Description
This paper outlines solutions for managing the risks of labor smuggling and trafficking in the San Diego area. Labor smuggling is the practice of importing people into a country with the deliberate evasion of immigration laws and with the consent of the smuggled individual. Labor trafficking compels individuals to provide labor or other services through coercive, forceful, or fraudulent means for little or no remuneration. Both involve numerous risks. Many proposed solutions to labor smuggling and trafficking often result in idealized vision and mission statements that ignore the influence of economic drivers and lack implementation procedures. Furthermore, smuggled laborer population estimates for San Diego varies widely, from 39,000 to 129,000 people. These discrepancies arise from a complex definition of terms, such as what is a "laborer", what constitutes "smuggling", when are the smuggled laborers present in San Diego, how long do they remain, and a host of other metrics that make any estimates highly subjective and often conjectural within the needs of the US legal system. This paper argues that complex labor supply chain issues influenced by various economic motivators and risks associated within the different supply chain tiers lies at the root of labor smuggling and trafficking. Access to cheap, unregulated labor often involve criminal and other nefarious motives to fuel the market for smuggled and trafficked laborers. For a labor service provider, illegal and unethical labor practices combined with the involvement of criminal elements often present poses a significant, intangible risk to their brand and reputation. Increasing consumer demands for socially responsible labor practices motivated many corporations to incorporate those practices into their decision-making processes, policies, and activities. Protecting branding and avoiding consumer boycotts made and continues to make minimizing the risks associated with labor smuggling and trafficking an important part of the overall risk management strategy for organizations and their supply chains. This paper offers solutions to these concerns based on sound business principles. It defines terms, describes the associated risks, discusses motivations, reveals fundamental sources of the risks, and then lays out a strategy that virtually eliminates these risks with a comprehensive supply chain management program.
