Slavery in the United States: Nigerian Women Enslaved for Eight Years in Arlington Texas

Eight years ago a Nigerian widow was brought to Arlington Texas by a married couple who promised the woman they'd send money to Nigeria in order to care for her six children. The man is a naturalized US citizen and his wife is a Nigerian citizen.

After bringing the woman to Texas, the husband and wife confiscated her passport and put her to work caring for their children, cooking for the family, and cleaning the house. She was never allowed out of the house without supervision and according to the FBI, she was sexually abused by the husband.

The woman asked many times to return to Nigeria but the couple refused. In eight years time they sent the woman's children a total of $300. Finally, a local Catholic priest helped the woman escape her captors and bring them to justice.

In February 2010 the couple was "convicted by Ft. Worth, Texas jury on all charges, including conspiracy to commit forced labor, forced labor, conspiracy to harbor an alien for financial gain, harboring an alien for financial gain, document servitude, and false statements to an FBI agent."

On June 4, 2010 the husband received a 20 year prison sentence while his wife received nine years. In addition the couple was ordered to pay $305,957.60 in restitution to the woman they'd enslaved.

Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said "The prosecution of this case demonstrates the Justice Department's commitment to punishing those who prey upon vulnerable victims and exploit them in modern day slavery."

FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Casey Jr said "The sentencing in this case sends a strong message to those who are engaged in this heinous form of modern day slavery that this practice will not be tolerated in our community."

The case of the Nigerian widow isn't an isolated case of domestic slavery. According to the US Justice Department more than 50,000 people are brought into the US each year as slaves. That's more people put into bondage each year than were during the Colonial period.

People who rant and rave about the recent Arizona Immigration Law fail to realize that many of the illegal immigrants end up as some sort of slave; be it in prostitution, sweatshops, domestic service, or migrant farm labor.

We call it human trafficking but its slavery plain and simple, and tragic. It's another ugly side of America the Beautiful.

To report suspected instances of trafficking or worker exploitation, please contact the FBI field office nearest you or contact the Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line at 1-888-428-7581 (weekdays 9 AM - 5 PM EST).

Sources:

FBI.com

US Justice Department