According to the Trafficking in Persons 2010 report released by the U.S. Department of State, 14 cases of human trafficking victims in the CNMI were assisted through a local non-government organization funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In the CNMI, the report said, forced labor and forced prostitution have been high-profile issues, and this is why a federal labor ombudsman operates in the commonwealth.
“This office has documented labor abuses as well as numerous claims of foreign women forced into prostitution,” the report stated.
It said traffickers have been prosecuted for forcing Chinese women into prostitution in a karaoke bar as well as forcing Filipinos into commercial sexual exploitation.
Labor trafficking was also a concern, the report said, because temporary guests workers exceed the number of U.S. citizens in the commonwealth.
The report said the insular areas are a destination for men and women subjected to forced labor, debt bondage, and forced prostitution.
“The U.S. government holds a unique relationship with each insular possession. While the U.S. constitutional prohibition of involuntary servitude and anti-trafficking statutes apply in all areas subject to U.S. jurisdiction, systemic issues prevent full enforcement of the law,” the report said.
For instance, the report noted, American Samoa controls its own immigration and labor laws, including its temporary worker programs, as did CNMI until its recent federal transition.
