Copyright 2000 eMediaMillWorks, Inc.
(f/k/a Federal
Document Clearing House, Inc.)
Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
April 4, 2000, Tuesday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1440 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY April 04, 2000 P. COTO SUPERVISING NEAR EASTERN AND SOUTH ASIAN
AFFAIRS SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE
TRAFFICKING
BODY:
STATEMENT OF VIRGINIA P. COTO,
ESQ., Supervising attorney at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center Foreign
Relations Committee Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee
International Trafficking of Women and Children April 4, 2000 Good afternoon. I
would like to thank the Foreign Relations Committee for the opportunity to speak
to you on behalf of trafficking survivor advocates. My name is Virginia Coto. I
am a supervising attorney at- the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC) and
the director of LUCHA: A Women's Legal Project. FIAC is a private nonprofit
organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of immigrants of
all nationalities. I currently represent 14 girls and women who are sexual
trafficking survivors and who participated in the Cadena ring prosecution. I
first became involved in this case when we read an article in the Miami Herald
describing the arrests of some of the Cadena ring traffickers. The article also
described the detention of 14 victims as material witnesses. We began to make
telephone calls and contacted the Department of Justice, INS and the FBI. The
government cooperated with us and allowed us to see the victims soon after. We
negotiated their release and the girls and women were released to Safespace, a
battered women's shelter in Miami, Florida. Since my involvement in the case in
February of 1998 I have learned that trafficking of women and children is not
unique. However, the survivors need unique treatment. The survivors in the
Cadena case faced criminal and immigration detention for up to five months. They
did not receive medical or psychological treatment. They did not have adequate
legal assistance. They did not have adequate information about their rights or
translation services. They did not understand what happened to them and what was
going to happen. What they did know is that they were terrified and needed help.
The survivors were not eligible for any public benefits due to their immigration
status. We asked the community for their assistance. They stepped up to the
challenge. The community provided housing, food, clothing, medical and
psychological treatment, employment services and training, and other social
services. Trafficked persons are an extremely vulnerable group. This Congress
must address the horrors which you have heard about today. Trafficking survivors
have special needs that can not be addressed without legislation. We were very
fortunate that the community in Miami helped to address some of the survivor
needs. However, this is not the case throughout the United States. -Survivors
need protection from their captors. -Survivors need to be released from
detention as soon as possible and be housed in an appropriate shelter.
-Survivors need food and clothing. -Survivors need medical and psychological
treatment. -Survivors need to legal assistance. Legal Services
Corporation needs to expand its services to include trafficked persons
without regard to their immigration status. -Survivors need to obtain lawful
permanent residency and need employment authorization in the interim. Moreover,
I would like to address the issue of lawful permanent residency more
specifically. The survivors of the Cadena ring have fully participated in the
prosecution of their captors. They as well as their families have been targets
of threats. The government successfully prosecuted seven of the sixteen
indicted. Eight defendants are still at large and are presently living in their
hometowns. They know where their families live because often times they
recruited and convinced their families that their daughters would be safe.
Instead they were raped, tortured and enslaved. These survivors are in fear for
their lives and that of their families. They can not return to the same
neighborhoods where their captors live and which would surely retaliate against
them. The only way in which these survivors can be protected is by granting them
permanent residency. The choice to survive can not be to one of re-victimization
by their enslavers. Freedom is the only choice we must afford them. Furthermore,
survivors want justice. Sentencing guidelines do not reflect the rape, torture
or heinous crimes that survivors have endured. Restitution and civil action must
be granted as well. We have seen the number of sex trafficking increasing
annually in the United States and internationally. This is a grave violation of
human rights. In order to deter international trafficking and to bring its
perpetrators to justice, the United States must act now. Survivors need
protection, not punishment.
LOAD-DATE: April 6, 2000,
Thursday 
