Press Conference at Tom Lantos's Office

http://www.espu-ca.org



C/O San Francisco Labor Council 1188 Franklin #203, San Francisco,
California 94109



December 3, 2007 Contact: Maxine Doogan

For immediate release 415-265-3302

info [at] espca.org



Rally TO OPPOSE HR 3887 TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION
ACT 2007-2001



When: Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007 11:30 am



Where: US House Representative Tom Lantos' District Office

400 South El Camino Real Suite 410 San Mateo

Phone (650) 342-0300 or Fax (650) 375-8270



NO FEDERAL RAIDS; ARRESTS, DETENTIONS, OR DEPORATION UNDER THE GUISE OF
RESCUING SEX WORKERS.



US Congressman Tom Lantos of San Mateo County of California is the
Sponsor of HR 3887, The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act 2007-2011 (TVPRA) This bill would amend the Mann Act that
criminalizes interstate commerce, including prostitution to now
include, potentially all prostitution or at least all prostitution as
conducted on the internet to now be a federal crime. Previous versions
of the TVPRA defined all commercial sex ie prostitutes, porn stars,
webcam performers, exotic dancers and Asian massage parlor workers, as
'trafficked victims', a form of forced labor at the federal level.
HR 3887 would mandate that the FBI investigate and bring charges for
laws already on the books at the state level.



HR 3887 would also remove proof of forced labor as outlined currently
in the TVPRA, as "holding someone in a workplace through force, fraud
or coercion". The removal of such "force, fraud and coercion"
language would no longer be required to bring federal charges under the TVPRA.



The state department's estimates have been downgraded from 50,000
trafficked persons arriving in this country every year in 1999 to
14,500 to 17,500 in 2004. Since its inception, the TVPRA has funded 42
Justice Department task forces to spend more than $150 million federal
dollars to find 1,400 people that have been certified as human
trafficking victims in this country. That's $10,714.29 per victim
unit of service delivered by nonprofits who profit off of the
criminalization of migration and prostitution.



Previous versions of the TVPRA call for mapping the industry, which
University of San Francisco students and professor, David Batstone have
take up by employing hidden cameras to spy on Asian massage parlor
workers in San Francisco regularly under the guise of rescuing them.
"Clearly this action violates the privacy of a class of workers under
the guise of rescuing them cannot be considered acceptable human rights
activism," Said Lisa Roellig of the Erotic Service Providers Union, a
group that works to give voice to unorganized workers in the sex
industry. Roellig went on to say that this bill would "Criminalize
all erotic laborers and all sex industry workers who cross borders by
not differentiating between forced and unforced labor. This will
provide an opportunity for law enforcement and non profits to profit
off the criminalization of migration for work and prostitution."



Let Lantos know you oppose this anti-worker and anti-immigrant legislation!



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