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More Forbidden Freedom: Slavery in Southwest Florida

• Family accused of enslaving workers at Immokalee camp
• Human trafficking on Marco Island?: Islanders learn warning signs of ‘underground slavery’
• Immokalee sets stage for international talk on human trafficking

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TALLAHASSEE — Florida farmworkers and foreign laborers will be better protected under a pair of measures lawmakers approved Wednesday to boost penalties for human traffickers and require seat belts in vans carrying workers to the fields.

With no debate, lawmakers sent the pair of bills to Gov. Jeb Bush.

The first would increase penalties for those who, through intimidation and coercion, force foreign laborers into what critics call a state of modern-day slavery.

“I would (urge) you support this important piece of legislation,” said Rep. Anne Gannon, D-Delray Beach.

A U.S. Department of State report for 2005 estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women, are trafficked across borders worldwide. Nearly half are children and most are being used for sexual purposes, either as prostitutes or sex slaves. Of those, an estimated 50,000 are in the United States.

Many victims come to the country legally on tourist visas or under the federal guest worker program, which restricts their ability to move from employer to employer. Once here, the rules change.

Some are told they need to pay off debts. Others are threatened with physical abuse or deportation. Denied access to social services, advocacy groups and legal counsel, many don’t know they are victims at all.

The bill increases penalties by adding racketeering to the list of offenses, making trafficking a first-degree felony punishable by prison terms of up to 30 years, fines and forfeiture of property. Victims also can sue for monetary damages.

The proposals set up training programs to help social service and law enforcement officers recognize the signs of human trafficking.

Lawmakers also set aside $150,000 to set up a human trafficking task force to disseminate information from successful programs such as Collier’s to other counties.

State lawmakers last addressed the issue in 2004, making it a second-degree felony to force people into labor and a first-degree felony to force minors into sexual servitude.

“People do it now because they can and they get away with it,” Margaret Romo, an advocate for Farmworkers Self-Help, said recently. “You need to make the penalty so bad that they will never see sunlight again.”

On another front, lawmakers approved a bill sparked by the deaths of nine farmworkers in 2004. The measure requires seat belts in most vehicles transporting farmworkers.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, operators would face $200 fines per violation for failing to supply seat belts on vehicles capable of transporting nine or more workers to job sites. In addition, companies face a $100 fine for failing to display instructions on proper seat belt usage. The measure exempts school bus-type vehicles in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Last year, a similar measure failed to pass after concerns were raised by agricultural interests over liability should employees fail to use the seat belts offered.

During the interim, bill sponsors added protections for contractors by preventing workers who fail to use the belts to sue if they are injured.