For survivors of human trafficking, escaping their abuse is just the beginning of the road to recovery. Immigrant survivors of human trafficking in particular face barriers to rebuilding their lives. Consider that a Polaris Study found that after exit, 75 percent of survivors struggled to get the trauma-informed mental healthcare they need, while 69 percent needed support to find a stable, living wage job.
Ayuda’s social services program is working to change that. We provide wraparound mental health support for our clients in their preferred language and offer personalized, trauma-informed case management. Our case managers also walk hand-in-hand with each client as they navigate the difficult process of healing and finding safe , sustainable employment.
In Maryland, Ayuda introduced a new support group to further help immigrant survivors return to work: Future in Training (FiT). Provided in partnership with the University of Maryland (UMD) Safe Center and developed by Marriott International and the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, FiT offers job readiness training to prepare survivors with market-driven skills and introduce them to career pathways within the hospitality industry.
Each FiT group cohort invites 15 survivors of human trafficking to attend 4 sessions, covering a wide range of industry knowledge. Ayuda’s Supervising Case Manager Nuri Martinez-Molina and Senior Case Manager Ivonne Diaz, who facilitate the group, bring in guest speakers on financial literacy and other topics related to job readiness for a more well-rounded experience. At the final session, participants receive a freshly minted certificate, and a modest stipend to support their next steps.
“I’ve never had a certificate before,” one client excitedly told Nuri and Ivonne on his cohort graduation day.
Another client shared powerful feedback (translated from Spanish):
“I loved the topics that were presented—I learned things I didn’t know, met people I hadn’t known before, and I’m extremely grateful for the work of Nuri and Ivonne. They were excellent presenters on the topic and even better people—understanding and compassionate.”
– former fit participant
Immigrant Survivors Are Ready to Work, But Held Back by Processing Delays
We are delighted to share that several of Ayuda’s “FiT graduates” have already found employment. But for many immigrant survivors, the right to work is still out of reach. While Ayuda’s immigration legal team helps survivors seek T Visas, an essential form of immigration relief, processing can take up to three years. Furthermore, the Human Legal Trafficking Center reports that the U.S. government recently denied more T Visa applications than they approved in a single quarter for the first time in history.
For immigrant trafficking survivors with a pending T Visa application, an employment authorization document (EAD) is the key to securing work in the interim. But EADs bring their own limbo – between Q1 and Q2 of Fiscal Year 2025, the number of pending EAD applications went from just under 1.2 million to over 2 million.
As we mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, we celebrate the courage of immigrant survivors who are ready to rebuild their lives—but too often face bureaucratic delays that keep them in limbo. While programs like FiT offer tools and encouragement, true progress also requires systemic change. We urge U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to address the growing backlog of T Visa and EAD applications so that survivors aren’t left waiting years for immigration relief, or even the simple right to work. Immigrant survivors have taken brave steps toward freedom. It’s time for our systems to meet them with urgency, dignity, and support.
