said.

Scarlatelli said the distinction of whether smuggled illegal immigrants are victims or voluntary participants is based on a defense argument, and whether the state needs the applicant to testify in court against smugglers.

If the coyotes are convicted in criminal court, they serve time in a U.S. prison, are deported immediately after the term and are then forbidden to enter the country, she said.

Human trafficking situations come about when people seek a better life in the U.S. and have no legal way of getting here, Scarlatelli said.

"It's just indicative of how the whole system doesn't work," she said.

Scarlatelli said she would advocate visas that would allow entry to the country for people to perform a certain type of work.

"We wouldn't see people resorting to these types of measures if the need and demand of the labor market could match up under the law," she said.


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To be eligible for those visas, an applicant must show that he or she either underwent trafficking with the use of force, fraud or coercion, or endured mental or physical abuse as a result of trafficking, Scarlatelli said.

Doesn't work when the illegal aliens PAY a smuggler to sneak them in, like this case.

DEPORT the "victims" and jail the other scum, after confiscating ALL their possessions.

We wouldn't see people resorting to these types of measures if the need and demand of the labor market could match up under the law," she said.


When is the sheer lunacy in these kinds of statements going to be pointed out?

If our laws were enforced, the 'demand' for illegal labor, drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc., would stop.


It seems the advocates for illegals are trying to say if a law gets in the way of your making money, just ignore it and we will feel sorry for you if it doesn't work out.