Ivy O. Suriyopas is a Staff Attorney with the Anti-Trafficking Initiative at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). The Anti-Trafficking Initiative addresses the intersection of immigration, race, class, age, and sex while adding to AALDEF’s comprehensive approach to serving the Asian American community. She provides legal representation, conducts community education and outreach, and engages in policy advocacy on sex and labor trafficking issues. This legal representation includes immigration assistance as well as civil litigation for claims involving the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other federal and state laws. Ms. Suriyopas was formerly an Equal Justice Works Fellow and a summer clerk at AALDEF. Her previous legal experience includes externships with the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins of the Northern District of California and the ACLU of Northern California. She served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal and studied international human rights law in South Africa through Howard University. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and her B.S. in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University.
Human Trafficking and Corporate Supply Chains
People are more concerned about trafficking in persons than ever. However, addressing this human rights abuse means we all need to consume goods ethically by learning more about the supply chain of products we purchase. Recent events surrounding Wal-Mart, especially regarding the tragic garment factory fire that killed more than 100 workers in Bangladesh and [...]
Arizona’s SB 1070 has left a path of destruction in its wake – harming families, immigrant communities, and various state economies, especially agribusinesses and farms. Georgia, Utah, Indiana, South Carolina, and Alabama have attempted to follow Arizona’s example with their own laws targeting immigrants. These anti-immigrant laws end up harming all of our communities [...]
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The 250-year legacy of slavery continues to permeate throughout contemporary United States. However, these days, the images we see are likely to be those of immigrants from the global South. Instead of state-sanctioned ownership and exploitation of workers inside the home or out in the fields, today’s federal government and most state regimes have [...]
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