American anti-human-trafficking PSAs attempt to frighten away illegal immigrants

Don’t get me wrong: sexual and sweat shop slavery are very real threats to those who engage with human traffickers to illegally emigrate from their countries of origin.

But the tone and manner of these American ads—which were first aired in Mexico and Central America as “No Te Enganes/Don’t Be Fooled” and are now appearing in Florida, Georgia, and Washington—seem to be more about scaring away prospective “illegals” than actually addressing the domestic issue of what happens when they arrive.

Completely melodramatic and over-the-top, they remind me of 1980s “War on Drugs” ads from a time when governments decided hell-bent deterrence was more important than prevention and treatment.

See another after the break, and let us know what you think of the approach.

• Share on Tumblr

Comments

Perhaps the real goal of the campaign is not sensitizing American people about the problem of human slavery and actually they are trying to decrease the illegal inmigration ratio, but I find this is a very good way to show what is happening, not just in US, but in many countries. I miss that kind of campaigns in my home country, Spain.