Government Agencies

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services." U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 6 Jun 2008. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is a government agency that has been part of the Department of Homeland Security since 2003. While the website covers a broad array of immigration information, there are links to specific legislation regarding the trafficking of slaves. This is a useful source for researching slavery because many of those enslaved in the United States are also illegal immigrants. Many are brought to the U.S. against their will or with the promise of a visa. Once here, they have no documentation or identification and are at the mercy of their captors. When discovered, they are frequently treated as illegal immigrants and risk being deported. This site provides information on the laws designed to protect immigrant victims of slavery as well as information on any policy changes that will affect trafficked persons.

"Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons." U.S. Department of State. 8 Jun 2008. http://www.state.gov/g/tip

This government office was set up by the U.S. Department of State to combat human trafficking and support anti-trafficking action. The Trafficking in Persons office (TIP) provides funding to organizations fighting slavery. In addition, the TIP provides information helpful for researchers in the form of its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. The report ranks countries based on their effectiveness at halting slavery. A bad ranking can result in a country losing U.S. aid. A fact sheet for each year is available from the webpage; the 2008 fact sheet would be useful since it provides a look at what is being done through government to counter the demand for slaves.