Emily I Ramirez

JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking

02/14/2024
Group Project

Group Project: The United States’ Efforts to End Human

Trafficking

Introduction:

The means of human trafficking occurs internationally, affecting many countries and
nations, including the United States. The United States has highlighted the issue of human
trafficking and has imposed efforts to stop Human trafficking within their country. "The United
States government has made the global fight against human trafficking a policy priority and
employs a whole-of-government approach to hold human traffickers accountable, protect
victims, and prevent this crime." (DOS) This paper will further analyze the issue of human
trafficking in the United States and focus on the strategies used to prevent the involuntary
movement of people.

History of Human Trafficking:

To first understand how the United States has tackled the issue of human trafficking, it is
essential to understand the history of human trafficking. The transatlantic slave trade was
abolished in 1865; it is still seen in the 21st century and is now known as modern-day slavery.
There are several forms in which a person can be trafficked, one being sex trafficking, Labor
trafficking, and service trafficking. Sex trafficking, which is defined as a "commercial sex act is
induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not
attained 18 years of age." (NIJ), targets individuals who are minors, boys, girls, and infants.
Labor trafficking and service trafficking are very similar. They are defined as "The recruitment,
harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the
use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage,
debt bondage, or slavery." (NIJ) This includes involuntary organ selling, prostitution, child labor,
child soldiers, and forced marriages.Slavery is the foundational cause of human trafficking. In
the early 19th and 20th century, the transatlantic slave trade was abolished; however, there were
still effects for those who were salves or their families. "despite the country's third official
abolition of slavery in 1980—up to 20 percent of the country's population is born into inherited
slavery that began in ancient times." (Louise Shelley) these individuals that inherit slavery were
mainly used as forms of human trafficking because they were born into debt bondage
enslavement. Following the transatlantic slave trade, there was a rise in white slavery, defined by
Giovanni and Schooneveld as "procurement — by use of force, deceit, or drugs — of a white
woman or girl." the main targets were women and children. These individuals are obligated and
forced to do what they are told to do. Although the U.N. declared, "No one shall be held in
slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." many of

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Emily I Ramirez
JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking
02/14/2024
Group Project

these traffickers have chosen to traffic these individuals knowing that this action is a criminal
act. "human trafficking has become the most pervasive criminal activity in the world." (Sara
McGeough with Amber Van Schooneveld)

Background/ history:
Throughout this history, the United States has been aware of the national issue of
modern-day human trafficking starting in 1860. However, the United States did not act on this
issue until 2000, when they established The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which enforced
the three P's: protection, prevention, and prosecution. It provided these individuals with
increased protection, strengthening the government's prevention efforts and enhancing the
capacity of federal prosecutors against human traffickers. Later, in 2003, The Trafficking Victims
Protection Act was reauthorized. The U.S. Department of Justice "refined federal criminal
provisions against trafficking, to include adding human trafficking crimes as a Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) predicate, and created a civil remedy enabling
trafficking victims to file lawsuits against their traffickers in federal district court. The TVPRA
2003 also established a Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) within the executive branch "to
coordinate activities of federal departments and agencies regarding policies (including grants and
grant policies) involving the international trafficking of persons and the implementation of" the
TVPA." over the years there have been several reauthorizations of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act adding in 2005 "provided extraterritorial jurisdiction over trafficking offenses
committed overseas by persons employed by or accompanying the federal government." ( DOJ)
and in 2017 "provided additional funding and mandates to support victims of trafficking, and to
increase transparency of the federal government's anti-trafficking work." (DOJ)

The volume of people being trafficked:

Many of the people being trafficked are vulnerable individuals whom human traffickers
target. These individuals are usually prayed on if they are in need or have faced various forms of
discrimination. Whether it be through the necessity of money, housing, clothing, addiction,
shelter, or other basic needs, these individuals are also usually categorized as people of poverty
or lower class, people of color, immigrants, and people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
The volume of human trafficking has been increasing throughout the years. The 2021 Global
Estimates indicate there are 50 million people in situations of modern slavery on any given day,
either forced to work against their will or in a marriage that they were forced into." (ILO) Out of
these 50 million people, around "6.3 million of these were victims of forced commercial sexual
exploitation."(McGeough and Schooneveld) These are numbers that only include the known
amount of individuals who have experienced this type of trafficking; this is without the hundreds
of thousands of individuals who are unaccounted for. In the United States, the global slavery

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Emily I Ramirez
JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking
02/14/2024
Group Project

index mentioned, "The 2023 Global Slavery Index (GSI) estimates that on any given day in
2021, there were 1.1 million people living in modern slavery in the U.S., a prevalence of 3.3
people in modern slavery for every thousand people in the country." (GSI) This shows the
magnitude of individuals experiencing Modern-day slavery, displaying in many different forms
and violating many of these individual fundamental rights.

What is being done now:

The United States as a whole is continuing to enforce The Trafficking Victims Protection
Act, effectively using the national human trafficking hotline (1-888-373-7888) and enforcing the
national action plan against human trafficking released in 2021, working with other
nongovernmental and governmental organizations throughout the United States. There is a
whole-government approach to combat Modern-day trafficking.

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice, which focuses on assisting human trafficking survivors and bringing
traffickers to justice.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS) has several branches focusing on specific
areas that are fighting against. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) focuses on
guaranteeing that all survivors of human trafficking and exploitation, no matter age, sex, or legal
status, have access to health care. The HHS accomplishes this by having several programs to
help these people: the Runaway and Homeless Youth program, which gives these youth access to
governmental assistance such as outreach, emergency shelters, and longer-term transitional
living and maternity group homes. Another program is the Family Violence Prevention and
Services Program, which funds many of the shelter homes for victims of domestic violence. In
addition, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)" helps refugees and other special
populations, such as adult victims of severe forms of trafficking, obtain economic and social
self-sufficiency in the United States." (DOL).

U.S. Department of Labor

The Department of Labor focuses on human trafficking regarding labor jobs that are either
forced or involve minors and children. The Department of Justice emphasized that "The Office
of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking publishes reports on international child
labor, forced labor, and human trafficking and provides funding to combat international child
labor." (DOL) The Wage and Hour Division also enforces federal labor laws, including the" Fair
Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act. It
assists with human trafficking investigations involving violating these laws." (DOL)

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Emily I Ramirez
JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking
02/14/2024
Group Project

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) focuses on the protection and security of
the United States. One of its goals is to end human trafficking. The DHS works very closely with
the Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking
program. However, the DHS also has its other forms of services, such as the Center for
Countering Human Trafficking, which is used to push law enforcement operations further,
including the protection of victims and enhancing prevention. Another service is The U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which enforces and investigates crimes, including
human trafficking. In addition, The Blue Campaign informs and trains victim assistance to help
the public. Lastly, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services "adjudicates applications for T
and U visas, which are available to foreign national victims of trafficking." (DOL)

Department of Monoration and Awareness

Several other governmental organizations are used as forms of monitoring human
trafficking and spreading awareness on the issue, such as the U.S. Department of State, which
"Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, conducts awareness-raising activities, diplomacy
with other countries, and funding for international anti-trafficking initiatives." (DOL), the U.S.
Department of Education implements the office of safe and healthy students to ensure these
students are aware of human trafficking trends and for schools to be informed of these trends as
well. The U.S. Department of Defense implements The Combating Trafficking in Persons
Program Office, which focuses on establishing policy and guarantees that the services,
combatant commands, and defense agencies have the tools necessary to prevent trafficking.

Conclusion:
The National plan of action for stopping modern-day human trafficking not only in the United
States but in the world is one of the United States' priority issues to address. However, it has
been evolving and increasing in strategy and involvement of organizations. Alongside these
organizations that are used to stop human trafficking is the President's Interagency Task Force to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF), which "consists of 20 agencies across the
federal government responsible for coordinating U.S. government-wide efforts to combat
trafficking in persons." (DOS) it is evident that the united states are heavily involved in the end
of human trafficking using many resources and governmental assistance. The goal of the national
action plan approach is to reduce or eliminate human trafficking within the nation in three years.

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Emily I Ramirez
JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking
02/14/2024
Group Project

WORK CITED

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Combat Human Trafficking.” Www.acf.hhs.gov, 8 July 2020,

www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/resource-library/federal-efforts#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Departm

ent%20of%20Health. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. “Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2023 | Bureau of

Justice Statistics.” Bjs.ojp.gov, Oct. 2023,

bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/human-trafficking-data-collection-activities-2023#0-0.

FBI. “Human Trafficking/Involuntary Servitude.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2022,

www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/human-trafficking.

GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX . “United States.” Walk Free, Oct. 2023,

www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/country-studies/united-states/.

Giovagnoni, Becky, and Amber Van Schooneveld. “The History of Human Trafficking.” The

Exodus Road, The Exodus Road, 25 Jan. 2022,

theexodusroad.com/history-of-human-trafficking/.

House, The White. “FACT SHEET: President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat

Trafficking in Persons Meeting.” The White House, 15 Feb. 2024,

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Emily I Ramirez
JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking
02/14/2024
Group Project

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/02/14/fact-sheet-presidents

-interagency-task-force-to-monitor-and-combat-trafficking-in-persons-meeting/#:~:text=

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U.S Department of Justice. “A Whole Government Approach.” Www.justice.gov, 28 Sept. 2022,

www.justice.gov/humantrafficking/whole-government-approach.

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Emily I Ramirez
JSIS 478- Migrant smugging &Human Trafficking
02/14/2024
Group Project

U.S Department of State. “The President’s Interagency Task Force - United States Department of

State.” United States Department of State, 2022,

www.state.gov/the-presidents-interagency-task-force/.

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ProQuest Ebook Central,

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=554786.

Schooneveld, Amber Van. “Where Does Human Trafficking Occur?” The Exodus Road, 30 Jan.

2023, theexodusroad.com/where-does-human-trafficking-occur/.

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Trafficking in Persons.” The White House, 25 Jan. 2022,

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/25/fact-sheet-presidents

-interagency-task-force-to-monitor-and-combat-trafficking-in-persons/.