Washington, DC - "My Administration will focus on ending the absolutely horrific practice of human trafficking." ~ President Donald J. Trump

ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: President Donald J. Trump and his Administration are working to end the scourge of human trafficking, also known as modern slavery.

• Today, the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) met to discuss the Administration’s efforts to tackle human trafficking.
• The Task Force is a Cabinet-level entity, consisting of 15 departments and agencies, which work tirelessly to prosecute traffickers, protect survivors, and combat human trafficking.
• Members of the Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, comprised of survivor leaders appointed by the President, attended.
• The recipients of the 2018 Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons were honored at the meeting.

TAKING ACTION AT HOME AND ABROAD: The Trump Administration is taking the fight to human trafficking on all fronts, carrying out robust domestic and international efforts.

• In April 2018, President Trump signed historic legislation into law to combat online sex trafficking, holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring justice for survivors.
• Last year, President Trump issued an Executive Order which directed his Administration to crack down on transnational criminal organizations that use human trafficking.
• Domestically, Federal agencies are ensuring full enforcement of our laws so that those who seek to exploit our people and break our laws face justice. Last year:
  • The Department of Justice secured convictions against nearly 500 defendants in human trafficking and the Federal Bureau of Investigation dismantled 42 criminal enterprises engaged in child sex trafficking.
  • The Department of Homeland Security initiated over 800 human trafficking cases, resulting in 1,500 arrests, 530 convictions, and over 500 victims identified.
• The Department of Justice anti-trafficking grantees reported assisting more than 8,000 survivors between July 2016 and June 2017, greatly exceeding the past record.
• The Department of Health and Human Services modernized the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
• The United States is also taking the lead to end this crime internationally, as the largest donor of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery.
• The Trump Administration is pushing back against authoritarian regimes to eliminate forced labor, sex trafficking, and the exploitation of children.
  • Human trafficking is very common under regimes lacking basic civil protections.
  • The Administration is limiting the number of Tier 3 countries in the TIP Report that will receive national security waivers under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

A THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY: Human trafficking is a threat to homeland security, public health, and the rule of law.

• Human trafficking is often a hidden crime that knows no boundaries, impacting adults and children of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities.
  • Reports of human trafficking come from every State.
  • There are an estimated 24.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide.
• Drug traffickers in Central and South America are increasingly engaging in human trafficking.