#BookReview - Hidden In Plain Sight: America's Slaves of the New Millennium

Hidden in Plain Sight: America's Slaves of the New Millennium

Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, Ph.D.
Publisher: Praeger
Publication Date: October 27, 2017
Number of Pages: 245 pages
ASIN: B076CSVJNB

Sociology

For more information: Amazon | Goodreads

Synopsis

What types of human trafficking crimes are being committed here in the United States? Who are the victims of traffickers? How do we all unknowingly consume the services and products of slavery? And why are human traffickers able to maintain their illicit operations with relative impunity--indeed, with less than .01 percent of human traffickers ever being held accountable for their crimes?
Hidden in Plain Sight: America's Slaves of the New Millennium documents how human trafficking and its byproducts touch every community in America, from impoverished inner-city neighborhoods to middle-class suburbs and alcoves of wealthy estates. It presents information derived from narrative accounts of real-life trafficking cases, interviews with convicted human traffickers, empirical research, and criminal case files to expose the grim realities of human trafficking in America, perpetrated by Americans.
Readers will grasp the origins, evolution, and extent of the problem; understand how trafficking plays an unrecognized role in our day-to-day lives; and see why advancements in awareness and anti-trafficking resources have not changed the status quo. The victims of trafficking continue to be criminalized by law enforcement, and the offenders continue to exploit and profit from new recruits. This book equips readers with the knowledge needed to identify human trafficking cases and advocate for policy changes to end this scourge in America.

Book Review

Judging by the latest news stories and popular headlines, human trafficking is a 21st century phenomenon. However, it is not new. The neoteric volume of stories and the realization that human trafficking is perpetuated by superficial desires begs for a solution. What is the answer? Where do we begin to prevail against this modern form of slavery?

Enter Dr. Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, a Ph.D. from George Mason University, and Hidden In Plain Sight. Cleverly revealing the clandestine world of trading in human lives, she offers insight into the current realities of situation all Americans unwittingly perpetuate.

She passionately implores us to take off our rose-colored glasses and begin to look into the malevolent eyes of those trading in human lives. We must become abolitionists and effectuate change!

Intensely researched and skillfully executed, the contents of Hidden In Plain Sight took me behind the curtain of a disturbing trend. In this disquisition of a sensationalized topic, each argument is supported by personal accounts, primary court documents, peer-review research, quotes from online forums, and detailed explanations of the how, who, why, where, and types of human trafficking. For example, while most news channels incite outrage for child and teen sex trafficking victims, the emotional devastation wrought by the tsunami of labor trafficking rendered me speechless. Dr. Mehlman-Orozco lifted the veil and showed me that this issue is literally in my backyard.

Read Hidden In Plain Sight and you will get a good handle on the issues surrounding the two avenues of human trafficking.

About the Author

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Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco

Dr. Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco holds a Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society from George Mason University, with an expertise in human trafficking. She currently serves as a human trafficking expert witness in criminal and civil court and is the author of Hidden in Plain Sight: America's Slaves of the New Millennium, which explores human trafficking in the United States.
Her second book, The Jihadi Next Door, explores how people are recruited into terrorism. It is scheduled to be released in 2018.
Dr. Mehlman-Orozco’s writing can be found in Forbes, The Washington Post, The Houston Chronicle, The Baltimore Sun, The Crime Report, and The Diplomatic Courier, among other media. Read more about her at: www.mehlmanorozco.com