Illegal migrants are a nonentity in the United States, and, to a certain extent, many prefer it that way. They exist in society's netherworld, living under their own code of survival by whatever means they can, since the alternatives are less inviting. Mostly, they struggle. People take advantage of them at every opportunity because they are stateless and mostly defenseless. Many are no more than chattels, the equivalent of slavery that legally ended in the eighteenth century but informally exists in egregious practices by some people and in some industries, particularly agricultural. In 2000, this situation prompted Congress to pass the Trafficking Victim Protection Act, making "involuntary servitude" a crime. Involuntary servitude occurs throughout the United States, wherever illegal migrants are the main work force. The trafficking legislation effectively eliminated the industry's hierarchy, limiting it to bottom-rung labor contractors, who might be the biggest perpetrators but hardly the exclusive offenders.