Human trafficking in Maine

By Dhananji Rathnayake

“Some trafficked victims are hidden in plain sight – and might be seen working in ‘mom-and-
pop’ stores, or walking down the street. Others are hidden in private residences or brothels,
coerced into captivity, and forced to work in oppressive conditions for little or no pay.“

– Maine Advisory Committee Report to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2017

Human trafficking is a big money maker, tied with the illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world, after drug dealing. It is also the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. The U.S. Department of State estimates that 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year, including for agricultural and domestic work, restaurant and garment industry jobs, entertainment work and the sex industry, begging, involvement in criminal activities, and forced prostitution. The volume of sex and labor trafficking crimes is on the rise in Maine.

Many people who end up being exploited do not realize what is happening to them until after they arrive in the U.S. Many victims don’t speak English, and may never realize that human trafficking is illegal in the U.S. Perpetrators generally exploit vulnerabilities, such as economic struggles and addictions, and the victims live in a climate of fear that prevents them from escaping.

According to the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC), approximately 80% of international human trafficking journeys use official border control points like airports and land borders to enter the U.S., and the rest take irregular routes, avoiding official border control. Children, more than adults, are likely to be trafficked through routes without official border control points, whereas victims of labor exploitation are often trafficked through official border control points.

Preble Street Anti-Trafficking Services (ATS) has been a leader in Maine in the arena of anti-trafficking work since 2010. Prisca Niyonzima, who works as an Intensive Case Manager at ATS, said that 30-40% of the victims Preble Street sees come from outside the state, and include both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.

Jean Bruggeman, Executive Director of Freedom Network USA, who spoke at the opening of the Preble Street Healing Center in 2021, is quoted on the Preble Street website as saying BIPOC people are at heightened risk of falling prey to traffickers: “Trafficking is not the result of a few bad employers or abusive individuals. It is the result of a systemic failure. It is part of the enduring legacy of systemic racism in the United States. … The industries in which trafficking is most pervasive – agriculture and domestic work – are those that relied on formerly enslaved people and were therefore purposefully excluded from federal labor protections.”

Niyonzima said Preble Street works hard to build trust with all survivors, no matter what their background. “We have case managers who can speak more than four languages, and we utilize interpreters to communicate effectively with victims. … The first thing we do is to confirm with them that their stories are not going anywhere. They’re going to stay with us. We’re going to share their information only when they need support from outside and they give permission, they sign release of information to share with people, especially when they are seeking services outside of our program. … The duration of case management is flexible, ranging from months to years, as defined by the survivor’s needs.”

In 2021, the International Labor Organization reported 49.6 million people in modern slavery, with 27.6 million in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriage. According to 2023 data from CTDC, human trafficking was once seen as predominantly affecting girls and women for sexual exploitation, but the number of male victims has grown. The gender balance among children mirrors that of adults.

According to a 2017 report from the Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the U.S. is both a destination for trafficked victims and its own source of victims.  

Maine has effectively educated the public on sex trafficking, but the invisibility of labor trafficking makes it likely that it is more common, though less identified locally due to public unfamiliarity with its signs.

Preble Street conducts regular training programs for community organizations and providers, recognizing that it’s crucial that a broad swath of the public recognize indicators of trafficking, so they can serve as referrals for people in difficulty of this sort. Once someone is participating in social service programming, they are connected with resources that can help them.

“People are able to make referrals, and also individuals or families can call us, and we have a management team, which is doing screenings and intake for people to see if they qualify for our programs. Our programs help adult survivors who experienced trafficking as children, and those currently facing trafficking,” Niyonzima said.

The primary international legal instrument to combat human trafficking is the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which supplements the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Protocol specifically talks about human trafficking as a criminal offense.