Migrant Labor in Washington State: Smuggling or Trafficking?

In the 1990s, the problem of trafficking emerged internationally and in the United States of America. Conflicts between trafficking and smuggling have brought to the attention of the general public and the government via legislation. Smuggling and trafficking are different crimes and the terms cannot be used interchangeably. There is a clear distinction between smuggling and human trafficking. How can smuggling be distinguished from trafficking? This topic has not been thoroughly explored, and more studies will be needed to determine a possible solution. Smuggling has always been a problem in America. According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODS), individuals who are smuggled are vulnerable to abuse and can be exploited. Smugglers take advantage of the migrants that are willing to breach the law when they do not have legal access of migration (UNODS, 2013). The US Department of State began to monitor trafficking in person in 1994 when the Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices began to cover trafficking victims (Human trafficking.org, 2013). However, their focus was on women and girls for sexual purposes but now it has expanded (Human trafficking.org, 2013). This poster illustrates the essential differences and links them with policy solutions that begin with careful timely assessment of detainees at the border