VOA慢速英语2021--美国大学被控贩卖人口

US College Program Accused of Human Trafficking

Eleven international students have taken legal action against companies and a small community college in the central United States. A lawsuit¹ by the students accuses the companies and college of human trafficking and involuntary servitude.

Nine students from Brazil and two from Chile filed the lawsuit earlier this week.

It claims that Western Iowa Tech Community College and J&L Staffing -- both in Sioux City, Iowa -- urged the students to come to the U.S. under a work- and study-based visa exchange program. The students, it says, were then forced into factory jobs that had no educational value and were unrelated to their fields of study.

The lawsuit states that the students were paid much less than American employees. And it says money was taken out of the students' earnings² to pay the college and the staffing company.

Civil rights lawyer Roxanne Conlin represents the students. She says the lawsuit seeks to demand that the college provide the students with an education, as promised.

The students were told they would be offered work experience in fields such as culinary arts and robotics, Conlin said. But they instead received jobs at two nearby factories: Royal Canin pet food plant and Tur-Pak foods, which puts together food products.

Royal Canin said in an email that it knew about the lawsuit but does not comment on active legal cases. J&L Staffing and Tur-Pak Foods did not answer messages seeking comment.

Conlin filed the lawsuit under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act; the Fair Labor³ Standards Act; and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt⁴ Organizations (RICO) Act. She also claims violations⁵ of the Iowa Wage Payment Collections Act.

Conlin is asking the court to stop the college and companies from taking part in the work-and-study J-1 visa program. She is also asking the court to provide the students with an education and pay them money for past and future mental and emotional harm.

The students were signed up for classes at the community college. But they were kept away from the general student population, the lawsuit says. They only took classes with other Brazilians and Chileans in the J-1 visa program. The lawsuit also says college officials controlled when and where the students could work and under what conditions.

A spokeswoman for the community college denied the claims. "These accusations⁶ are completely untrue...and offensive. We look forward to defending the college and its employees in district court," said Andrea Rohlena, the college's director of marketing⁷.

It is the second lawsuit against the community college and the companies. The first was filed in November and involved eight students from Chile.

The community college began its J-1 program in early 2019. By November of that year, the school was under investigation⁸ after an anonymous⁹ report was filed.

In January 2020, the college released a statement saying it had learned students in the program were unhappy. The school blamed a "failure to clarify expectations" and "a breakdown¹⁰ in communication" for some of the problems.

The community college ended the program in March 2020. It said it did so because of the coronavirus pandemic. The college said it bought airplane tickets for the students to return home. But many have chosen to stay in the United States, including the students Conlin represents.

Words in This Story

servitude – n. the condition of being a slave or of having to obey another person

staffing – n. a group of people who work for an organization or business

culinary – adj. used in or relating to cooking

pet – n. a tame animal kept as a companion rather than for work

anonymous – adj. not named or identified

clarify – v. to make (something) easier to understand

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

10 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。