Behind Closed Doors, a Life of Abuse, Fear

They are often called modern-day slaves. Women, men and children from around the world are lured into the United States with promises of jobs and then held against their will and forced to work long hours for little or no pay. Many are coerced to work as prostitutes and domestic workers or to become indentured servants in the agricultural and garment industries.

Ten years ago this month, in one of the most notorious human-trafficking cases, 71 Thai workers were freed from virtual slavery in an El Monte sweatshop. The workers had spent years sewing for less than 60 cents an hour before authorities raided the factory Aug. 2, 1995.

Over the last decade, spurred by the El Monte case and others, legislators and law enforcement agencies nationwide have dedicated more resources to battling human trafficking. Social service organizations have raised awareness of the problem. Prosecutors have investigated and charged more traffickers. Since 2001, 260 traffickers have been prosecuted -- a threefold increase over the previous four years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Of those, 149 were prosecuted since October 2003.

As of July, nearly 200 trafficking investigations were underway.

Last year, the Department of Justice awarded more than $7.6 million in grants to local police agencies and social service organizations nationwide to combat trafficking. Los Angeles received $450,000 to set up a task force to help reach victims and to train officers on how to recognize trafficking victims.

A state bill would make human trafficking a felony.

Despite the progress, the crimes continue to occur. Assistant U.S. Atty. Heidi Rummel, who works in Los Angeles, specializes in human trafficking and discussed some of the challenges involved in investigating and prosecuting these cases. Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas O'Brien, chief of the criminal division, also discussed the issue.

Question: What is the difference between human-trafficking and human-smuggling cases?

Answer: In a smuggling case, a smuggler is hired to bring someone into the United States illegally. Once the person arrives in the United States and pays the fee, that's the end of the business relationship. In a trafficking case, the person is lured into the United States and then forced to work against his or her will by threats or physical force.

Q: Who are the victims in human-trafficking cases?