Jayson's Story: False promises, migrant workers & trafficking
Jayson is a human trafficking survivor from the Philippines. In 2008, he was given a job offer in the US by a woman his uncle knew. Since Jayson had previously worked for her, he trusted her and took the offer without knowing many details about the job. She then paid a recruiter to arrange his visa and to train him on what to say to come to the US with a P-1 visa for athletes. The recruiter promised it would be easy to get a work visa once he arrived.
Upon his arrival in the US, Jayson met with the same woman who provided him the job offer. Since he did not speak English well nor knew his rights, he relied on her entirely. Unfortunately, the woman became his trafficker. She took his passport for “safekeeping,” told him he owed her $12,000 and claimed he had to work for her for 10 years.
Jayson started working for her in an elderly care facility, caring for patients as well as working on construction and gardening. Here he met Angela, a fellow human trafficking victim that had also been brought over with the same lies and tactics of exploitation. Together they worked 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with no break days. They worked all day and slept very little because they were not provided a bed, much less a room. This left them sleeping on the floor or on reclining chairs in their elderly patient’s room. All the while, they were not allowed to leave the facility or talk to anyone. They had to constantly stay alert to prevent being discovered by people, including building officials and their patient’s family members.
“She said that because she had been the one who brought me to the US, she owned me.”
Although Jayson was paid $400 a month, he sent the majority back home. His trafficker stated that the rest of the money he was earning was being used to pay off his visa debt. Although he was aware of his trafficker’s lies, Jayson did not know all his rights. He feared going to jail if his immigration status was discovered and believed that working in the facility and keeping his head down was the only way to escape legal action. His trafficker often reminded him that the police could arrest him and that she would deny that they worked for her. All the while, because Jayson didn’t speak English and didn't have anywhere else to go, he thought he would be stuck working for ten years at the facility. This meant not being able to see his family and not being able to go anywhere.
Luckily, his nightmare situation ended after nine months.
A neighbor had taken notice of how Jayson and Angela worked every day with no days off. She reported the situation to the FBI, and Angela spoke to them because she believed they might be able to get help. Jayson and Angela were able to escape their trafficker at nighttime with the support of the FBI. A service agency helped provide Jayson a place in a men’s shelter. Jayson explained that if he had been given a written contract outlining his work and the money he would allegedly owe in his own language, Tagalog, he never would have come to California.
“I wish I had the right information before I was given an offer. I wish I had known my rights before I had come here. Being in the Philippines, given an offer like that, it’s like woah, I’ll take it. But you don’t know what’s going to happen to you, but you know our lives in the Philippines—when you hear you can go to the U.S, you just want to come.”
Knowing his rights would have allowed Jayson to stay safe and avoid an enormous fee for his visa. Many immigrant workers, like Jayson, simply want a better life and economic opportunity. This is why they want to go to the U.S. However, human traffickers take advantage of immigrants' situation with the help of labor recruiters. The majority of temporary workers are recruited by foreign labor contractors (FLC) who serve as brokers between the worker and the employer. FLCs often take advantage of power imbalances and act unethically.
Under these circumstances, temporary workers are the most exploited legally authorized workers in the country. Due to this, exploitation goes unnoticed in large part because workers rarely report labor abuses for fear of losing their immigration status and job. Since California attracts more temporary workers than anywhere else in the U.S., it is important that state legislation is altered to protect all temporary workers.
Amending legislation like the California bill SB477 would protect people like Jason and Angela from becoming human trafficking victims. No one deserves to fall into the web of labor exploitation. This legislation would cover foreign temporary workers and allow them to know about their workers’ rights and labor conditions.
Be part of the solution by signing the petition calling the California State Legislature to support the amending of SB477.
About the Author
Elle Magaña Mireles is a Latinx sustainable fashion advocate based in Chicago, IL. She believes clothing can be a gateway to creating a more just and humane world by bringing about global, positive change. In her free time, she writes for her sustainable fashion blog called Just Irenic, spends quality time in nature, and takes courses on social justice.