EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "In 2007, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began receiving disturbing reports alleging the trafficking and extortion of Burmese and other migrants in Malaysia and from Malaysia into Thailand, for personal profit by some Malaysian Government officials, among others. Committee staff conducted a year-long review of the trafficking and extortion allegations. The committee has an active interest in the treatment of Burmese migrants in Malaysia. Many of the approximately 40,000 Burmese refugees who have resettled in the United States since 1995, have come via Malaysia. Malaysia does not officially recognize refugees, due in part to concern by the Government that official recognition of refugees would encourage more people to enter Malaysia, primarily for economic reasons. Also, Malaysian officials view migrants as a threat to Malaysia?s national security... Many Burmese migrants travel to Malaysia to register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for resettlement to a third country. Typically they profess fear of persecution by the repressive Burmese military junta. Once in Malaysia, Burmese migrants are often arrested by Malaysian authorities, whether or not they have registered with the UNHCR and have identification papers. Personal belongings confiscated at the time of arrest are usually kept by Malaysian officials. Burmese migrants are reportedly taken by Malaysian Government personnel from detention facilities to the Malaysia-Thailand border for deportation. Allegations received by the committee from migrants, spanning years of personal experience, are similar to reports issued by NGOs and human rights activists. Upon arrival at the Malaysia-Thailand border, human traffickers reportedly take possession of the migrants and issue ransom demands on an individual basis. Migrants state that freedom is possible only once money demands are met. Specific payment procedures are outlined, which reportedly include bank accounts in Kuala Lumpur to which money should be transferred. The committee was informed that on some occasions, the ‘‘attendance?? list reviewed by traffickers along the border was identical to the attendance list read prior to departure from the Malaysian detention facilities. Migrants state that those unable to pay are turned over to human peddlers in Thailand, representing a variety of business interests ranging from fishing boats to brothels. The committee has received numerous reports of sexual assaults against Burmese women by human traffickers along the border. One NGO official states that ‘‘Most young women deported to the Thai border are sexually abused, even in front of their husbands, by the syndicates, since no one dares to intervene as they would be shot or stabbed to death in the jungle.??... Statements are continuing to come to the committee from Burmese and other migrants who were taken to the Thailand-Malaysia border and threatened with violence, or being handed over to human traffickers unless extortion demands were met... The allegations of mistreatment by Malaysian Government officials and human trafficking syndicates in southern Thailand are not restricted to Burmese migrants, including refugees. However, the preponderance of complaints received by the committee are from ethnic minority migrants who fled Burma..."