Phoenix, AZ -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/27/2014 -- Immigrants are the ones that are found to be vulnerable groups that ill minded traffickers target. The immigrants’ need to be in other countries to work and to have a bright future are some of the main reasons that they want to go overseas. These are usually what traffickers promise the helpless victims. Victims are usually hooked with the traffickers’ words not knowing what lies ahead.

Human trafficking is also existent in the U.S. There are advocates and organizations that aim to stop this activity and help the victims. These concerned individuals and group seem to fall short in helping the victims as they also have to secure their safety towards achieving liberty. This is a complicated issue to deal with. And the clear solution to somehow resolve and eventually eradicate this is through immigration reform. Immigration reform is the most efficient way to combat modern day slavery – human trafficking – in this country.

Immigration status is one of the biggest hindrances that human trafficking are facing. Traffickers are using deportation as threats and play with the victims’ minds. This leaves the victims’ status caught in the crossroads of bondage and liberty. Language and other social barriers add to the immigrants’ nightmare and hold them captive. Isolated, these victims can’t seek help or maybe don’t even know that there’s help available.

Say these victims escaped from traffickers’ leash, does that mean “Goodbye slavery and hello freedom!”? Not yet. Chances are these victims might not qualify for immigration reliefs.

The truth is, immigration law is as difficult as the tax law. Only a few know it, and yet it impacts millions of people. And the most affected ones are the undocumented immigrants who are victims of human trafficking.

U.S immigration laws make it possible for undocumented immigrants to achieve legalized status through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. But the system doesn’t seem to give victims much favor for it takes years for applications to be processed. Even with 5000 visas available yearly for these victims, the number doesn’t come close to the actual number of individuals who need it. Approximately, there are 17,500 human trafficking victims that enter the United States according to the State Department.

Another reason that these victims remain captive is that these individuals hide, like most of the undocumented immigrants, under the shades of society – not knowing that there are ways to secure their status. Immigration reform can shed some light and help spread the word that there is actually help available for these individuals to legalize their status.

Community activists and immigration are fighting to deconstruct the immigrant victims’ mindset about themselves. These individuals and groups are trying to boost these victims’ morale by enlightening them that there are ways to legalize their status. Yet, victims sense the political fervor over immigration, hearing at the back of their minds that all illegals should be deported.

Raising immigrant victims’ awareness is no use if the victim is too afraid of deportation to seek help. Continue to raise awareness about human trafficking! There’s nothing to lose but take action on the broken immigration system. It’s about time!

About Juras Law Firm, PLC
Juras Law Firm, PLC provides practical legal solutions to problems in the areas of Immigration Law, International Law, Bankruptcy Law and Business Law. They are an international law firm based in Phoenix, Arizona, and are dedicated to providing the highest quality of legal services. Their firm represents a diverse clientele: large corporations, small and medium-size businesses, start-up companies, entrepreneurs and individuals. They focus their practice on legal matters ranging from immigration to bankruptcy to international business law.