Linda Thom forwards another couple of stories about the Afghan Slavery case, one of which actually mentions the immigration status of the accused in the first paragraph.

5 accused of enslaving girl | Afghan immigrant wed at age 13, By Paul Shukovsky, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 16, 2008

5 King residents charged in Afghan girl's forced labor, By Noelene Clark, Seattle Times, October 16, 2008

Prosecutors: Afghan girl enslaved in Wash. By GENE JOHNSON, AP , October 16, 2008 SEATTLE — Five Seattle-area immigrants from Afghanistan enslaved a teenage girl they brought to the U.S., with some forcing her to do chores and one - her 37-year-old husband - beating and sexually assaulting her, according to a federal indictment unsealed this week.[More]

Linda writes

I sent the Seattle PI and Seattle Times articles on the Afghans. They are in the country legally and they don't speak English. I suppose they are refugees but who knows?

The girl is illegal as she entered under a visa illegally but good news, she is eligible to stay in the US as she is a victim of human trafficking.

Then she can apply to reunite her family. . . . and the beat goes on.

I think the poor girl doesn't have any actual family, which is how she wound up in this fix. Query—do you think that the accused, if found guilty, will be deported to Afghanistan? I doubt it—an immigration court will think it's too dangerous. The only way an illegal immigrant could get sent to Afghanistan by the American government is if he enlisted in the US Army.