Domestic ServitudeArchive 2008–2016

Domestic Servitude in Minneapolis (2008)

A domestic servitude case from 2008 in Minneapolis, United States.

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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?

What happened

A Somali family not related to the young girl. Instead they came to her village and approached her parents and asked if they could take the girl, their daughter, to America with them. The young girl's parents agreed. The family brought her to the U.S using a different name and reporting that the girl was their daughter. When the girl arrived to this country, the new family wanted her to do all the housework, baby-sit their other children and completely serve them. The family was also abusive to the young girl. When the young girl refused to cooperate, the family contacted the child protection authorities and reported that they could not keep the child. The young girl was taken by the child protection authorities and was raised in the foster system.

Response and intervention

The young woman was referred to a Civil Society human trafficking screening clinic. When Civil Society learned of the woman's situation, they recreated the woman's entire record, obtained letters from judges and social workers that worked with her as a girl who documented the woman's victimization at the hands of people who brought her to this country. Once this information was received, the Civil Society attorney, was able to reapply on the basis that the woman was a victim of human trafficking. A Civil Society attorney accompanied the woman to the immigration interview and her application was approved. Had she not been able to get her citizenship, Civil Society would have pursued a T visa based on the human trafficking involved. Because of the girl's refugee status, the girl was provided with a green card in the name the "new" family had given her. As she got older, she confided in the social worker who assigned her case and asked the social worker to help her change her name to her original name. Social Services was successful in changing the girls name. When she became an adult she applied for citizenship. During the investigation, authorities had discovered that she had entered this country using a false name and they denied her citizenship and took away her green card. The young woman now had no status in the country due to her prior victimization.

Nearby cases

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Sex Trafficking2006

The prostitution ring operated among eight brothels across the state of Minnesota. Five brothels were located in Minneapolis, one in West St. Paul, one in Richfield, and one in Austin., United States, 2006

United States US

Marisol Ramirez, a 37 year-old woman from the Dominican Republic, headed the prostitution ring with Roberto Rivera-Miranda, 31 who assisted her. Ramirez, who was deported from the U.S. in 1997 for operating prostitution services, recruited women chiefly from Mexico and Central America. Twenty-three other defendants have been accused of promoting the ring through the distribution of business cards advertising the services in Spanish, operating or working in brothels, transporting the victims, or supplying drugs or condoms. Eighty percent of the perpetrators were living in the U.S. illegally. The defendants allegedly lured both illegal immigrants as well as legal residents into the operation where they were forced to perform sexual services for the financial advantage of the defendants. All forms of the victims' documentation were taken. Heinous and crude conditions included two victims having to service 80 men in a single night. The prostitution ring was linked to activity in 30 other states.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

Sex Trafficking2009

Minneapolis, United States, 2009

United States US

15 members of the Evans family were arrested in August 1999 for running a multi-million dollar prostitution ring. It was believed that it was running for more than 17 years in more than 24 states and also in Canada. The ringleader was Levorn Evans.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

Domestic Servitude2008

Minneapolis, United States, 2008

United States US

An elder woman in the community where the victim lived. The trafficker offered to let the teenage victim live in her home while the victim was having family problems. The victim accepted and moved in. For over two years the victim was locked in the home and was not allowed to leave. The trafficker was abusive and threatening and forced the young woman to care for the trafficker's children. The trafficker also forced the young woman to sell Khat. The trafficker stole the victim's identity and used it to collect government benefits for herself. After the young woman had escaped the trafficker continued to harass and threaten the victim.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016