Quote My Administration will focus on ending the absolutely horrific practice of human trafficking. And I am prepared to bring the full force and weight of our government, whatever we can do, in order to solve this horrific problem.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS AN AFFRONT TO HUMAN DIGNITY: With millions affected worldwide, human trafficking is a global atrocity that deprives millions of their universal human rights.

Human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, affects people from all backgrounds at home and abroad, placing millions into a sickening form of exploitation. Per the International Labor Organization, there may be as many as 24.9 million victims of forced labor across the world, with millions going unidentified and unseen. Children are especially vulnerable to this evil practice, as they account for 25 percent of modern slaves. Victims are compelled to perform labor or commercial sex acts through the use of fraud, force, or coercion, reducing the value of human lives to that of mere commodities.

The United States is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children – both United States citizens and foreign nationals – victimized by human trafficking. In FY 2017, DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI) initiated 833 human trafficking cases, resulting in 1,602 arrests and 578 convictions, and identified 518 victims of human trafficking. The HHS-funded National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) received reports of 8,686 unique cases of potential trafficking in FY 2017, identifying 21,644 potential victims.

Annual illicit profits from human trafficking were estimated to be as high as $150 billion in 2014, demonstrating the substantial economic scale of this abhorrent criminal industry.

PROTECTING THE INNOCENT: President Donald J. Trump is taking a stand against human trafficking, dedicating our Government’s full resources towards fighting this repulsive crime.