The U. S. State Department reports that human trafficking is a crime of exploitation. Traffickers profit at the expense of their victims by compelling them to perform labor or to engage in commercial sex in every region of the United States and around the world. It is estimated that there are approximately 28 million victims worldwide. Traffickers prey on people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities for their own profit.
Human trafficking in the United States involves traffickers compelling victims to engage in commercial sex and to work in both legal and illicit industries. These industries include hospitality, sales crews, agriculture, janitorial services, construction, landscaping, restaurants, factories, salon services, massage parlors, retail sales, drug smuggling, religious institutions, childcare, and domestic work.
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In 2018, the United States, Mexico and the Philippines were ranked as the world’s worst places for human trafficking. In the U.S., the estimates for human trafficking are in the hundreds of thousands.
Most human trafficking cases have been reported in California, Texas, and Florida. Las Vegas is also considered a “hot spot” for human trafficking due to the city’s culture and high rate of homelessness.
Children are more vulnerable than adults. They’re easier to control, cheaper, and less likely to demand working conditions. More than 300,000 young people in the U.S. are considered “at risk” of sexual exploitation.
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The U.S. Department of Health reported that in 2011, California passed a law to help with trafficking in the manufacturing industry. The law required major manufacturing and retail firms to disclose what they were doing to stop human trafficking in their supply trains. By 2015, less than a fifth of businesses had complied.
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The Guardian reported that children raised in foster care have a greater chance of becoming victims. In 2013, 60% of child victims the FBI recovered were from foster care. In 2017, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that 14% of children reported missing were likely victims of sex trafficking, and 88% of those had been in child welfare.
Native American women are at particular risk. In 2016, a reported 506 Native American women disappeared or were killed in American cities. In Phoenix, another of the top trafficking jurisdictions in the U.S., it was estimated that 40% of sex trafficking victims in 2015 were Native American.
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The Urban Institute reported that the Mexican state of Tlaxcala has been identified as the biggest source of sex slaves to the United States. In 2015, five out of 10 of Homeland Security’s “most wanted” sex traffickers were from Tenancingo, in Tlaxcala. There were estimates that one in 10 people from Tenancingo were involved in trafficking humans.
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Migrant farm workers have become trafficking victims because their legal status in the United States is often tied to employment. According to a 2017 report, the most worked crop for victims was tobacco, followed by cattle and dairy, oranges, tomatoes, and strawberries. Source: Global Slavery Index, Business Insider.
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The facts and sources for this article do not include updated information since 2021, when millions of illegal immigrants have invaded the United States southern border.
My earlier Blog on “Rape Trees” highlighted the fact that upwards of 85% of women and young girls attempting to enter the United States at the southern border have been raped, and many have been raped multiple times. Millions of illegal immigrants are “got aways” and were not vetted by the border patrol.
American federal government law enforcement agencies are knowledgeable of the facts and conditions of human trafficking. They have been woefully incompetent in preventing human trafficking and many are guilty of dereliction of their duty in not enforcing American law.
James Peifer
