Indenture agreement between Relax Centre Co. Ltd., of Bangkok and 33-year-old Sirilak Rongsak

Recruited from rural areas of Thailand, the workers were tricked into accepting employment by misrepresentations of their future working and living conditions. After signing indenture agreements promising to repay 120,000 baht (nearly $5,000 in 1997 dollars), they were smuggled into the United States on fraudulent passports. On arrival, their passports were confiscated by their employers. Their debt, a guard force, and threats of harm to them and their families in Thailand discouraged the workers from escaping. Although the confinement of the work force was highly unusual, many aspects of the business, such as recruiting and illegally importing workers, are relatively common. Less enslaving forms of debt peonage occur surprisingly often in some Asian immigrant communities.