Migrant Workers

Migrant workers are people who move from one place to another, often across borders, to find temporary or seasonal work — usually in agriculture, construction, or low-wage service jobs. They often leave their home countries or regions to support themselves and their families, sometimes sending money back home, which is known as remittances. Migrant workers can face challenges like low pay, lack of job security, limited access to healthcare, and difficult living conditions, but they also play a vital role in the economies of the countries where they work.

Migrant circumstances that are often weaponized by traffickers:

  • Employer-sponsored visas ( like H-2a or H-2B) or the promise of visa sponsorship can be used to coerce migrant workers. 
  • Limited or lack of other employment opportunities. 
  • ​Being the sole provider for family or self.
  • Limited knowledge of rights or U.S. labor laws.
  • ​Language barriers that prevent reporting or seeking help.
  • Lack of access to support networks due to geographic or social isolation.
  • ​Fear of retaliation or law enforcement involvement, particularly among undocumented workers.

Industries Where Migrant Labor Is Common and Exploitation Is High*:

  • Agriculture
  • Landscaping
  • Hospitality (e.g., hotels, resorts)
  • Food processing and packaging
  • Domestic work
  • Construction

*This list is not exhaustive. Migrant workers may work in other industries, particularly ones where work conditions are minimally regulated.

Intersecting Vulnerabilities

Some people in forced labor have intersecting vulnerabilities that increase their likelihood of being trafficked. It is important to clarify that these identities themselves are not risk factors. Rather, they are identities that have historically been marginalized in the U.S., resulting in limited or unequal access to basic needs, legal protections, and support systems. This systemic neglect creates conditions that traffickers are able — and often choose — to exploit. For this reason, advocacy on a broader and larger scale is needed to create addition areas of support for people with these identities. 

Vulnerable Identities:

  • Gender identity, as there is the risk of gender-based violence. Women and young girls are especially at risk when there is limited access to supportive social systems or protections.
  • Children, especially those who have traveled to the U.S. alone.
  • People with disabilities.
  • People experiencing poverty.
  • People who have fled their home country due to conflict. 

Service Providers

Here are key considerations for service providers working with labor trafficking survivors:

Legal Advocates

  • Be aware of immigration relief options like T and U visas, and understand how labor laws apply to survivors regardless of immigration status. Survivors may fear retaliation or deportation — ensure confidentiality and trauma-informed communication.

Social Workers and Case Managers
  • ​Survivors may need help with housing, employment, physical and mental health, family support, clothing, or safety planning. In order to help set them up with the proper resources, try to gain a clear understanding of what the specific individual may need. Do not assume and remember that trust takes time, especially if the survivor was controlled or isolated.

Healthcare and Mental Health Providers

  • Recognize signs of trafficking, such as untreated injuries, scripted speech, inability to provide information without deferring to someone else, sense of paranoia, or even the obligation to pay a large debt. Survivors may fear medical institutions due to past coercion or experiences of discrimination. Create a nonjudgmental space and screen sensitively.

Interpreters and Cultural Mediators

  • Interpreters from the employer or trafficker should not be used. All interpreters and mediators need to be accurate, neutral, and trustworthy. In addition, make sure to be able to provide privacy and confidentiality for the survivor.

General Guidance:
  • Avoid asking too many direct questions at once and do not push for answers. Survivors of labor trafficking may not self-identify or feel ready to disclose their experience.
  • Do not use jargon or legal terms when speaking to the survivor. Make sure information is comprehensibible and simple.
  • Connect with anti-trafficking networks to know where you can potentially refer someone to.
  • Respect autonomy. Survivors should guide their own path forward, even if you think you know what’s best.

​Your role is not to "rescue" — it's to support, inform, and believe.