"Rescue Policing" as Carceral Control: The Policing of Asian Immigrant Massage Workers and Its Impact

• In Event: Harm Reduction: Critical Issues in 'Theory vs Practice'

Abstract

Since the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, anti-trafficking campaigns have frequently identified Asian immigrants as a primary group trafficked into massage parlors in ethnic enclaves of U.S. cities. The criminal justice system has also implemented various penal codes and policies aimed at "rescuing" and "assisting" trafficking victims. However, these interventions have often conflated sex trafficking, massage work, and sex work, leading to increased policing and criminalization of Asian immigrant massage workers. Using in-depth interviews and fieldwork with Asian massage and sex workers and service providers in New York City and Los Angeles, this paper examines how these populations experience policing, courts, and court-mandated sessions with affiliated social service providers. It focuses on how these interventions shape workers’ perceptions of state agencies, risks, and their strategies for navigating high-risk situations. I introduce "rescue policing" as a conceptual framework to describe the state's ambivalent approach—one that offers and uses the narratives of “rescue” for victims or vulnerable populations, while subjecting them to criminalization and social control. I argue that rescue policing extends the carceral control to social service and welfare agencies, further marginalizing vulnerable groups and reinforcing distrust in both law enforcement and social service agencies.

Author

• Brittany Suh, CUNY Graduate Center