Attorney Alex Meyerovich Speaks Out Against Human Trafficking

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- M.C. Law Group Attorney Alex Meyerovich spoke out recently against the rise of human trafficking, also known as "modern day slavery," in the United States.

Reported cases of human trafficking have risen 60% in 2011 compared to 2010, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (HTRS). In fact, reported cases of human trafficking have been steadily increasing for the last five years. Attorney Meyerovich offered a simple explanation for this increase in human trafficking during a recent interview with Connecticut News12.

"Human trafficking is a lucrative business. It generates billions," said Attorney Meyerovich of the industry.

Human trafficking occurs when a victim is held hostage and forced to work against their will. Victims are commonly coerced into becoming commercial sex workers, drug traffickers, or laborers in unregulated industries. Additionally, these victims are often held in deplorable conditions, and suffer physical and sexual abuse.

Local attorneys like Meyerovich are speaking out alongside lawmakers to raise awareness about this prolific, but often unnoticed, human rights issue. In fact, Senator Richard Blumenthal recently joined with Senator Robert Portman of Ohio to co-chair the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking. The caucus will provide a platform for its thirteen members to combat human trafficking and promote increased awareness about this serious issue.

"This kind of modern day slavery is intolerable," Senator Blumenthal told Connecticut News 12. "These people are treated as inhuman."

Human trafficking goes unnoticed by most citizens because victims are often hidden in plain sight. Traffickers prey on society's most vulnerable, targeting children and young girls, disabled individuals, and illegal immigrants. These vulnerable victims are not likely to seek help for fear of retribution: if they attempt to escape or alert authorities, they suffer horrific abuse and threats of violence -- or worse.

"If they don't obey, they're likely to be killed," Meyerovich said of the impossible situation these victims are placed in.

Attorney Meyerovich, whose firm specializes in immigration law, knows how particularly susceptible illegal immigrants are to human traffickers. Meyerovich explained that immigrants pay alien smugglers exorbitant fees to be brought into the U.S. illegally. Once they arrive, the smugglers demand additional payment for their services, which immigrants cannot afford. They are then coerced into forced labor to repay their "debts," and are held hostage indefinitely. Victims are constantly intimidated with threats of being reported to immigration enforcement, and even the murder of themselves and their loved ones.

"These immigrants risk everything for a better life in the U.S., and instead are forced to endure a nightmare of unimaginable abuse when they arrive," said Attorney Meyerovich. "They are scared, often don't speak English, and have no knowledge that U.S. immigration laws protect victims of human trafficking, regardless of their legal status."

However, U.S. citizens are just as vulnerable to being forced into labor in their own country. While HTRS reports 70% of labor trafficking victims are undocumented immigrants, 80% of sex trafficking victims are U.S. citizens.

"Most American citizens would react with fury and outrage if they knew about it," Senator Blumenthal commented.

Local attorneys like Meyerovich and prominent lawmakers like Senator Blumenthal hope that increased awareness about human trafficking will help turn the tide against modern day slavery. To learn more about human trafficking, including how to recognize victims and report suspected cases, visit the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. To learn more about Senator Blumenthal's involvement in the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking, visit his official website.

To watch the full interview featuring Attorney Meyerovich and Senator Blumenthal, watch the video below.

Eligible Haiti Nationals Reminded to Re-register for Temporary Protected Status by November 30, 2012

Eligible nationals of Haiti (and persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) who currently have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) must  re-register for TPS by November 30, 2012. Failure to re-register by this deadline may result in the loss of your TPS status. If you re-register after November 30 2012, you must provide good reason you could not re-register on time such as hardship due to Hurricane Sandy.

Details and procedures for re-registering for TPS are provided on the USCIS website and in the Federal Register notice announcing the extension of TPS for Haiti.

TPS was originally designated for Haiti in January 2010 in response to a catastrophic earthquake that devastated that country. TPS was re-designated in May 2011 (effective July 2011). The current 18-month extension of TPS for Haiti will remain in effect through July 22, 2014.

Also, if you have applied for and are awaiting a new Haiti TPS-related Employment Authorization Document (EAD), your current EAD, set to expire on January 22, 2013, has been automatically extended for 6 months. The 6-month auto-extension of EADs runs through July 22, 2013, as described in the Federal Register published on October 1, 2012 (77 FR 59943). These auto-extended EADs have “A12” or “C19” listed under “category” on the front of the card and an expiration date of January 22, 2012.

When providing proof of employment eligibility remember to provide both your EAD with the January 22, 2012 expiration date and a copy of the October 1, 2012 Federal Register notice to your employer.  For further guidance for employers and employees, please refer to the USCIS Web page, "Documentation Employers May Accept and Temporary Protected Status Beneficiaries May Present as Evidence of Employment Eligibility."

For more information on TPS, visit www.uscis.gov/tps. For additional information, applicants may also contact USCIS at 1-800-375-5283.

Owner of Chicago Massage Parlor Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sex Trafficking and Harboring Illegal Aliens

A former northwest suburban massage parlor owner was sentenced Monday, November 26, 2012, to life in federal prison for crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, harboring illegal aliens, confiscating passports to further forced labor, and extortion. These crimes were committed against four foreign women whom he mentally and physically abused while forcing them to work for him.

The life sentence resulted from a joint investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Cook County Sheriff's Office. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office assisted in the investigation, which was coordinated by the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force.

Alex Campbell, 47, formerly of Glenview, Ill., operated the Day and Night Spa on Northwest Highway in Mt. Prospect, Ill. He used violence and threats of violence to force three women from Ukraine and one from Belarus to work for him without pay and, at times, little to no subsistence between July 2008 and January 2010.

Campbell, aka "Dave" and "Daddy," called himself "Cowboy." He was sentenced to life in prison Nov. 26 by U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, Northern District of Illinois, and ordered to pay about $124,000 restitution. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
"They (the victims) have a life sentence – all of them...and their life sentence at your hands compels a life sentence for you," Judge Gettleman said in imposing sentence.

Campbell was convicted at trial in January of three counts each of forced labor, harboring illegal aliens for financial gain, and confiscating passports and other immigration documents to force the victims to work, and one count each of sex trafficking by force, and extortion. He faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life on the sex-trafficking count alone, and the judge also imposed maximum prison terms ranging from five to 20 years on each of the remaining counts, to run concurrent with the life sentence.

"The seriousness of Campbell's crimes cannot be overstated, nor could the government put into words the magnitude of harm or the life-altering consequences of Campbell's actions...An evaluation of the seriousness of what Campbell has done must necessarily begin by looking at his victims, whose lives he upended, dreams he shattered, ideals he undermined, and whose faith in humanity he so cruelly crushed," the government argued in urging a life sentence.

"If you treat human beings as property, to be branded, beaten, raped and sold, the law will punish you to the greatest extent possible," said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. "This sentence ensures Alex Campbell's incapacitation, which will prevent him from victimizing other women."

"Alex Campbell abused women by violently coercing them into labor and commercial sex. By working together with law enforcement and community groups, those women were able to testify about that abuse," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Today's sentence is a victory not only for the department and the Human Trafficking Task Force, but also for those women who so bravely came forward and told the truth about their exploitation."

"This life sentence sends a clear message to those who think they can callously prey upon vulnerable women to turn a profit," said Gary J. Hartwig, special agent-in-charge of HSI Chicago. "The servitude, abuse and torture of other human beings will not be tolerated. HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who engage in human trafficking are held accountable for their actions."

Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, whose sheriff's police initiated the investigation, said, "I am extremely proud of the effort and resolution of all the agencies involved with the successful investigation, conviction and now sentencing of such a violent individual."

All four victims testified as government witnesses at trial, as well as co-defendant Danielle John, 25, who pleaded guilty before trial to two counts of harboring illegal aliens for financial gain. She was sentenced previously to three years' probation. In addition to the trial victims, the government presented evidence of about 20 women victimized by Campbell.

The trial showed that Campbell recruited and groomed foreign women without legal status in the United States to become part of his "family," which he claimed was an international organization that would provide them with support. He offered them jobs in his massage parlor, a place to live, assistance with immigration, and lured each of them to enter into a romantic relationship with him. After gaining their trust, he forced the victims to get tattooed with his moniker, which he said made them his property and allowed him to stop paying them. At the same time, he acquired the women's passports and visas. The women were forced to work long hours every day and do as Campbell instructed them, and they were beaten and punished if they disobeyed him.

Trial testimony established that Campbell confiscated passports and identity documents from three of the victims, as well as harbored and transported them to ensure their continued labor.

Campbell forced one victim to engage in commercial sex acts with customers at other massage parlors, but not at the Day and Night Spa, which testimony showed he operated "cleanly" to avoid problems with law enforcement. He extorted another victim to pay him more than $25,000 to leave the "family" by threatening to send a sexually explicit video recording to her parents in Belarus.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane MacArthur and Steven Grimes, Northern District of Illinois, and John Richmond, Special Litigation Counsel with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, successfully prosecuted the case.

Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes that HSI investigates. In its worst manifestation, human trafficking is akin to modern-day slavery. HSI relies on tips from the public to dismantle these organizations. Trafficking victims are often hidden in plain sight, voiceless and scared. HSI encourages the public to report suspicious activity by calling HSI's Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or report tips online.

Columbian Criminal Defense Attorney and Government Employee Arrested for Selling Confidential U.S. Extradition Information to Drug Traffickers

Early Friday, November 16, 2012, in Bogotá, two Colombian nationals were arrested for obstructing justice by selling sensitive and confidential U.S. law enforcement information to a narcotics trafficker, concerning prosecutions in New York. The arrests are the result of an extensive investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Freddy Mauricio Tellez-Buitrago and Adriana Gonzalez-Marquez were arrested Friday, November 16, 2012. Tellez-Buitrago is employed as an administrative services assistant at the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia, International Affairs. Gonalez-Marquez, a former prosecutor at the attorney general's office, is now a Colombian criminal defense attorney. The indictment charging the defendants with obstruction of justice was unsealed Nov. 16 in New York.

The defendants' arrests resulted from an HSI investigation which revealed that Tellez-Buitrago had specialized access to law enforcement materials, including requests from the U.S. government for the extradition of alleged Colombian drug traffickers. Typically, the Colombian authorities treat such extradition requests as sensitive and confidential until the arrest of the individual whose extradition is sought. Tellez-Buitrago is charged with accepting bribes from Gonzalez-Marquez in exchange for leaking documents relating to U.S. extradition requests for narcotics traffickers. Gonzalez-Marquez, in turn, allegedly sold the information to a narcotics trafficker for $30,000.

"The defendants allegedly abused their positions of trust by conspiring to sell confidential and law enforcement sensitive documents to criminal organizations," said James T. Hayes Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New York. "This betrayal jeopardizes the integrity of the criminal justice system and threatens the safety of federal agents in the United States and Colombia. The arrests of Gonzalez-Marquez and Tellez-Buitrago are a culmination of the joint efforts between HSI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Colombian authorities to root out those individuals with the potential to undermine an international investigation."

"Extradition requests are part of the fabric of international criminal law, and contain some of the most sensitive information transmitted between countries," said U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York. "The defendants are charged with leaking this sensitive and confidential intelligence information in pursuit of dollars and pesos. To satisfy their own greed, the defendants attempted to compromise the judicial process, obstructing justice here and in Colombia, and placing the lives of law enforcement personnel and potential witnesses in jeopardy. They plotted to capitalize on the borders that divide our countries. But the defendants did not anticipate the international cooperation of law enforcement in the United States and Colombia. We will continue to take every action necessary to ensure that the international criminal justice system is never corrupted."

"Turning his back on our justice system, Tellez-Buitrago allegedly used his clerical position to provide confidential information in exchange for cash," said Brian Crowell, special agent in charge of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York. "Had it not been for our diligent investigators, this information could have jeopardized U.S. and Colombian law enforcement missions. Tellez-Buitrago and Gonzalez-Marquez's alleged criminal acts would have facilitated drug trafficking organizations attempts to poison our communities."

If convicted, Tellez-Buitrago and Gonzalez-Marquez each face up to 20 years in federal prison.
This investigation was led by HSI, with the assistance of the DEA, Colombian National Police and the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Soumya Dayananda, Eastern District of New York, is prosecuting this case on behalf of the U.S. government.

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Alien Smuggling Scheme that Resulted in Fatality

A south Texas man pleaded guilty Wednesday, November 14, 2012, to alien smuggling and harboring that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old Mexican national in September 2011, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Lewey Martinez, 31, of Falfurrias, pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to alien smuggling and harboring before Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack. The government detailed that for five years, Martinez coordinated transporting aliens around the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint in Falfurrias. On the evening of Sept. 15, 2011, Martinez arranged for about 20 illegal aliens to hike around the checkpoint with the assistance of brush guides. After walking around the checkpoint, the aliens were driven to a stash house on Martinez's property.

Shortly after the group's arrival, two brush guides drove to the stash house with an additional alien who died from exposure and dehydration. Martinez and two others loaded the victim's body into a pickup truck and drove it to a public intersection. Martinez then called the emergency operator from a payphone and directed police to the body.

Following his arrest, Martinez admitted his role in the smuggling operation and his involvement in disposing the body.

Martinez faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 25. He will remain in federal custody pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Preston, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

USCIS Expands e-Request Immigration System

USCIS has expanded the services offered by the e-Request system.  This Web-based tool allows customers to inquire about applications and petitions submitted to USCIS.

On November 19, customers will see the following enhancements to e-Request:

               Create a service request for all forms to either inquire about the status of your application or petition if it is outside of the normal processing time OR notify USCIS about an administrative error in a notice or document the USCIS sent you.

               For Forms I-90 and N-400 only, inquire about an Application Support Center appointment notice or other notice you were expecting to receive.

               Accessibility to individuals with disabilities (section 508 compliant).

To submit an e-Request, please visit the USCIS e-Request home page and have your receipt number available. 

ICE PSA Raises Awareness About Human Trafficking

On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced the start of a national radio public service announcement (PSA) campaign to generate awareness about human trafficking.

The PSA will begin airing Nov. 14 on 24 English and 19 Spanish language radio stations in the following cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Saint Paul, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle, Tampa and Washington.

ICE's Hidden In Plain Sight campaign is part of the Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign and its goal is to alert the public about the existence of human trafficking in communities nationwide and prompt a call to action for individuals who encounter possible victims.

ICE has focused its efforts to educate the public about the plight of human trafficking victims. For this outreach effort the agency is turning to radio stations for assistance in generating awareness about human trafficking in the United States as well as for everyone to look for signs of this crime and report possible trafficking situations to safeguard victims.

If anyone knows or suspects someone is being held against their will, ICE strongly urges them to contact the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. Individuals can also view the television PSA online.