ANNALS, AAPSS, 653, May 2014 107 DOI: 10.1177/0002716213519239 Trafficking, Scandal, and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Argentina and the United States By DENISE BRENNAN 519239ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYMigrant Workers in Argentina and the United States research-article 2014 This article examines the varied consequences that the label “trafficked” holds for migrants and for the organi- zations that assist them. In the case of migrants from the Dominican Republic to Argentina, threat of U.S. economic sanctions prompted the two governments to document incidents of trafficking by labeling all forms of migrant labor exploitation as trafficking. Collapsing a range of coerced and noncoerced labor experiences under one label has muddied the definition of traffick- ing. In contrast, U.S. trafficking policy systematically ignores significant exploitation of labor migrants, in part because of the volatile politics of immigration in the United States, and because of the conflation of sex trafficking with trafficking. The article uses these two examples of the effects of labeling exploited workers as trafficking victims to draw attention to the politicization of the term “trafficking.” Keywords: trafficking; forced labor; exploitation; Argentina; United States T o warn women about the potential dangers that accompany international migration for work, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in the Dominican Republic adopted the slogan “Don’t Believe the Stories.” It was a tough sell. Throughout the island nation, nearly every community, no matter how remote, shows signs of money earned by women and men who have migrated for work abroad. Newly built and brightly painted cement houses, or sturdy additions put on old ones, stand out in communities where houses are made of wood, corrugated tin roofs, and have no “extras” such as paint. Migration off the island for work is a frequent solution for Denise Brennan is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Georgetown University. She is the author of Life Interrupted: Trafficking into Forced Labor in the United States (2014) and What’s Love Got to Do with It? Transnational Desires and Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic (2004), both with Duke University Press. at GEORGETOWN UNIV LIBRARY on May 31, 2016 ann.sagepub.com Downloaded from