Pinay complainant against ex-envoy legalizes stay in US
CHICAGO, Illinois – When Marichu Suarez Baoanan decided to escape the household of former Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Lauro L. Baja Jr in New York City two years ago with the help of a Filipino Good Samaritan, it was a move she would not regret.
Baoanan, 39, a Filipino nursing graduate, can now step out of her shadow as “T-N-T," an undocumented immigrant. She is now a holder of a “T Visa," an individual granted temporary protected status (TPS), a path for her to obtain the coveted Green Card or a Permanent Residence.
Baoanan described at a press conference last week how she paid $5,000 to the Bajas and Labaire International Travel, in return for transportation, a visa, a work permit, and job placement services in the United States. She arrived in New York in early 2006, believing that she would receive assistance to find employment as a nurse.
Instead, former Ambassador Baja, his wife Norma Baja (an owner of Labaire International Travel), and the Bajas’ adult daughter, Maria Elizabeth Facundo, alleged a substantial debt against Baoanan and subjected her for three months to involuntary servitude, forced labor, peonage, debt bondage, and slavery as a domestic worker in their home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She received only $100 for her efforts and an additional $100 for child care.
According to lawyer Ivy Suriyopas of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) based in New York and lawyer Aaron Mendelsohn, Baoanan’s “T" visa enabled her to petition and reunite last April with her family, who are now also holders of Derivative “T" visas, which authorize her and her family members to obtain work permits in the United States.
After fleeing the Bajas’ household, Baoanan sought the assistance in 2006 of Damayan Migrant Workers Association, a Filipino labor rights group, and lawyers of the AALDEF.
The AALDEF helped Baoanan secure a T visa for her and the Derivative T visas for her family members with the case management assistance provided by the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA).
When Baoanan left the Bajas household, she was reported to the US immigration authorities, which could revoke her diplomatic visa that would make her an illegal immigrant.
But when she filed a complaint against the Bajas for “forced labor, trafficking and unlawful conduct with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act," Baoanan benefited under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The case is now pending before United States District Court of Southern New York.
The TVPRA was a law passed in October 2000 to protect victims of trafficking or to prosecute their traffickers as human trafficking was being increasingly committed by organized, sophisticated criminal groups “and is the fastest growing source of profits for organized criminal enterprises worldwide."
Victims are being helped by the US government to “rebuild their lives in the US with Federal and state support." They are given housing, educational, health care, job training and other funded social service programs funded by the Federal government."
The TVPA authorizes up to 5,000 victims of trafficking each year to receive permanent residence status after three years from issuance of their temporary residency visas. The T visa signifies a shift in the immigration law policy, which previously resulted in many victims being deported as illegal aliens. The law also makes victims of trafficking eligible for the Witness Protection Program.
According to AALDEF, approximately 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders each year, and between 18,000 and 20,000 are currently trafficked into the US. As many as 7,000 individuals — the largest group — are from Asia and the Pacific Islands. - GMANews.TV
Baoanan, 39, a Filipino nursing graduate, can now step out of her shadow as “T-N-T," an undocumented immigrant. She is now a holder of a “T Visa," an individual granted temporary protected status (TPS), a path for her to obtain the coveted Green Card or a Permanent Residence.
Baoanan described at a press conference last week how she paid $5,000 to the Bajas and Labaire International Travel, in return for transportation, a visa, a work permit, and job placement services in the United States. She arrived in New York in early 2006, believing that she would receive assistance to find employment as a nurse.
Instead, former Ambassador Baja, his wife Norma Baja (an owner of Labaire International Travel), and the Bajas’ adult daughter, Maria Elizabeth Facundo, alleged a substantial debt against Baoanan and subjected her for three months to involuntary servitude, forced labor, peonage, debt bondage, and slavery as a domestic worker in their home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She received only $100 for her efforts and an additional $100 for child care.
According to lawyer Ivy Suriyopas of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) based in New York and lawyer Aaron Mendelsohn, Baoanan’s “T" visa enabled her to petition and reunite last April with her family, who are now also holders of Derivative “T" visas, which authorize her and her family members to obtain work permits in the United States.
After fleeing the Bajas’ household, Baoanan sought the assistance in 2006 of Damayan Migrant Workers Association, a Filipino labor rights group, and lawyers of the AALDEF.
The AALDEF helped Baoanan secure a T visa for her and the Derivative T visas for her family members with the case management assistance provided by the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA).
When Baoanan left the Bajas household, she was reported to the US immigration authorities, which could revoke her diplomatic visa that would make her an illegal immigrant.
But when she filed a complaint against the Bajas for “forced labor, trafficking and unlawful conduct with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act," Baoanan benefited under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The case is now pending before United States District Court of Southern New York.
The TVPRA was a law passed in October 2000 to protect victims of trafficking or to prosecute their traffickers as human trafficking was being increasingly committed by organized, sophisticated criminal groups “and is the fastest growing source of profits for organized criminal enterprises worldwide."
Victims are being helped by the US government to “rebuild their lives in the US with Federal and state support." They are given housing, educational, health care, job training and other funded social service programs funded by the Federal government."
The TVPA authorizes up to 5,000 victims of trafficking each year to receive permanent residence status after three years from issuance of their temporary residency visas. The T visa signifies a shift in the immigration law policy, which previously resulted in many victims being deported as illegal aliens. The law also makes victims of trafficking eligible for the Witness Protection Program.
According to AALDEF, approximately 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders each year, and between 18,000 and 20,000 are currently trafficked into the US. As many as 7,000 individuals — the largest group — are from Asia and the Pacific Islands. - GMANews.TV
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