Kanti Salgadu knows what it means to be treated like property. At nineteen, she left Sri Lanka for Los Angeles, promised a good job. Instead, she was forced to cook, clean, and care for children around the clock for four years. Her traffickers took her passport and told her she had been “bought.”
Now, decades later, she’s fighting for others. Following pressure from the Freedom United community and other advocates, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1362 into law. This new law regulates foreign labor recruiters. It marks a major step toward protecting temporary migrant workers from trafficking and abuse.
A survivor’s voice behind the law
CalMatters reports,
Once you’re on the plane to America, everything changes. They take your passport. They isolate you. You’re told you owe them — for the plane ticket, for the job, for every imaginary cost.
Then the wages stop. One month. Six months. A year. Or in my case — four years.
I was made to work nonstop. I wasn’t paid. I was alone. I didn’t speak English, and I had no way out.
The person I was working for threatened my family. When my father died, I was told I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t even send money. I was a prisoner.
This didn’t happen in a far-off country. It happened here, in California. And it’s still happening today.
“AB 1362 gives us hope”
The new law follows years of advocacy by survivors and campaigners. Freedom United first launched this effort in 2020, working alongside survivor advocates like Kanti.
Working with other advocate groups, including the Sunita Jain Initiative, Freedom United helped champion bills and didn’t give up even when an earlier version was vetoed by the governor.
This year, Freedom United co-sponsored AB 1362 and reignited public support. We let California lawmakers and the governor know that over 45,000 people wanted protection for temporary migrant workers.
AB 1362 establishes California as a national leader in tackling forced labor during recruitment. It also orders a state study on how to expand protections to all temporary migrant workers.
Salgadu called the law proof that survivors’ voices are finally being heard. But she also reminded lawmakers that progress must continue. AB 1362 requires recruiters of H-2A agricultural workers to register with the state and post a bond. It helps protect about 40,000 farmworkers each year from deception and abuse.
Still, many others remain unprotected. The law covers only one visa category, excluding workers in domestic, hospitality, and construction jobs.
Salgadu won’t stop fighting for protections for all migrant workers.
Telling my story isn’t easy. Even now, more than 25 years later, it hurts. But I share it because people need to understand how trafficking happens, how it often begins with a lie.
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