Brandon W. McCune
ABSTRACT
While many Americans have heard the phrase “diplomatic immunity,” few likely understand how far such immunity extends or its effect on various areas of law. The doctrine of diplomatic immunity, established via the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in 1961, protects envoys of a diplomatic mission from criminal and civil liability when they are within a country that is not their own. Diplomatic immunity has allowed the perpetuation of a specific type of human trafficking within the United States: domestic labor trafficking. Through special types of immigration visas, specifically A-3 and G-5 visas, individuals with diplomatic immunity are able to bring personal employees into the country. However, in several cases, employers have subjected these employees to abusive working conditions that rise to the level of labor trafficking.
To curb these abuses, President George W. Bush enacted the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA or “Act”). The Act grants the Secretary of State the power to terminate a diplomatic mission’s A-3 and G-5 visa privileges if that mission’s envoys are found to have submitted their employees to labor trafficking. However, to this day, the Secretary of State has never formally utilized this power.
This Comment will address the history, definition, and function of diplomatic immunity, as well as how diplomatic immunity fits within the context of human trafficking. Additionally, this Comment will address the operation of diplomatic visas and how diplomats’ domestic employees enter the United States. Finally, through an analysis of United States v. Al Homoud and United States v. Khobragade, this Comment will address two potential methods for enforcing the TVPRA: formal and informal enforcement. This Comment proposes that utilizing methods of both formal and informal enforcement of the TVPRA would allow the Secretary and Department of State to better bar this specific form of trafficking within the United States.