The Tribune

By Donnette Russell-Love

The Month of January has been recognised as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the US every year since 2010.  Sunday, January 11, is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, designed to bring about public awareness about the persistence of modern slavery and to educate citizens on how to recognise the signs of both sex and labour trafficking.

The U.S. Department of State and the US Department of Homeland Security combine efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking domestically and internationally, to educate the public about how to identify and prevent these kinds of crime, and to drive change.

The U.S. Department of Justice defines Human Trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, as “A crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labour or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological. It involves the recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.”

A victim need not be physically transported from one location to another for the crime to fall within this definition.

There are estimated to be more than 27.6 million people — adults and children — subjected to human trafficking around the world, including in the United States. Traffickers often take advantage of instability caused by natural disasters, conflict, or a pandemic to exploit others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, traffickers are continuing to perpetrate the crime, finding ways to innovate and capitalize on the chaos.

In 2019, after the devastating Hurricane Dorian ravaged the island of Grand Bahama and Abaco, resulting in damages amounting to $3.4 billion US dollars across The Bahamas, and leaving at least 70,000 people homeless.

By March 15, 2020, just six months after Dorian, it was confirmed that COVID-19 had reached the Bahamas with the announcement of the first case.  The Rand Memorial Hospital, located in Grand Bahama, was inoperable since an estimated 90 per cent of the equipment and supplies, all the hospital beds were damaged, and one-third of the medical staff lost everything in the hurricane.

The combination of devastation and desperation and vulnerability existing in the country at that time made the Bahamas fertile ground for predators looking to exploit their position.

As a U.S. immigration attorney servicing the Caribbean Community, I have represented Bahamian Nationals in the U.S. and on visa and waiver matters before the US Consulate in Nassau, Bahamas, for almost two decades, so I received many of the desperate calls from Bahamian Nationals that were recruited in the Bahamas to come to the U.S. to work in hotels and other manual labour jobs.  In exchange, they were promised an attorney who would process their U.S. work visa, housing, and a steady pay check.

The recruiters would instruct the victim to enter on their B2 visa, and once they made it to the U.S., they would begin their immigration paperwork.

9 FAM 402.2-4(A) provides the terms of the B2 visa admission. The admission may be less than 180 days as determined by the CBP officer inspecting but an overstay of the allowable time period of stay will result automatically in the cancellation of your visa.  Additionally, an overstay of your visa by more than 180 days will result in the cancellation of your visa and your inability to return to the US for 3 years.  An overstay of one year or more will result in your inability to return to the U.S. for 10 years.

The recruiters know the rules so they lead them on until they have overstayed, so that if they leave the US, they won't be able to return to the U.S. and can’t come after them. The victims’ promised salaries are garnished to cover their living expenses that are deplorable, legal expenses for a lawyer who does not exist, and other expenses that they did not agree to.  In the meantime, their airline tickets have expired, and they are left with enough to buy food, but not much else, and they are ashamed. This is how well-meaning get caught in the web of human trafficking.

I recognized the exploitation and understood the patterns I saw happening, so I began referring these victims to Quest2Freedom, (Q2F™) a 501(c)(3) authorized Anti-Human Trafficking organization that is dedicated to defeating the global issues surrounding human trafficking through a holistic approach, run by Mr Victor Williams, a retired Agent of the US Department of Homeland Security.

Victor has worked with several of our referrals from the Bahamas, and a few of the recruiting rings were exposed. Those who were willing to trust the system received the support they needed and were recognized as the victims they were and are receiving the rehabilitation that they deserve.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of human trafficking, please contact the Human Trafficking hotline at 888-373-7888  or  Text INFO to 233733.

Find local services at: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/find-local-services

Please consider a Donation to Quest2Freedom: https://linktr.ee/quest2freedom

Why Wear Blue?

On January 11, join others across the nation by wearing blue, the colour recognised by Homeland Security for human trafficking awareness. Wearing blue symbolises solidarity and serves as a visible commitment to ending trafficking and protecting the vulnerable.

It not only represents a threat to international peace and security but also undermines the rule of law, robs millions of their dignity and freedom, enriches transnational criminals and terrorists, and threatens public safety and national security everywhere.

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Born in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Donnette Russell-Love, Esq. is a U.S. attorney with more than 25 years of legal experience and a 19-year professional connection to the Bahamas, where she has worked closely with Bahamian individuals and families navigating the U.S. immigration system. Her career has been shaped by the realities of cross-border life in the Caribbean, giving her deep insight into family-based immigration, waivers, humanitarian cases, and the consequences of visa denials. In addition to immigration law, Ms Russell-Love brings a broad background in trial practice, regulatory compliance, and risk management, supported by certifications in anti-money laundering (CAMS) and human resources management. She is the founder of Donnette Russell-Love, LLC and Immigration Care Service, LLC and continues to work at the intersection of law, policy, and advocacy for Caribbean communities.