Two Pinays Removed from Saudi Diplomat’s Home

Two domestic workers have been removed from a suburban Virginia home owned by a Saudi diplomat due to a potential human trafficking case.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, Brandon Montgomery said the agents went to the house in McLean, Virginia Tuesday night where they “removed two potential victims of human trafficking”.

Montgomery confirmed the two women workers who were removed from the home are from the Philippines.

According to a State Department official, the diplomat kept the women’s passports, made them work very long hours, and did not give them salaries. The official said there has been no indication that the women were physically maltreated.

The official also stated cases like these are very common for domestic workers who work for diplomats from the Persian Gulf.

As a response, the Justice Department have focused on human trafficking cases over the past years, with reports of increasing number of cases alleging forced labor brought to court.

According to an anti-trafficking coordinator for the National Domestic Works Alliance, Tiffany Williams, trafficking cases involving diplomats pose a problem because officials know they have immunity and that it would be difficult to impose charges upon them.

Source: foxnews.com, cnn.com