• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • May 10, 2025

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

UMOS, Partners Launch New Effort to Stop Labor Trafficking in Wisconsin

April 15, 2023

Representatives from UMOS, the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and other partners gather to announce a $5.1 million grant to combat labor trafficking in Wisconsin. (Photo provided by UMOS)

By Edgar Mendez

This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.

At some restaurant in the city, a victim of human labor trafficking could be preparing or serving your next meal.

“Human labor trafficking is absolutely happening in Milwaukee,” said Mariana Rodriguez, director of the Latina Resource Center at UMOS.

Rodriguez said many of the cases of labor trafficking in Milwaukee that her organization has worked on have been tied to the food and beverage industry.

“We’ve had restaurants and bars where they tend to recruit young women who are promised an hourly rate, but then only paid tips or not paid at all,” she said. “Some are also forced to share tips with others and are owed a lot of money.”

UMOS and its partners hope to combat human labor trafficking with the help of a $5.1 million, three-year grant from Howard G. Buffet Foundation.

The funds, awarded to UMOS and its Wisconsin Labor Trafficking Project partners, which include the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigations, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, LOTUS Legal Clinic and The Women’s Community Inc., will be used to engage prosecutors, law enforcement, advocacy organizations and others to stem labor trafficking.

‘It’s enslavement’

Rodriguez said there are several forms of exploitative tactics that are considered labor trafficking.

“Forced labor, bonded labor or debt bondage, where the laborers demand repayment of a loan by working it off and then don’t pay or pay very little,” she said.

The work is performed under the threat of punishment, which includes violence, being reported to immigration or other methods used to restrict freedom.

“It’s enslavement,” she said.

Benjamin Poller, a director of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation, said labor trafficking has come into the light more in recent years in the state.

“There’s a lot more proactive efforts out there to educate the public and law enforcement on labor trafficking, so we’re starting to see more cases,” he said. “Sometimes we get multiple tips in an area.”

Although the project itself focuses primarily on workers in agricultural, dairy or carnival industries, this doesn’t mean that labor trafficking is limited to rural areas that are distant from Milwaukee.

“We’ve received tips about labor trafficking in Milwaukee and rural areas just outside of Milwaukee,” Poller said.

In some of those cases, labor trafficking crossed over into sex trafficking.

The restaurants “close and become after hours drinking establishments for VIP customers and then they force young girls to exchange sex for money,” Rodriguez said.

Another industry where labor and sex trafficking collide in Wisconsin is the massage industry, Rodriguez said.

In reality, though, she said, labor trafficking can occur in most any industry.

“It happens wherever there is a need to bring foreign workers to fill the gaps for jobs,” she said.

Creating a coordinated response

The goal of the partners is to create a more coordinated response to cases of labor trafficking, Rodriguez said. The effort includes the hiring and training of two new officers for the Department of Justice who will focus exclusively on tracking down cases of labor trafficking.

“It sounds like we have a large number of agents working on human trafficking, but we don’t,” Poller said. “The new agents will work proactively with state and federal law enforcement agencies to increase prosecutions.”

Poller said the new agents will receive training, as will other law enforcement agencies in the state, to help them understand the complexities of labor trafficking and also the specialized local and federal laws related to it.

In addition to finding victims, Poller said, is the need for coordination among several different agencies, as many also involve the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.

The funds will allow the partners to hire a part-time prosecutor as well as attorneys to help victims address immigration-related issues.

The grant will also be used to put more people on the ground to find and help victims.

“Taking a multidisciplinary approach makes efforts to combat labor trafficking more effective,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said. “This grant increases the resources available to support victims and fight this serious crime.”

For more information

Victims of labor trafficking can get help by calling the UMOS 24-hour crisis line at 414-389-6510 or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Benjamin Poller, Edgar Mendez, Human Trafficking, Mariana Rodriguez, UMOS

Read More - Related Articles

  • Milwaukee County Appears Ready to Find Replacement for SDC
  • Two Former SDC Board Members Reflect on the Agency’s Past and Future
  • Future of the Office of Community Wellness and Safety in Jeopardy Amid Funding Uncertainties
  • New Campaign Urges Black Community in Milwaukee to Use Naloxone to Reduce Overdose Deaths
  • Latest Push Begins to Prevent Domestic Abusers in Wisconsin From Possessing Firearms
Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On X
Follow Us On X

Editorials

Lakeshia Myers
Michelle Bryant
Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi formerly known as Dr. Ramel Smith

Journalists

Karen Stokes

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

David Crowley
Cavalier Johnson
Marcelia Nicholson
Governor Tony Evers
President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
Former President Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2025 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.