Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is defined as the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. The U.S State Department has reported that two to four million individuals are trafficked annually. With at least 17,500 of these individuals trafficked within the U.S. Some organizations, such as Catholic Relief Services, are as high as 12.5 to 27 million. Organizations focused on ending child trafficking claim that there are as many as 300,000 children in the U.S at risk of commercial sexual exploitation, with the majority of them being U.S citizens. Human Trafficking can be sorted into two different categories: labor and commercial sex. “In the 2013 annual Trafficking in Persons Report, the US State Department stated that the most prominent nation of origin for trafficked individuals in the US in 2012 was the US, followed by Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines, Honduras, Indonesia and Guatemala.” Today, efforts to address and combat these issues in the US are being pursued mostly by the Executive Branch, as well as through a variety of non-profit organizations (Which I mention later on!). Private organizations have contributed the largest portion of efforts, including international lobbying and policy-based efforts by groups like “Catholic Relief Services” and “Mercy Corps”. Several states have also enacted legislation to combat state-based human trafficking concerns. Lawmakers in Texas identified Houston as a key port in the sex and labor trade. These efforts have included increased funding for law enforcement personnel focused on monitoring and finding individuals involved in trafficking, as well as enlisting the help of locals through education and outreach. The federal government's efforts to combat human trafficking come from one major piece of legislation. The original legislation, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, was passed in 2000, followed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts of 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2013. This authorizes the US State Department and White House to work on prevention and enforcement efforts involving human trafficking. Congress also addressed human trafficking in areas of immigration reform. Individuals who are found to be victims of human trafficking, especially children, are granted certain immunities and permitted to pursue services and citizenship (which I also go into detail about later on).
Human slavery was officially banned through the Thirteenth amendment in the U.S Constitution; which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a crime). This was passed in April of 1864 and January of 1865. This is important to note, since human trafficking is a form of slavery since its involuntary, so its very clearly against the constitution. The federal government plays a very active role in helping to prevent cases of hu...
