These days, people will often assume that someone is talking about sex trafficking if they ever mention the trafficking of individual people. This has been very prominently covered in the media, so a lot of people are aware that it is happening. They assume that anyone who is being trafficked is being moved by a third party for sex-related purposes, which is a crime.
But it’s important to note that not all human trafficking is related to sex trafficking. Someone can still face charges for human trafficking when helping someone enter the United States without documentation. This is also illegal, regardless of the reason for it.
Evading immigration laws
The government has even set up a legal system to deal with those who attempt to evade immigration laws while bringing someone else into the country. That person could seek to evade those laws by:
- Getting married
- Establishing a business
- Illegally entering without paperwork
An example of this could be if someone brings an illegal alien into the United States and then attempts to get married. They know that getting married can be a way for someone to get a green card if the person that they’re marrying is already a U.S. citizen. But if they’re doing this for the purpose of getting the green card, and after the person has illegally entered the country, then it is considered a type of fraud. The government takes this very seriously and may decide to press charges.
Those who are facing federal charges absolutely need to know about all the legal defense options that they have. A conviction can have a drastic impact on the rest of their life.