Garcia 1

Jovanna Garcia

Professor Batty

English 101

10 May 2018

In the Shadows: Abuse of Immigrants

Many illegal immigrants come to the United States looking for jobs to support their

families back in their country. In order to cross the U.S. border, they seek help from coyotes.

Coyotes are people who smuggle illegal immigrants into the U.S. for a living. Unfortunately,

many immigrants become victims of human smugglers who smuggle them into the U.S. with

other intentions. These intentions are to use immigrants for the sole purpose of human

trafficking. According to the article, “The Invisible Man: The Conscious Neglect of Men and

Boys in the War on Human Trafficking”, written by Samuel Vincent Jones in 2010, “Human

trafficking, [is] one of the world’s three most profitable criminal activities and affects a large

percentage of the U.S. population” (1147). Jones proves that human trafficking occurs in the

U.S. and that it is a big issue. In the novel “Still Water Saints” by Alex Espinoza, he writes about

many characters and their inner struggles. One of the characters is Rodrigo, a fifteen-year-old

boy from Michoacán, who is a victim of sex slavery in California. With this character the author

Espinoza makes us aware of the bigger issue in the U.S. which is sex slavery. Although, many

people believe women are the only victims of sex slavery, Espinoza shines a light on male sex

slavery, the injustice to illegal immigrants, and voicing the problem.

Males are also victims of sex slavery, specifically boys from fifteen years old and

younger. Throughout the world, boys are being taken advantage of and used as sex slaves. For

example, in Russia “a recent U.S. Customs operation, called “Operation Blue Orchid,”
 Garcia 2

uncovered a criminal network that extended from Russia to the United States and specialized in

filming and distributing footage illustrating the rape of boys” (Jones 1150). This describes how

boys in Russia are sex slaves by being raped for the reproduction of child pornography. Being

enslaved against their will by a big group of sex traffickers. Another way of boy sex slavery is

through pedophilia that occurs in churches. Missionaries are taking advantage of the trust from

young boys that they end up abusing them. According to Jones, “When the missionaries offered

to help it seemed like a dream come true for Kachepa [an 11-year-old boy] and the people in his

hometown [Zambian]. After Kachepa accepted the offer and reached the United States, the choir

director abused him and his fellow choirboys; denied them proper food, education, and adequate

housing; and routinely threatened them with deportation” (1186). In this case, missionaries

gained the victims’ and their families trust, so they can bring the boys to the United States. Then

they abuse them and enslave them with threats of deportation. These threats are meant to keep

the boys quiet about the abuse, so it can continue. Another example of church pedophilia is when

Espinoza emphasizes that churches are also involved in the boy sex trafficking business. He

writes, “Even some priests lure homeless boys in off the street and pass them off to Ignacio or

some other jefe who trades pollos” (Espinoza 167). The character Ignacio is a pimp who has his

own sex trafficking business of young boys. The priests in the novel use their holy status to

approach homeless boys with bad intentions. Clearly, priests can also be a part of the business

and cover up the issue. But, young boys aren’t the only victims of this injustice. In fact, many

illegal immigrants from around the world become victims as well.

The injustices done to illegal immigrants are forced labor and sexual exploitation through

human trafficking. Since some countries are poor, immigrants turn to crossing the border “with

the insatiable desire of some to migrate for employment, render this category of people
 Garcia 3

especially vulnerable to criminal networks, often facilitating an operational link between human

smuggling operations and human trafficking. After reaching the United States, the smuggled

migrant often loses his autonomy and consumerist identity and becomes a tool for generating

profit” (Jones 1153). Therefore, immigrants looking for jobs outside of their country become

easy targets of human trafficking. As Jones states in his article, “The victims are trafficked for

forced labor on farms; in restaurants, nursing homes, private homes, construction sites, and

factories; or are compelled to participate in the drug trade, gang activity, or sex” (1148-1149). In

other words, immigrants have no choice and free will once they are trafficked. Instead, they are

forced to do jobs with little to no pay. For example, men are given false hope that they will be

given a good paying job. But instead, they end up being slave laborers with no pay. Jones reveals

this issue of “the plight of hundreds of thousands of male farm laborers, who are confined and

forced to work on U.S. farms without pay, and routinely beaten, burned, and raped” (1144). Not

only are men used for free labor, they are also being mistreated and abused. Similarly, immigrant

women and girls are also victims of injustice. In particular, the injustice of sexual exploitation

that occurs in Asian countries. According to the article, “The Trafficking of Women and Girls in

Taiwan: Characteristics of Victims, Perpetrators, and Forms of Exploitation” by Lanying Huang,

“Sexual exploitation, which appears in the majority of available materials in Japan and Korea, is

most frequently cited as a form of HT, with women from Thailand, Philippines, Colombia and

Taiwan being trafficked to Japan and South Korea” (3). Meaning that human trafficking happens

in Asia just as it does in the United States. Also, that women in Asia are being used as sex slaves

against their will. Overall, immigrants regardless of gender suffer from injustices that Espinoza

wants people to be aware of.

 Garcia 4

Sex slavery is a problem that is being voiced through policies, laws, and movements

trying to put an end to it. For instance, the United Nations General Assembly took on the

Palermo Protocol in 2000 (Orme and Ross-Sheriff 289). The Palermo Protocol “helps prevent,

suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children” (Orme and Ross-

Sheriff 289). This protocol aids trafficking victims as well as prosecutes their traffickers. In

addition, the V-TVPA legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000. Which established

the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Interagency Task Force to

Monitor and Combat Trafficking (Orme and Ross-Sheriff 290). This legislation provides victims

with a T visa to stay in the United States as a resident. The T visa is only for human trafficking

victims and helps them stay for an investigation or prosecution of the trafficker. After three

years, the trafficking victim is granted permanent residency. Moreover, anti-trafficking

movements have also shown their support to the victims. One of the movements that help victims

of sex trafficking and forced labor is called the Polaris Project. According to the article “127

Anti-Human Trafficking Laws Passed”, “[Polaris] has been actively involved in drafting or

leading advocacy efforts around more than 127 bills at the state and federal level” (2016). The

Polaris Project is one of few movements that support trafficking victim rights. They also

advocate against human trafficking. It shows by their support towards bills and laws that fight to

end human trafficking. Their efforts show how invested they are in the fight to end human

trafficking.

In conclusion, the real-world issues that are brought to light in “Still Water Saints” are

male sex slavery, injustice to immigrants, and voicing the problem. Male sex slavery is one of

the issues that happens because of the demand of child pornography. Likewise, pedophilia in

churches also contributes to boy sex slavery. Another issue is the injustice to all immigrants
 Garcia 5

around the world who become victims of slave labor and sex exploitation. In addition, there are

people trying to fight this issue with laws, policies, and movements against sex slavery. For

example, Espinoza with his character Rodrigo, makes his readers aware of sex slavery.

Especially, cases that have to do with young boys which are overshadowed by female sex

slavery. Therefore, it is important to open our eyes to the real-world issues happening to young

boys and illegal immigrants.

 Garcia 6

Works Cited

Espinoza, Alex. Still Water Saints. Random House, Inc., 2007.

Jones, Samuel Vincent. "The Invisible Man: The Conscious Neglect of Men and Boys in the War

on Human Trafficking." Utah Law Review, vol. 2010, no. 4, Nov. 2010, pp. 1143-1188.

EBSCOhost, library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

ue&db=a9h&AN=64160459&site=eds-live. Accessed 6 May 2018.

Lanying, Huang. "The Trafficking of Women and Girls in Taiwan: Characteristics of Victims,

Perpetrators, and Forms of Exploitation." BMC Women's Health, vol. 17, 09 Nov. 2017,

p. 1.

EBSCOhost, library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

ue&db=edb&AN=126161532&site=eds-live. Accessed 6 May 2018.

“127 Anti-Human Trafficking Laws Passed.” Polaris, 4 Nov. 2016.

polarisproject.org/successes/127-anti-human-trafficking-laws-passed. Accessed 8 May

2018.

Orme, Julie and Fariyal Ross-Sheriff. "Sex Trafficking: Policies, Programs, and Services." Social

Work, vol. 60, no. 4, Oct. 2015, pp. 287-294. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/sw/swv031.

Accessed 6 May 2018.