Speaker for the Living

Amanda Finger, Executive Director and Founder, and Dr. Annie Miller, Co-Principal Investigator of the Colorado Project, from the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking in Denver, Colorado, discuss their recently released Colorado Project 2.0 to Comprehensively Combat Human Trafficking and their related Action Plan. Their community-based research project encompassed 183 individual surveys, 69 organizational interviews, and 29 focus groups from across Colorado.

Sources:

* The Colorado Project 2.0, The Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking

Seth and JJ explain what a T Visa and U Visa are, and how they can help victims of human trafficking get temporary nonimmigrant status. They also explain how Trump administration policies have affected these visa, including how they are slowing down processing times. Nevertheless, applications numbers have risen, but so have denials since 2016 along with a growing backlog of pending applications.

Sources:

Information for Law Enforcement Agencies and Judges, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-human-trafficking-other-crimes

T Visa Applicants Must Have Been “Trafficked” Into the U.S., NOLO

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/differences-between-t-u-visas.html

Victims of Human Trafficking: T Nonimmigrant Status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-human-trafficking-other-crimes/victims-human-trafficking-t-nonimmigrant-status

Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-human-trafficking-other-crimes/victims-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status/victims-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status

Human Trafficking Victims Blocked from Visas by Trump Wage Boss, Bloomberg

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/human-trafficking-victims-blocked-from-visas-by-trump-wage-boss

* Trump Wage Chief Adds Visa Hurdles for Trafficking Victims (2), Bloomberg Law

* How Trump Is ‘Destroying Protections’ for Victims of Human Trafficking, World Politics Review

* It Is Now Even Harder for Trafficking Survivors to Get Visas, The Appeal

* Trump immigration policies may interfere with human trafficking prosecution, The Colleges of Law Blog

Fewer Undocumented Immigrant Crime Victims Are Stepping Forward, WNYC

* Number of Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant StatusBy Fiscal Year, Quarter, and Case StatusFiscal Years 2008-2019 (Fiscal Year 2019, Quarter 2), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

* Number of Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status By Fiscal Year, Quarter, and Case Status Fiscal Years 2009-2019 (Fiscal Year 2019, Quarter 2), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Jeffrey Epstein has been arrested and formerly charged with sex trafficking by the Southern District of New York. Seth and JJ discuss the new charges and information that has come to light.

Sources:

* Jeffrey Epstein Is Accused of Luring Girls to His Manhattan Mansion and Abusing Them, The New York Times

* $56 Million Upper East Side Mansion Where Epstein Allegedly Abused Girls, The New York Times

* Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Once Hosted a Party for “28 Girls” at Mar-a-Lago, VICE

* "So. More on the modern slave trade...", Virginia Heffernan

* Julie K. Brown: "Quite A Few Powerful And Important" Names Will Come Up In Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Case, RealClearPolitics

* Why Q-Anon Is Celebrating the Arrest of Jeffrey Epstein, Washington Monthly

* The next big question about Jeffrey Epstein, CNN

* United States of America v. Jeffrey Epstein, United States District Court Southern District of New York

* More Than a Dozen Jeffrey Epstein Accusers Have Come Forward Since His Indictment, Rolling Stone

* Jeffrey Epstein is worth more than $500 million, paid off potential witnesses, prosecutors say in child sex traffic case, CNBC

* What’s the Deal with the Bizarre Temple-Like Structure on Jeffrey Epstein’s Private Island?, Law & Crime

* How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime, Miami Herald

Seth and JJ discuss Joss Whedon's most controversial work, Dollhouse, which intersects with themes of human trafficking, prostitution, ownership, identity, and consent. While it's been 10 years since Dollhouse debuted for a two season run, Dollhouse's complex portrayal of trafficking is still good for a nuanced conversation of the issues.

Sources:

* Dollhouse, Hulu

* Why Dollhouse Really Is Joss Whedon's Greatest Work, Gizmodo

* In defence of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, Den of Geek

* Joss Whedon's Dollhouse: Confounding Purpose, Confusing Identity - Edited by Sherry Ginn, Alyson R. Buckman, and Heather M. Porter

* lnside Joss' Dollhouse - Edited by Jane Espenson

* Joss Whedon and Religion: Essays on an Angry Atheist's Explorations of the Sacred - Edited by Anthony R. Mills, John W. Morehead, and J. Ryan Parker

* Joss Whedon Versus the Corporation: Big Business Critiqued in the Films and Television Programs - Erin Giannini

* The Philosophy of Joss Whedon - Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider

* Reading Joss Whedon - Edited by Rhonda V. Wilcox, Tanya R. Cochran, Cynthea Masson, and David Lavery

 

Seth and JJ gives updates on previous trafficking stories they've covered. NXIVM leaders Allison Mack pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering charges. We find out who the primary victim was for Jeffrey Epstein's case. Law enforcement backtracks on their claims that sex trafficking occurred at the Orchard Spa where Robert Kraft was a client. Cases are costing R Kelly money and he claims victimhood. Lindsey Lohan admits she misread a situation she's now Instafamous for. And Chloe Ayling feels vindicated after her trafficker was convicted and sentenced.

Sources:

Here Are All the Major Players in the NXIVM Case, Where Women Were Allegedly Held as 'Sex Slaves', TIME

She was the victim in Jeffrey Epstein’s secret plea deal. She didn’t even know it, Miami Herald

New Jeffrey Epstein accuser goes public; defamation lawsuit targets Dershowitz, Miami Herald

Prosecutors Say There’s No Evidence of Sex Trafficking In Robert Kraft Case, Rolling Stone

R. Kelly breaks his silence on sexual abuse claims: "I have been assassinated", CBS

R. Kelly reportedly has only $625 to his name after string of legal battles, AJC

Lindsay Lohan Finally Addressed That Video of Her Being Punched in the Face, The Cut

Lindsay Lohan Says She’s “Learned” from Her Instagram Mistakes, Vanity Fair

Kidnapped model says she made abductor ‘fall in love’ to escape, NY Post

Kidnapped model Chloe Ayling: ‘People didn't believe me because I wasn't in tears', The Guardian

Photo: The Blue Diamond Gallery

 

 

Seth and JJ review the movie Nona, primarily analyzing how it portrays human trafficking. The movie has an intelligent script, strong characterization, and beautiful cinematography shot on location in multiple countries. It's depiction of trafficking is more nuanced than most films involving trafficking, with the focus more on dialogue and interactions within relationships. Sadly, the movie falls apart in the final scene.

Spoilers ahead. This is the story of Nona (Sulem Calderon), who met a guy named Hecho (Jesy McKinney) in her hometown in Honduras. He offered to travel with her to the United States, where she hoped to reunite with her mother, but upon crossing the border, found herself trafficked. During the first two-thirds of the movie, she and Hecho traveled through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. We are given glimpses of her life through the well-crafted dialogue between the characters. This part of her journey resembled a travelogue similar to movies like Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise. Once she arrived in the United States, a madame greeted her and sex trafficked her within a brothel. The story then focused on the relationships between the women there, telling their stories through conversations and showing them dancing, doing nails, and painting faces. The oppression and control were also conveyed, but the focus was on the agency of the women within that limited space, which is a refreshing and realistic portrayal of trafficking. When Nona was sent to the store by the madame, she was stopped by a police officer who was both racist and unsympathetic. At the police station, a detective (Kate Bosworth) talked at Nona, telling the victim what her experience was, in English, without knowing what Nona has been through or who she was. Aside from being unrealistic, it was controlling. Nona is an above-average movie about human trafficking, but the poorly written ending makes it hard to recommend, unless to show what happens when law enforcement has insufficient victim identification training and doesn't use a victim-centered approach.

Sources:

* Nona, Tricoast

* Photo: Provided by Tricoast

 

The Trump Administration claims a humanitarian crisis at the "southern border as human traffickers victimize countless women and children." JJ examines what Trump has said about human trafficking and at looks Trump administration policies, including the wall, and how their claims compare to statistics.

Sources:

* Remarks: Donald Trump Discusses Human Trafficking and the Border - February 1, 2019, Factbase

* Human Trafficking News, US Department of Justice

* Thirty-Six Defendants Guilty For Their Roles In International Thai Sex Trafficking Organization, US State Attorney's Office District of Minnesota

* Texas couple convicted of keeping African girl as slave for 16 years, Independent

* Interview: Donald Trump Interviewed by Margaret Brennan on CBS's Face the Nation - February 3, 2019, Factbase

* Tim Ballard: I've fought sex trafficking at the border. This is why we need a wall, Desert News

* 2018 TIP Report, United States, US Department of State

* Attorney General TIP Report FY2017, Scribd

* Speech: Donald Trump Delivers the State of the Union - February 5, 2019, Factbase

* The Human Trafficking Legal Center

* US v. Mustafa Et Al Superseding Indictment, Scribd

* Yes, There Was Duct Tape: The Harrowing Journeys of Migrants Across the Border, The New York Times

* Leader of Virginia Sex Trafficking Ring Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison, NBC Washington

* Federal Prosecution of Human Trafficking Cases, 2015, Bureau of Justice Statistics

* Aaron Rupar, Twitter

* What is Decrim? The many places of prostitution in law, The Naked Anthropologist

* Donald Trump Paid $1.4 Million in a Dispute Over Undocumented Workers. Read the Newly Unsealed Legal Papers, Time

* Trump’s golf course employed undocumented workers — and then fired them amid showdown over border wall, The Washington Post

Seth draws on his experience living in New Zealand to reflect on the country and discusses "The Great Replacement" narrative that has seeped into the mainstream right, and how these narratives can increase dehumanization and marginalization, which can make people more vulnerable to various forms of exploitation, including human trafficking.

Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse case is facing renewed scrutiny due to the way his case was handling, which included not properly notifying victims about the plea deal, which was really lenient given what he was accused of. Seth and JJ go through the timeline of accusations and reported evidence, along with how the plea deal came about. Epstein's connections to Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are also briefly explored.

Sources:

* Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who is friends with Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, explained, Vox

* Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein: I’m a sex offender, not a predator, New York Post

* Flight Logs Put Clinton, Dershowitz on Pedophile Billionaire’s Sex Jet, Gawker

* Flight logs show Bill Clinton flew on sex offender's jet much more than previously known, Fox News

* Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery, New York Magazine

* The Friendship Between Trump And A Billionaire Pedophile That Nobody Wants To Talk About, The Daily Caller

* Pedophile Pleaded The Fifth When Asked If He Was Friends With Bill Clinton, The Daily Caller

* Why The New Child Rape Case Filed Against Donald Trump Should Not Be Ignored, HuffPost

* Complaint for Rape, Sexual Midconduct, Criminal Sexual Acts, Sexual Abuse, Forcible Touching, Assult, Battery, International and Reckless Infliction of Emotional Distress, Duress, False Imprisonment, and Defamation, Scribed

* Bill Clinton drawn into Prince Andrew sex scandal, The Sydney Morning Herald

* Conservative Scold Ken Starr Got a Billionaire Pedophile Off, Daily Beast

* How Did Trump and Clinton Pal Jeffrey Epstein Escape #MeToo?, Daily Beast

* For years, Jeffrey Epstein abused teen girls, police say. A timeline of his case, Miami Herald

* Explore Epstein's connections, Miami Herald

* Even from jail, sex abuser manipulated the system. His victims were kept in the dark, Miami Herald

* Cops worked to put serial sex abuser in prison. Prosecutors worked to cut him a break, Miami Herald

* How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime, Miami Herald

*

Patriot's owner Robert Kraft was charged in Florida for solicitation of prostitution. Lanyun Ma of the East Spa was charged with human trafficking. JJ discusses massage parlors, the prostitution sting of the Johns, the situation the victims were in, and how this appears to be a case involving human trafficking.

Sources:

* Trafficking probe that ensnared Robert Kraft began when inspector saw signs women lived at spa, CNN

* Florida sex trafficking bust is bigger than Robert Kraft -- Here’s why it matters, Fox News

* Victims of alleged human-trafficking ring that ensnared Robert Kraft were forced to live in massage parlors and perform sex acts, according to police, Business Insider

* Masseuses, men, and massage parlors: An expoloratory descriptive study, Women & Criminal Justice

* Methodological and Ethical Challenges to Conducting Human Trafficking Studies: A Case Study of Korean Trafficking and Smuggling for Sexual Exploitation to the United States, Women & Criminal Justice

* Why is there only one human trafficking charge in Florida massage parlor busts?, USA Today

'No Allegations of Human Trafficking' and 'Women Could've Walked Out' In Florida Massage-Parlor Prostitution Stings, Reason

* Probable Cause Affidavit, Jupiter Police Department

* Massage Parlor Trafficking, Polaris

Photo: Local10