Talk:Human trafficking in Texas

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Azhao96. Peer reviewers: Mduno, Athomas1995, Courtwang, Dmaldonado08.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 22:41, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Possible Improvements for the Article

While this article is certainly a good start, I believe that there are still a couple issues that were not addressed and also a couple tweaks that could help improve its quality. The introduction is a little disjointed and contains a lot of information that would be better off in sections of their own, such as the list of 10 ways in which "traffickers often operate by". This could be used to make a new section discussing the logistics of human trafficking or perhaps a section similar to the "Human Trafficking in America"'s section titled "Structural factors of Human Trafficking". In addition, some of the information in the introduction is redundant, like the last sentence regarding the locations of labor trafficking. This is a topic that is already discussed later in the article.

Another tweak is a possible renaming of the "History" section. The first two sentences, while true, seem a little irrelevant to this article and, unless a stronger relationship between legal slavery and the current illegal trafficking of humans in Texas is established, these two sentences can be removed. The last part of this history section also contains a lot of interesting information, but this information seems to be lifted straight from the "Human Trafficking in America" article. In order to abide by Wikipedia rules against plagiarism, I think these sentences should be reworded.

The section on "Organizations" also seems a little one-sided. This section seems to be more of an advertisement for these agencies rather than an objective discussion of what government or non-government affiliated organizations have done to alleviate the issues of human trafficking in Texas. There needs to be more said concerning what these organizations have actually accomplished in the ways of human trafficking and how effective they have been in alleviating some of the issues we see.

I also believe more should be said regarding types of trafficking prominent in Texas (i.e. labor, sex, and domestic), the distinction between human smuggling and human trafficking, the demographics of those trafficked (including region of origin and contributing structural issues), and specific hubs for human trafficking in Texas. These are all important sides of the issue that are not fully addressed in the current article, and these are all issues that are very specific to Texas. Because Texas is so close to the Mexican border, it serves as a huge hub for international trafficking, even from countries in Central America. Texas is also the entry point for many people trafficked from Asia, so it is important to make the distinction in the demographics of the trafficking survivors.

Finally, I would like to cut down the extremely long section on laws and policies into a more concise summary of the current state of Texas legislation concerning human trafficking that only includes the most relevant and most influential of the existing legislation. In its current state, it is extremely informative, but also quite dense and difficult to get through. I want to make sure that readers are able to get a full sense of the current direction of policy making without getting lost halfway.

A more detailed explanation of the issues with the current article and my proposed edits (along with my motivations) can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_j4AV0oZzWONlJ2S08xdjVsN1E/view?usp=sharing

Any suggestions to these proposed edits would be greatly appreciated. Azhao96 (talk) 05:27, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Plans for Revisions

I am considering adding some sections to this article and revising some of the existing sections. I have included below a summary of the revisions I hope to make, along with a brief selection of citations containing information relevant to this topic.

Human trafficking is an enormous problem, particularly in Houston, which is currently one of the largest hubs for international human trafficking in the country. However, the Wikipedia article concerning Texas’ human trafficking issue is extremely lacking in many regards, and based on the almost empty talk page, nobody seems to be in the midst of revising it. The majority of the article is currently dedicated to describing a long list of Texas laws passed fight human trafficking, which is all very good information, but this extremely long section would be more readable if it were summarized. The article has very little to say concerning the regions from which trafficked humans are sourced, the types of trafficking that are predominant in Texas (labor vs. sexual), or any description of the work being done to combat human trafficking, other than a rather biased and extremely cursory description of some of the Texan anti- trafficking organizations that exist. I would also like to add a section addressing possible reasons for Texas’ human trafficking problems, including a discussion of laws or conflicts in the home countries or states from which these victims come from that enable the continuation of this practice. Another section that could be added is an analysis of major cities in Texas that are hubs of trafficking, as many of the demographics of trafficked humans and situations differ based on the city. This article also lacks a critique of the “human trafficking panic” that many people claim exist, and thus provides only a one- sided view of the debate for policy change in the realm of human trafficking.

Chacon, Jennifer M. "Misery and Mypoia: Understanding the Failures of U.S. Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking." Fordham Law Review 74.6 (2006): 2977-3040. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4173&context=flr>. Dank, Meredith, Bilal Khan, P. Mitchell Downey, Cybele Kotonias, Deborah Mayer, Colleen Owens, Laura Pacifici, and Lilly Yu. Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities. Rep. Urban Institute, Mar. 2014. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.urban.org/research/publication/estimating-size-and-structure-underground-commercial-sex-economy-eight-major-us-cities/view/full_report>. Gozdziak, Elzbieta M. "Research on Human Trafficking in North America: A Review of Literature." Data and Research on Human Trafficking: A Global Survey (2005): 100-28. International Organization for Migration, 2005. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/data_res_human[1].pdf#page=100>. Kara, Siddharth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia UP, 2009. Web. Kimball, Mandi Sheridan, Olga Sinitsyn, and Jennifer Michel Solak. The State of Human Trafficking in Texas. Rep. Ed. Robert Sanborn. Children at Risk, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/02_The-State-of-Human-Trafficking-in-Texas.pdf>. National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) Annual Report: 1/1/2014-12/31/2014. Rep. National Human Trafficking Resource Center, 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/sites/default/files/2014%20NHTRC%20Annual%20Report_Final.pdf>. Srikantiah, Jayashri. "Perfect Victims and Real Survivors: The Iconic Victim in Domestic Human Trafficking Law." Boston University Law Review 87.157 (2007): 157-211. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/bulr/volume87n1/documents/SRIKANTIAHv.2.pdf>. United States. Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force. Office of the Attorney General. The Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force. N.p., Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/agency/20121912_htr_fin_3.pdf>. United States. Texas Department of Public Safety. Assessing the Threat of Human Trafficking in Texas. N.p., Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/media_and_communications/2014/txHumanTraffickingAssessment.pdf>. United States. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Western Region. Human Trafficking in Texas: More Resources and Resolve Needed to Stem Surge of Modern Day Slavery. By Peter Minarik. Texas Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/TX_HT_Report--ver%2050--FINAL.pdf>. Additional Sources: Swartz, Mimi. "The Lost Girls." Texas Monthly. N.p., Apr. 2010. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-lost-girls/>. "The Victims." National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC). Polaris, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/what-human-trafficking/human-trafficking/victims>. Azhao96 (talk) 15:05, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

Hi Azhao96 - Overall, you did a really awesome job with your additions to this article. One thing I wanted to point out is that the term coyotaje refers to the act of smuggling, whereas the people who are smugglers are coyotes. Also, I know you are planning to expand on a few sections in relation to geography and location within Texas or the regions of origin of trafficked persons, but make sure your organization properly reflects all of the categories that are going to be included. This is a really good start on the expansion of this article, so you are on your way! Congrats.Dmaldonado08 (talk) 22:20, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Hello Azhao96, this article is looking really great! I have a few suggestions for future improvements. First, I think it would be good if you are able to expand on your section on regions of origins, to include other parts of the world where people are trafficked from, either over seas or from other parts of Latin America beyond Mexico. Additionally, I think you could combine the section on trafficking in Houston with the "locations" section, and perhaps talk more about trafficking in other parts of Texas, too. Lastly, including some illustrations for this article would be very beneficial, to give people some visuals, maybe charts or maps. Overall, great job on this article! Courtwang (talk) 02:49, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

Hey Azhao96! It looks like you've done a great job expanding this article and I enjoyed reading it. I'm impressed by the volume and quality of information you have added, but I have a couple of suggestions to improve its comprehensiveness and formatting. First, some of the information from the introductory section could be moved to the "Definition" section, allowing the table of contents to be visible without scrolling down. If you are able to find more interesting statistics like the one you already have, I think the "Current statistics" section could be expanded as well. Finally, because "Organizations" is likely a more interesting and accessible topic to the general public than "Laws and policies," I'd recommend that you switch the order of these two sections. It looks great and good luck with the finishing touches! Athomas1995 (talk) 02:27, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

Azhao96, this looks great so far. Your hcanges have all been very constructive, have come from reliable sources and have addd to the comprehensiveness of the article as a whole. The one ting I would considerer adding is more info about the background info about Ciudad Juarez and El Paso that cause the amount of trafficking that is taking place there.Mduno (talk) 00:23, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

Previous Laws and Policies Section

I deleted the majority of the previous Laws and Policies section because it was copied directly from this link: http://www.htcourts.org/wp-content/uploads/HT-TX-Legislation-8.1.12.pdf?Legislation=TX-Legislation If anyone would like to take a look at the article and perhaps add a better summary of the current human trafficking laws and policies in Texas that does not involve copying and pasting from one source, please feel free to!

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New Article Proposal

Hi! I am a student at Rice University beginning my Wikipedia journey. I would like to propose the idea of creating an article devoted to Human Trafficking in Houston since I believe it’s a prominent issue in that area and could help condense this article. Check out my user page to view why and what I plan with this proposal. If any user has advice, suggestions, or questions, please let me know. Ctrlxem (talk) 05:51, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

If creating a "Human Trafficking in Houston" article is not as good of an idea than revising this current article (for example by updating statistics, adding recent countermeasures put in place, condensing information, and list practices that have been getting attention) then I would be happy to revise instead.

Ctrlxem (talk) 05:56, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 22 August 2023 and 23 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Ctrlxem (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by DStrassmann (talk) 22:12, 17 September 2023 (UTC)