Migrant intercourse trafficking survivor speaks out: ‘I noticed good folks die’

Heartbreaking photos of minors on the southern border—alone and clutching nothing however a bit of paper—have change into tragically acquainted. In line with border patrol knowledge, since President Biden took workplace in 2021, practically 540,000 unaccompanied kids have been apprehended on the southern border. Many of those kids fall prey to intercourse traffickers, going through unimaginable situations and exploitation.

Fox Information lately spoke with a 20-year-old intercourse trafficking survivor, whose identification we agreed to hide for his security. He nonetheless lives in concern that his captors will discover him. Trafficked from South America to Mexico after which throughout the border, he was lastly rescued on the age of 18 and delivered to Bob’s Home of Hope.

Bob’s Home of Hope is the primary secure home within the nation devoted particularly to male intercourse trafficking survivors. The sufferer shared harrowing particulars of his expertise: trafficked six to eight occasions a day, crushed, and threatened with demise if he dared to talk out. 

“I noticed good folks die,” he mentioned.

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A male migrant intercourse trafficking survivor speaks with Fox Information. (Fox Information)

Bob Williams, the founding father of the secure home, was impressed to create this refuge after his personal experiences. 

“They only really feel that it simply occurs to women and girls,” Williams mentioned. “And that is the issue. That is the stigma that now we have to vary. The actual fact is that we imagine as much as 50% of human trafficking victims are boys and males.”

Bob’s Home of Hope welcomes each U.S. residents and migrants. He works with legislation enforcement companies, together with the Division of Homeland Safety and FBI.

“As a survivor, I mentioned we’re going to take anyone as a result of these youngsters which might be migrants are protected beneath the Federal Intercourse Trafficking Act,” Williams defined.

Shockingly, many victims at Bob’s Home of Hope have been trafficked by their very own households, considered as nothing greater than greenback indicators.

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“Most of those youngsters are trafficked by anyone they know, whether or not it is an uncle, a neighbor, or another person,” Williams famous.

Williams describes a disturbing cycle: many migrants are labor trafficked in the course of the day after which compelled into intercourse trafficking at night time.

A typical query he says he hears is, “Why can’t the boys escape?” He explains that not solely are they threatened with violence, however they’re additionally managed by dependancy, particularly fentanyl.

Round $4 million value of fentanyl seized by the LAPD sits on a desk. Human traffickers deliberately foster fentanyl addictions of their victims, which they then use as one other technique to manage them, Bob Williams mentioned. (LAPD)

“This fentanyl downside is so critical that they hook these younger folks on medicine,” he mentioned. “That, mixed with the concern of threats in opposition to their households, is controlling.”

A latest Workplace of Inspector Normal report revealed that ICE misplaced observe of tens of 1000’s of unaccompanied minors in simply the previous few years. Williams expresses little doubt that many of those kids have been trafficked.

“We all know that a whole lot of these kids have been offered to gangs or trafficking teams by their households,” he said. “Predators prey on susceptible youngsters. We had a case the place a younger man was making an attempt to reunite along with his household in Florida and was picked up by a gang beneath the guise of offering a trip to Miami. However that trip by no means materialized.”

The mission of Bob’s Home of Hope is to assist heal the trauma these younger males have skilled. This system lasts 4 years, providing housing, a secure area with remedy, animals, and training. 

Bob Williams based Bob’s Home of Hope to assist male victims of intercourse trafficking. (Fox Information)

After completion, the objective is for them to transition to impartial residing, geared up with a automotive, a job, and the chance to pursue school.

Landon Dickeson, the chief working officer of Bob’s Home of Hope and a therapist, sheds gentle on the challenges these younger migrants face. 

“From delivery, they have been usually rejected by their dad and mom and grandparents, continuously offered for cash to be delivered to the US for additional abuse,” Dickeson defined. “They arrive right here confused, don’t converse the language, and battle to navigate our methods, making them extremely susceptible.”

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The survivor we spoke to expressed gratitude for the sense of household and luxury he has discovered on the secure home, and hope for a greater life. 

“All I can say is don’t lose hope, don’t surrender. There’s all the time a light-weight on the finish of the tunnel,” he mentioned.

Williams believes that alongside tightening border safety, there have to be harsher penalties for traffickers and complicit relations, in addition to elevated funding for packages like his that assist victims.