The following reports come from the 2018 Trafficking in Human Persons Report
The United States is a source, transit, and destination
country for men, women, transgender individuals, and children—both U.S.
citizens and foreign nationals—subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.
Trafficking occurs in both legal and illicit industries, including in
commercial sex, hospitality, traveling sales crews, agriculture, janitorial
services, construction, restaurants, care for persons with disabilities, salon
services, massage parlors, fairs and carnivals, peddling and begging, drug
smuggling and distribution, and child care and domestic work. Individuals who
entered the United States with and without legal status have been identified as
trafficking victims. Government officials, companies, and NGOs have continued
to express concern about the risk of human trafficking in global supply chains,
including in federal contracts.
Victims originate from almost every region of
the world; the top three countries of origin of federally identified victims in
FY 2017 were the United States, Mexico, and Honduras. Populations in the United
States vulnerable to human trafficking include: children in the child welfare
and juvenile justice systems; runaway and homeless youth; unaccompanied
children; American Indians and Alaska Natives; migrant laborers, including
undocumented workers and participants in visa programs for temporary workers;
foreign national domestic workers in diplomatic households; persons with
limited English proficiency; persons with low literacy; persons with
disabilities; LGBTI individuals; and participants in court-ordered substance
use diversion programs. NGOs noted an increase in the use of technology to recruit
and advertise victims of human trafficking.
The government continued to demonstrate serious and
sustained efforts by investigating and prosecuting both sex and labor
trafficking, and increasing the number of prosecutions and convictions;
providing services to a greater number of trafficking victims; providing
various types of immigration relief for foreign national victims; continuing
engagement with survivors to improve programs and policies on human
trafficking; enhancing outreach initiatives through the development of
materials for states and territories; and continuing funding for an NGO operated
national hotline and referral service that added text and online chat
capabilities to improve accessibility. Although the government meets the
minimum standards, anti-trafficking advocates continued to report that victim
services were not always provided equitably, urging an increase in resources
for, and equitable access to, comprehensive services across the country.
Advocates reported a lack of sustained effort to address labor trafficking
compared to sex trafficking, and also reported continued instances of state and
local officials detaining or prosecuting trafficking victims for criminal
activity related to their trafficking victimization.
In FY 2017, DHS reported opening 833 investigations possibly
involving human trafficking, a decrease from 1,029 in FY 2016. DOJ formally
opened 782 human trafficking investigations, a decrease from 843 in FY 2016.
(The FY 2016 number (843) represents a correction to the number cited last year
(1,800), which in fact represented the number of pending cases rather than
formally opened investigations.) DOS reported opening 169 human
trafficking-related cases worldwide during FY 2017, a decrease from 288 in FY
2016. The Department of Defense (DoD) reported investigating 11 human
trafficking related cases involving U.S. military personnel compared to 13 in
FY 2016. DOJ initiated a total of 282 federal human trafficking prosecutions in
FY 2017, an increase from 241 in FY 2016, and charged 553 defendants compared
to 531 in FY 2016. Of these prosecutions, 266 involved predominantly sex
trafficking and 16 involved predominantly labor trafficking, although some
involved both. DOJ and DHS continued to partner with Mexican law enforcement
counterparts to dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the
U.S.-Mexico border. Through this collaboration, DOJ secured convictions against
eight members of a transnational organized criminal sex trafficking enterprise.
During FY 2017, DOJ secured convictions against 499 traffickers, an increase
from 439 convictions in FY 2016. Of these, 471 involved predominantly sex
trafficking and 28 involved predominantly labor trafficking, although several
involved both.
The U.S. government maintained protection efforts and
continued to fund victim assistance for trafficking victims. The funding level
decreased slightly from the previous year, although the number of victims
served significantly increased. The government had formal procedures to guide
officials in victim identification and referral to service providers; funded
several federal tip lines, including an NGO-operated national hotline and
referral service; and funded task forces and NGOs that provided
trafficking-specific victim services. Comprehensive victim assistance funded by
the federal government includes case management and referrals for medical and
dental care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, sustenance and
shelter, translation and interpretation services, immigration and legal
assistance, employment and training, transportation assistance, and other
services.
The U.S. government continued to provide training to
federal, state, local, and tribal officials, as well as to NGO service
providers and health and human service providers to encourage more consistent
application of victim-centered and trauma informed approaches in all phases of
victim identification, assistance, recovery, and participation in the criminal
justice process. Advocates called for specialized training for law enforcement
and service providers on the linkage between substance use and human
trafficking, including the use of drugs to coerce victims. DOJ included
training on the linkage between the manipulation of drug addiction and coercion
in its trainings on human trafficking provided to federal, state, and local law
enforcement officials.
The U.S. government maintained efforts to prevent
trafficking. Federal agencies conducted numerous educational and training
activities for their own personnel, including law enforcement and acquisition
professionals, and field office staff. The government continued public outreach
measures on the causes and consequences of human trafficking and continued
efforts to increase victim identification among vulnerable populations and
sectors and improve prevention efforts. HHS continued to fund an NGO to operate
the national human trafficking hotline, and added text and online chat
capabilities to improve accessibility. In FY 2017, the hotline received 62,835
calls from across the United States and U.S. territories, identified 8,759
human trafficking cases, and provided resources and referrals to 10,615
victims. The hotline also received information on 4,863 potential traffickers
and 1,698 businesses facilitating human trafficking. More than 2,000 individuals
who identified as victims of trafficking directly called the hotline seeking
help. In 2017, DHS continued its
nationwide human trafficking awareness Blue Campaign and, with input from
trafficking survivors and other partners, developed new products, including a
new public service announcement focused on labor trafficking.
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