The white slavery panic was centred around the fear of innocent white young women imprisoned in brothels and trafficked by (almost always) foreign criminals. This image can be seen as a classic example of this, with a caption that reads: 'For God's sake, do something'. Behind the white woman is the shadowy figure of the brown man who has imprisoned her. The first law that was passed in the name of anti-trafficking was the 1905 Aliens Act. It was unsuccessful in stopping exploitation, but it defined prostitutes as 'undesirable aliens'. Anybody who was coming from France or Germany and held a charge for prostitution could be called an undesirable alien, denied entry and deported. The history of deporting migrant sex workers is a very old one.

Solicitation is the only crime in the 1905 Aliens Act that is non-indictable. All other crimes that could illicit deportation were all indictable, such as serious thefts and murders. Solicitation, in comparison, was a minor offence. The campaign to save exploited trafficking victims turned into a campaign to push prostitution out of sight and beyond the borders of the nation.