Earlier this month, U.S. Marshals arrested Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who was serving as the deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate in New York City. She was accused of committing visa fraud to bring a domestic worker into the United States and of paying the worker less than the minimum wage. The arrest led to a strong rebuke from the Indian government, which disputed the charges and objected to the way in which the arrest was carried out.

The recent arrest of an Indian consular official has brought to the forefront the issue of human trafficking. Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, allegedly forced her maid to work for less than half of minimum wage. Advocates say the problem concerning workers for foreign governments is all too common. Because of the complications surrounding immunity laws, many abuse cases often go unreported or uncharged, advocates say. Victims' claims often end up in civil court for that reason, they say.