Migrant sex work
Because of their illegal and vulnerable economic status, some migrant sex workers may find themselves in situations where coercion and forced sex work may be present. Under international legal definitions of human trafficking, forced and coercive forms of sex work are considered to be instances of involuntary sex trafficking. However, many scholars caution against categorizing sex workers as either completely voluntary or completely involuntary. They often argue that sex work, like other forms of labor, can span a spectrum between the two extremes, with most circumstances falling in the middle through various labor rights violations. Nevertheless, the vulnerability of migrant sex workers can make them susceptible to exploitative or coercive labor practices that can resemble or be human trafficking.
Tlaxcala
Tenancingo, a town in Tlaxcala, is the beginning of a pipeline in an illicit, international trafficking trade, and considered to be the epicenter for sex trafficking in Mexico. Roots of the practice of sex trafficking date back to the 1960s. An unnamed Mexican charity told the BBC that it estimated of the 10,000 inhabitants of Tenancingo, 1,000 are sex traffickers. Sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and pimping are a major source of income for the town, although an exact dollar amount is not known. These practices have been denounced by three NGO's. Recent investigations and a documentary Pimp City: A Journey to the Center of the Sex Trade (2014), have revealed that the small town was identified by the United States Department of Justice as a provider of female sex slaves to the United States. According to the documentary, the entire political structure and police force of the town are implicated in human trafficking and sex trade.