Human Trafficking is a Federal Crime
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducts criminal investigations into human trafficking under two primary criminal statutes - 18 U.S.C. § 1589 Forced Labor and 18 U.S.C. § 1591 Sex Trafficking of Children or by Force, Fraud or Coercion. These statutes carry significant sentences, including potential life sentences for sex trafficking and for forced labor where aggravating factors are present.
HSI opens more than 1,000 criminal investigations of human trafficking annually and identifies and assists hundreds of adult and child victims. Many cases are investigated in conjunction with other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners as well as human trafficking task forces. Additionally, many cases receive comprehensive support – intelligence, subject matter expertise, and funding – from the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking.
Here are select HSI investigations that were successfully prosecuted:
- HSI Chicago – Life Sentence for Forced Labor of Guatemalan Unaccompanied Alien Children; Sponsor Sentenced to 20 Years
- HSI Houston – Life Sentence for Rapper/Sex Trafficker of Teens
- HSI New England – 30 Year Sentence for Sex Trafficking in Maine
- HSI New Orleans – 22 Years and 6 Months Sentence for Adult Sex Trafficking
- HSI Seattle – 20 Years for Forced Labor in Landscaping
- HSI Buffalo – 12 Year Sentence for Sex Trafficker of Teens
- HSI St. Paul – 10 Year Sentence for Child Sex Trafficker
- HSI Chicago – 8 Year Sentence for Forced Labor of West African Minors
Imported Goods Produced with Forced Labor are Denied Entry to the United States
U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforces forced labor trade law under 19 U.S.C. 1307, which defines forced labor as all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer work or service voluntarily. CBP implements 19 U.S.C. 1307 through issuance of Withhold Release Orders (WROs) and Findings, as well as enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Goods subject to WROs and Findings, UFLPA, and CAATSA are not entitled to entry at any ports of the U.S.
Removal of Human Traffickers from the United States
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations’ mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of criminal aliens who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws. Human traffickers and those who conspire to commit human trafficking whether inside or outside the United States are inadmissible under INA 212(a)(2)(H)(i) and deportable under INA 237(a)(2)(F).
Suspension and Debarment from Federal Contracts, Grants, Loans & Insurance
DHS suspension and debarment offices can exclude individuals and entities from participating in government contracts, loans, grants, and other federal assistance programs. It must be supported by information sufficient to warrant a reasonable belief that a particular act or omission has occurred, and it is a powerful tool to guard against violations of anti-human trafficking laws and regulations in federal contracts, acquisitions, or financial awards. Although the debarred entities and individuals may not have been federal contractors when they committed the human trafficking offenses, once debarred, they are excluded from federal contracting as well as grants, loans, and insurance.