Mehlman-Orozco Kimberly - Hidden in Plain Sight: Americas Slaves of the New Millennium

Advance Praise for Hidden in Plain Sight

A must-read to understand the mindset of human traffickers and their victims.

Susan Ingram, Founder, Walk Her Home, and Congressional Victims Rights Award Recipient 2017

Hidden in Plain Sight is a vital resource, not only for antihuman trafficking advocates, but for anyone who cares about humanity. Dr. Mehlman-Orozcos interviews with the traffickers are shocking, but they provide insight that can be used when trying to combat this horrific crime. Our organization will be implementing this book into our Advanced Law Enforcement Investigation Course. The material is presented in such a compelling and understandable way that this book will certainly be a powerful contribution to understanding the fastest growing crime in the world.

Sandra Sparks, Executive Director, ERASE Child Trafficking

By carefully documenting the realities of human trafficking and the failures of prevention and enforcement, this eye-opening book is the antidote to every hyped scare story and pointless policy solution. Knowledge is more than power it is our obligation if we truly want to help the most vulnerable victims of sexual and labor slavery.

Mark Obbie, criminal justice journalist; Soros Justice Media Fellow; and former executive editor of The American Lawyer magazine

Hidden in Plain Sight reveals the diverse and disturbing manifestations of human trafficking in the United States. Using accessible language and clear illustrations, Mehlman-Orozco illuminates the complexity and tragic dimensions of human trafficking. Based on her own research, this work helps us see a phenomenon that many traffickers prefer we do not notice. The work should be eye-opening to its readers.

Louise Shelley, Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Chair and Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, and author of Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective

A clear and easily digestible primer on human trafficking. Calling upon insights from traffickers, victims, and customers, Kim Mehlman-Orozco details the diverse exploitive models and highlights a hopeful pathway to stop traffickers by vigorously enforcing the law.

John Cotton Richmond, Former Federal Human Trafficking Prosecutor and Founding Director of the Human Trafficking Institute, McLean, Virginia

Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco has written an absorbingand sometimes horrifyingaccount of a crime that most Americans consider remote from their daily lives, but reaches into every family and neighborhood. Its a wake-up call to action.

Stephen Handelman, Editor, The Crime Report

This book provides important empirical evidence of the many harms caused by labor and sex trafficking and the limited ability of the police to do much about it.

Alex S. Vitale, Professor of Sociology, Brooklyn College

Kimberly Mehlman-Orozcos book absolutely delivers on its promise to provide an honest, revealing glimpse behind the hidden world of modern slavery in the USA. Within the first five pages, I was hookedI couldnt put it down. While many books on this topic tend to be filled with clichs and unsubstantiated nuances, Mehlman-Orozco offers detailed stories and evidence-based descriptions that help to offer clarity and an understanding of this often-misunderstood topic. Even after addressing this issue for over 27 years, I walked away with many new insights that significantly changed some of my existing views. For those who are seeking a book that truly captures the essence of this important issue, along with a thoughtful and compelling analysis, this is a must-read.

Matt S. Friedman, CEO, The Mekong Club

Hidden in Plain Sight is a compelling account of human trafficking, analyzed from a social scientists perspective with a journalists tenacity and attention to detail. Mehlman-Orozcos narrative vividly documents and describes the various actors and their interactions at the core of the problem of human trafficking today; what really stands out is the authors first-hand experiences coming face-to-face with traffickers, victims, and those who struggle, often unsuccessfully or counterproductively, to find solutions to these problems.

Ric Curtis, Professor of Anthropology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

At a time with growing interest inand growing misunderstanding ofthe human trafficking industries in the United States, Hidden in Plain Sight is a necessary and clarifying resource. Through dozens of interviews with incarcerated pimps, Kim Mehlman-Orozco debunks myths surrounding the commercial sex trade and shines light on one of the most coercive criminal industries of our time. She also exposes the reality that the United States is a major player in the global trafficking industry. From U.S. military base camps abroad, to the chocolate we buy for Halloween and the clothes on our backs, human trafficking touches nearly every area of our lives and every corner of our national industrieswhether we notice it or not. Kims book gives us new eyes to see it.

Blythe Hill, CEO, Dressember Foundation

A brutally honest, well-researched, and comprehensive look into the horrors of modern-day slavery and trafficking in human beings which has become embedded into the fabric of todays society.

Laura D. Jones, President, Soroptimist International/SIA/SAR/Mid-Atlantic Online

This courageous, personal, and meticulously documented behind-the-scenes account of human trafficking is a must-read for everyone. Human trafficking is in your backyardyou just need to know where to look and how to see it, and Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco gives you that knowledge.

Susan Camardese, RDH, MS, President, Mid-Atlantic Prevent Abuse and Neglect through Dental Awareness (P.A.N.D.A.)

Hidden in Plain Sight

Americas Slaves of the New Millennium

Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, PhD

Copyright 2017 by Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, PhD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Mehlman-Orozco, Kimberly, author.

Title: Hidden in plain sight : Americas slaves of the new millennium / Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, PhD.

Description: Santa Barbara, California : Praeger, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017029215 (print) | LCCN 2017030908 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440854040 (e-book) | ISBN 9781440854033 (print : acid-free paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Human traffickingUnited States. | SlaveryUnited States. | Forced laborUnited States. | Foreign workersCrimes againstUnited States. | ImmigrantsCrimes againstUnited States. | United StatesSocial conditions1980 | United StatesEthnic relations.

Classification: LCC HQ281 (ebook) | LCC HQ281 .M435 2017 (print) | DDC 306.3/620972dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017029215

ISBN: 978-1-4408-5403-3 (print)

978-1-4408-5404-0 (e-book)

21 20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5

This book is also available as an e-book.

Praeger

An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC

ABC-CLIO, LLC

130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911

Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911

www.abc-clio.com

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America