Millions of people are kidnapped every year. Within the United States, (US), it is estimated that missing persons cases have “increased six-fold in the past 25 years, from roughly 150,000 in 1980 to about 900,000 in 2012″ of which 300,000 people are at risk of being sexually exploited.” (Crime Library, 2007) Of the 90,000 people are missing, only 2,200 are reported daily, to include both adults and children. It is estimated that 58,000 children are abducted globally by non-relatives with sexual motives. In the US, 7,000 children are abducted nationwide but only 115 represent cases involving strangers. Children are rarely abducted to be killed, held for ransom, or with the intention of keeping. Therefore, have been a rise in the number of abducted globally since 2012, of which it can be inferred that human trafficking is the culprit.
To date, approximately 45.8 million people are trapped globally in human slavery. In the U.S., a total of 10,949 cases were reported in 2018. To date, there are 51,919 reported cases of human trafficking, of those, “7,859 where sex and 1,249 we labor trafficking cases.(Polaris, 2020) Human trafficking has emerged as the number one globally preferred crime trend of organized transnational and is the most unreported. Human trafficking is a 32 billion dollar global criminal industry that exploits “approximately 24.9 million victims of all genders, ages, classes, and nationalities globally.” (Kline, 2019)Human Trafficking is defined as the trading, selling or moving of humans through manipulation or oppression for the purpose of criminal activity and financial exploitation. (NCMEC, n.d.) This crime trend encompasses a myriad of global victims’ rights violations and there are several reasons humans are trafficked.
The different types of trafficking are sex trafficking, underage and arraigned marriages, domestic servitude, forced labor, extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal. (Grubb, 2009) Oftentimes victims are rescued through law enforcement sting operations or remains are recovered devoid of major internal organs. Human Trafficking have emerged as a new global threat which threatens National Security and humanity as a whole. Collectively, foreign and federal intelligence agencies, customs, border patrol, local law enforcement and community agencies must work quickly to end transnational crimes and the exploitation of victims that threatens national security.
The laws vary in different countries allowing transnational criminals to exploit them. U.S. and international law treat victims very differently. Hence, it’s important to distinguish the difference between smuggling, labor and/or sex trafficking. Human Smuggling is defined as illegally aiding or migrating individuals’ entry into a location which they are not a national or permanent resident, for a profit or gain. In other words, the sole purpose of a smuggler is to move people and/or property illegally across borders. The one major distinction between smugglers and human traffickers is coercion and consent. Individuals who are smuggled are usually willing participants, when the transaction is completed, there’s rarely any additional contact with the smuggler. Conversely, human traffickers violently abduct, enslave and exploit their helpless victims until the victim dies, escapes or is rescued. (Weiss, 2012) The recent focus on illegal immigration in the U.S. have the positive effect of making trafficking more difficult. “If entry into the U.S. is made more difficult, illegal entry of persons being trafficked might lessen. the Isolationism might reduce human trafficking, but also might prevent the US from becoming engaged in a worldwide solutions.” (DHS, 2017)
BACKGROUND
Human trafficking dates back to ancient slavery, 1760 BC in the Code of Hammurabi. Today, human trafficking is illegal in all countries but, somehow remains a very profitable enterprise. Over 7,800 labor trafficking cases was reported within the US since 2007. Of which 148 goods originating from 75 different countries were produced by child labor. (Polaris, 2020) The motivation for such crimes are cheap labor, greed and profit. Human labor trafficking is more prevalent in industries like Agriculture, Horticulture, Fishing, Non-Union Construction, Mineral, Miners, Fashion, Textiles, Food Service, Domestic Household-work, Entertainment, and Spas. (FCASV, 2008) Labor trafficking affects more foreign victims, is less visible and is under-reported in comparison to sex trafficking.
Due to poor economic conditions in China, the business of trafficking is very lucrative. Typically traffickers receive $35,000 per person, but only a $100.00 deposit is required. (Logan, Walker, & Hunt, 2009) Upon arrival, it is their obligated to pay the remainder of their debt. . The immigrant then become enslaved by the “Triads” an Asian crime organization, and forced to work in sweatshops and/or prostitution under inhumane conditions. The original debt accrues exorbitant interest and soon become insurmountable. (Weiss, 2014) Triad gang members then threaten death and/or violence against them or family members if they attempt to escape.Traffickers ensnare all genders, ages, and backgrounds, forcing individuals into a life of servitude. Victims enduring all types of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse. Labor and sex trafficking is not exclusive, a victim forced into labor might also be forced into performing survival sex acts. Approximately 4.8 million people trafficked worldwide are sexually exploited every year worldwide.
Sex trafficking is a crime where anyone can be forced or coerced into the commercial sex trade. In 2007 there were 34,700 reported sex trafficking cases within the U.S. alone The U.S. is both origin and destination for sex trafficking In 2013, in the US, primary countries of origin were Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Guatemala, India, and El Salvador. The Triads, has been very successful in the U. S. by creating cells in most major cities like “New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Houston.” (Abadinsky, 2010) “Places like Florida Sex Spas, New York Restaurants and California Clothing Workers has been identified as the primary locations receiving the majority of trafficked victims annually into the county” (Protection Project, 2002). III. THESISHuman trafficking is a thriving business that knows no geographical or socioeconomic boundaries and has become the preferred crime for the Russian mafia.
With the advancement of cyber technology, crime syndicates, terrorist groups and criminals as a whole, can easily fund their illicit activities from behind the anonymity of a computer. The United Nations has estimated that human trafficking profit is “$150 billion a year and growing but the estimate can not possibly account for unreported instances globally.” (DHS, 2017) However, what is known is that lots of the victims end up being solicited and/or sold on the dark web. The Dark Web is a portion of “the Deep Web used by people intentionally trying to hide their identities. Studies have shown that as much as 57% of all Deep Web content is linked illegal activity” (DHS, 2017). On the dark web there are advertisements, chat group, dating sites and blogs, all with the intent of selling victims’ services for both sex and labor. The Russian Mafia recruits women using advertisements in newspapers and magazines with the promise of money, free housing, and/or employment in the US. Many victims are assured they will meet rich men in the U.S. Victims are provided transportation and travel papers but are stripped of any identification upon when arrive. (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011) Once the women realize they have been tricked, mafia members quickly subdue them with threats, violence, isolation.and narcotics. Methamphetamine is used to make the victim dependent on the gang members to feed their addiction.
The mafia member then photographs the victims preforming sex acts on clients and threatens to send the photographs to their family. (Abadinksy, 2010).Despite new technology, the illicit forums and services are easy to conceal. There are sites with no traceable IP Address and hundreds of volunteer’s worldwide bouncing signals from one county to another.” We are beginning to see multinational cybercrime businesses undertake merger and acquisition strategies and real-world violence to secure and grow their revenue pipeline.” (Dolly, 2017). The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), have developed a program named Memex to aid in the identification of human trafficking operations on the Internet. (DHS, 2017) The program identifies any content on the Dark Web involving human trafficking. Memex uses web crawler technology to search web pages for content. Six months after initial use, the Memex program identify 4,752 potential human trafficking circumstances.
The program has been credited with providing the evidence needed for the successful prosecution of multiple transnational human rights violation cases involving transnational organizations.IV. FINDINGS/ANALYSISThe United Nations estimates that, in 2009, transnational organized criminal activities generated $870 billion in illegal proceeds, the equivalent of 7 percent of world exports. (Weiss, 2014) Human trafficking has become the crime of choice because of the low overhead and it is safer than other offenses. Trafficking laws vary in different countries allowing transnational criminals to exploit them. A possible solution is to make human trafficking less appealing and more risky than in the past. By targeting the financial aspect that typically occur in conjunction with human trafficking. Collectively, foreign and federal intelligence agencies, customs, border patrol, local law enforcement and community agencies must work quickly to end these crimes that exploit victims and threatens national security The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) created the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto Act to protect victims of trafficking and their human rights globally. “The Protocol intention behind this definition is to facilitate convergence in national approaches to the establishment of domestic criminal offences that would support efficient international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons cases.” (UNODC, 2003)
The initiate’s focus is dismantling organized crime and human trafficking networks operating across the borders with bilateral law enforcement coordination. Thus culminating in substantial sentences and high-impact prosecutions. (US Department of State, 2019) In 2001, Congress enacted the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act., which enables them in monitoring human trafficking trends in foreign regions. Countries like Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Haiti, Belize, Suriname, Antigua, Barbuda, Bolivia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking. Those countries in non-compliant with the treaty no longer receive funding or aid from the U.S. (Seelke, 2016)
The Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) Victims Services Committee, co-chaired by The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS), tracks all federal government progress related to services for victims of human trafficking in the US on the Federal Strategic Action Plan. HHS’s OIG, in partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement, launched the Project H.O.P.E (Helping Oppressed People Escape) Information Sharing and Analysis Centers. (USDS, 2019) The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) collaborate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and law enforcement (LE) through the bilateral human trafficking enforcement initiatives. The FBI, supports human trafficking enforcement programs by interfacing with the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC)in conjuction with the CBP’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI) Office of Intelligence. The HSTC information sharing network provides sensitive but unclassified (SBU) enhanced law enforcement technical capabilities to municipalities, local law enforcement organizations. The Field Base Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) system interphases nationally by sharing intelligence which other federal organization systems like, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and ICE. Additionally, The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control targets and applies sanctions to transnational criminal organizations and their supporters that engage in a multitude of criminal activities including human trafficking. (USDS, 2019)
CONCLUSION
Human Trafficking is a sub-symptom of TOC. Human trafficker’s motives are profit gain (human slavery) for other nefarious activities and is a major problem globally. The opportunist nature of the crime makes it easy for anyone to fall prey. Hence, the problem of TOC’s human trafficking can only be countered by combining efforts with other global leaders to eradicate this heinous violation of human rights. The DARPA program Memex is a good start. Memex is credited with assisting law enforcement and authorities with evidence needed to investigate activities on the Dark Web for any type of transnational cyber activities. However, more research is needed to secure prosecutions. From the onset of an identifiable crime pattern, intelligence agencies, local law enforcement, federal and/or foreign law enforcement counterparts, like the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) must continue to work bilaterally and cross-borders through training for coordinated global sweeps, to identify and work with survivors, religious communities, academia and private agencies to eradicate these types’ of flagrant human rights violations globally.