A charter bus company hired by the state of Texas to transport migrants to Chicago is trying to flip the script on the border crisis in a federal lawsuit against the city alleging that its ordinance banning unannounced migrant drop-offs is unconstitutional and punishes transportation companies working with Texas, court documents show.
Wynne Transportation LLC is fighting new restrictions in Chicago against buses dropping off one-way passengers without prior notice.
The ordinance does not specifically mention immigration, but city leaders have acknowledged it is in response to the influx of more than 30,000 migrants arriving from Texas on government-contracted charter buses, often dropped off on street corners with little or no notice.
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.
How can this be prosecuted as trafficking?
edit: Thank you everyone for all the responses. I appreciate it.
there’s no way that texas would lie to these people or force them onto the buses. they’re the model state of integrity and human rights.
That’s not enough to qualify for trafficking, you need the second part about labor/sex. Just sending a bunch of people to another state doesn’t qualify.
Putting people onto a bus by use of force, fraud, or coercion, by itself, doesn’t seem to meet the definition of trafficking.
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.
Am I wrong? What am I missing?
So, just to be clear, you’re OK with someone telling you to get on the bus? A bus headed to a location they aren’t telling you about?
What if they took you to the train station and loaded you on a box car with a bunch of other people, is that OK?
I agree, not trafficking. It’s just run of the mill false imprisonment and kidnapping.
Human trafficking is defined in the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, as “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation”.
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/faqs.html#h1
I don’t think Texas’ intent here is benevolent, and I don’t think they are doing it without getting what they want.
Pretty sure it fits the definition.
However, it’s not a clear cut case. Legally, the exploitation would have to be proven. IE who & how the people behind it are exploiting vulnerable immigrants.
Don’t get fooled into “it’s only human trafficking if it’s transporting for sex/profit”. It’s a much broader definition
Fine, let’s call it what it really is: kidnapping.
https://www.findlaw.com/state/texas-law/texas-kidnapping-laws.html
https://www.findlaw.com/state/illinois-law/illinois-kidnapping-laws.html
Driving someone to chicago and dropping them off isn’t trafficking, but there is most definitely a slew of child-labor happening in this country, and the majority of the children involved are migrants who illegally crossed the border. There’s a lot of coverage about this if you look for it. I imagine that Texas might be involved in some part of that process if they’re the ones handling these people.
Edit: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173697113/immigrant-child-labor-crisis
