http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20060822 ... -5668r.htm

Human trafficking — in D.C.
Published August 23, 2006

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For most people, the prospect of terrorists with fraudulent documents exploiting porous borders is reason enough to support tougher I.D. laws and a rise in numbers for the U.S. Border Patrol. Those who still aren't convinced should take a long, hard look at the alleged human-trafficking and prostitution ring that federal authorities broke up last week in seven states and the District of Columbia.

Fake documentation and expert border-smuggling were the tools of choice for what sounds like a horrifically cruel sex-trade racket spanning South Korea to New York, including extensive operations in the Washington area. Young Korean women were allegedly smuggled into the country and passed into prostitution up and down the East Coast, including at "spas" in five Northwest Washington locations, one in the 1400 block of K Street and another in the 3500 block of Connecticut Avenue.

According to documents unsealed in federal court in New York, the victims typically sought passage to the United States to make money to support their families back home but got caught in a web of debt -- "usually in the tens of thousands of dollars" for "false immigration documents, including passports and visas, or... false underlying documents enabling the women to obtain United States passports or visas." They were delivered by their handlers to brothels and prostitution businesses throughout the Northeastern United States, where some were allegedly threatened with harm to their families in Korea or a handover to U.S. authorities for leaving before settling their cruel debts.

"This case is a reminder that large-scale human trafficking occurs every day, right in our own cities and neighborhoods," Michael J. Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a press release.

Operations in Washington included the 1000 block of Vermont Avenue NW, 2400 block of Wisconsin Avenue, 500 block of 10th Street NW and the 700 block of 8th Street SE. There were also two Maryland sites, in Baltimore and an unidentified location.

In recent years, open-border enthusiasts have brooked few pejoratives in the rush to call I.D.-tightening laws and efforts to improve border security anti-immigrant, inhumane or otherwise awful. We invite them to consider this case. Lax documentation and porous borders were key enablers of what sounds like an awful human-trafficking ring. If the case holds up in court, this will go down as one of the worst abuses of the rights of illegal aliens in this region's history.

If ever there were an open-borders argument for more secure I.D. cards, harder-to-counterfeit visas and tougher border enforcement, this is it.