When the FBI Comes Calling…®
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING (continued)
Trafficking in Persons (continued)
Trafficking For Labor
18 U.S.C § 1590.
The Crime
It is a violation of section 1590 for a person to "knowingly":
- recruit,
- harbor,
- transport,
- provide, or
- obtain by any means,
any person for labor or services in violation of Title 18, chapter 77. 18 U.S.C. § 1590
The Punishment
- The punishment for violating section 1590 is a fine, imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both.
- If death results from the violation of section 1590, or if the violation includes kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or the attempt to commit any of those three acts, the punishment is a fine, imprisonment for any term of years or life, or both. 18 U.S.C. § 1590.
Jurisdiction
Like we saw with sections 1581, 1583, 1584, and 1589, jurisdiction is likely to be very broad. Because section 1590 was enacted as part of the TVPA, we can assume that the phrase "interstate or foreign commerce" would apply, but it definitely seem that jurisdiction would be found wherever the sovereignty of the United States extends.
Case Law Interpreting Section 1590
Because section 1590 is a relatively recent enactment, there are only a couple of cases that are available. The first is United States v. Bradley, 390 F.3d 145 (1st Cir. 2004), discussed earlier in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. § 1589, and the other is an unpublished case out of New York, United States v. Garcia, No. 02-CR-110S-01, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22088 (W.D.N.Y. 2003). However both cases deal primarily with 18 U.S.C. § 1589, and only mention section 1590 in passing.
Very often, this section is going to work in conjunction with sections 1581, 1583, 1584, and 1589.
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