Blog post is the text of the government publication: STRATEGY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING, THE IMPORTATION OF GOODS PRODUCED WITH FORCED LABOR, AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION Vision

To download this as a pdf, click this link. To obtain other related resources click this link DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY STRATEGY TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING, THE IMPORTATION OF GOODS PRODUCED WITH FORCED LABOR, AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION Vision: The Department and our partners will strive to end all forms of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. JANUARY 2020 To report suspected human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, or child sexual exploitation to federal law enforcement, call: 1-866-347-2423 To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888 Or text HELP or INFO to 233733 (BEFREE) To get help with child sexual exploitation from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or report.cybertip.org To report suspected forced labor trade violations, submit information at: eallegations.cbp.gov/Home/allegation Any tip reported is welcome. Provide the information to allow professionals to decide if action can be taken. ii The American Public: The U.S. Department ofHomeland Security is committed to upholding the law and preventing illicit activity from harming American interests. As part of the homeland security mission, DHS enforces trade, travel, and victim protection laws to combat criminal activity, including human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. These heinous crimes have no place in our society, and we are leveraging the Department's authorities to eliminate such inhumane activity. I am pleased to announce the U.S. Department ofHomeland Security Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, the Importation_ ofGoo_ds Produced with Forced Labor, and Child Sexual Exploitation. This strategy articulates the Department's long-term approach for combating these crimes and serves as a framework to prioritize resources and monitor progress. Additionally, this strategy supports the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, a Cabinet-level entity that coordinates federal efforts to combat human trafficking. I look forward to the Department's implementation ofthis strategy in the years to come. Sincerely, ct-t~ 1-J Chad F. Wolf {/"'~ Acting Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The prevalence of human trafficking, forced labor, and child sexual exploitation throughout the world is an urgent humanitarian issue with direct and far-reaching consequences on the United States. Within the United States, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation are grossly prevalent and affect diverse communities. These crimes threaten our physical and virtual borders, our immigration and customs systems, our prosperity, our national security, and are a direct attack on Americans’ personal safety and our country’s public safety. Accordingly, the United States has declared it a national priority to end human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is on the frontlines of this fight, protecting the country and collaborating with our partners to stop these crimes. To leverage all of our authorities in this fight, DHS developed a first-of-its-kind Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, and Child Sexual Exploitation. It represents our vision to end this urgent humanitarian issue, articulates the Department’s long-term approach for combating these crimes, and serves as a framework to prioritize our resources and monitor progress. The strategy outlines five key goals: ONE—Prevention. Reduce the threat by providing information and resources to specific vulnerable populations, schools, and community groups. TWO—Protection. Disrupt illicit activity by identifying and assisting victims toward stability and recovery. THREE—Prosecution. Leverage DHS law enforcement and national security authorities to investigate, take enforcement action, and refer cases for prosecution. FOUR—Partnership. Build strong partnerships throughout the homeland security enterprise as force multipliers across the Nation. FIVE—Enabling DHS. Harmonize and organize DHS programs to allow for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in addressing these threats. Across these five goals there are nine objectives, each with a series of Priority Actions, which will guide the Department in its efforts to combat human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. When implemented, this strategy will strengthen public safety and the security of the border, travel, immigration, and customs systems. It will also assist communities in becoming more resilient against these scourges. DHS is committed to keep fighting against this evil. In collaboration with our homeland security enterprise partners, we will bring trafficking and exploitation to an end and protect communities from further exploitation. iv PRE DECISIONAL - TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… 1 GOAL 1: PREVENTION……………………………………………. 7 GOAL 2: PROTECTION……………………………………………. 10 GOAL 3: SUPPORTING PROSECUTION……………………………. 17 GOAL 4: PARTNERSHIP………………………………………….. 23 GOAL 5: ENABLING DHS…………………………………………. 26 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………… 29 APPENDIX A: CURRENT DHSEFFORTS…………………………... 30 APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY OFTERMS…………………………….... 43 APPENDIX C: PRIMARY AUTHORITIES…………………………... 46 INTRODUCTION The prevalence of human trafficking, forced labor, and child sexual exploitation throughout the world is an urgent humanitarian issue with direct and far-reaching consequences on the United States. Communities across the Nation have become unwilling sources, transit points, and destinations for illicit activities that threaten our physical and virtual borders, our immigration and customs systems, and our Nation’s safety and security. The inherent nexus between these often transnational illicit activities and border and international trade security and immigration responsibilities makes DHS essential to combating these threats. DHS is on the frontlines protecting the country and collaborating with our partners against human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and interdicting these crimes. Accordingly, the United States has declared it a national priority to end human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. To accomplish this important initiative, the United States has endorsed the globally-accepted framework to combat human trafficking known as the “four P paradigm” of prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership. Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Specialists inform victims of their rights, offer support, and refer victims to services. 1 Human trafficking1 in its many forms is far more prevalent than many realize. It is an extremely lucrative illicit activity with estimated annual global profits of $150 billion.2 Even though human trafficking, which involves exploiting a person for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act, can be considered a single crime, there are many different types of human trafficking. Sex trafficking can range from escort services to outdoor solicitation to personal sexual servitude, among other forms. Labor trafficking occurs across many different industries, such as agriculture, domestic work, hospitality, food services, and health and beauty services. Human trafficking victimizes an estimated 25 million people around the world, of whom 80 percent are victims of forced labor and 20 percent are victims of sex trafficking.3 In 2018, the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline was contacted 41,088 times and reported 10,949 cases of human trafficking, a number that has increased annually. In the past five fiscal years, DHS received 6,171 reports to our Tip Line regarding suspected human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and 4 tips and allegations regarding the suspected importation of goods produced with forced labor, forced child labor, prison labor, or slave labor. Human traffickers and their victims can be of any age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, nationality, immigration status, cultural background, socio-economic class, and education attainment level. Traffickers can be relatives, friends, politically connected in their country of origin, and operating alone or as part of gangs or transnational criminal organizations. Traffickers use various forms of force, fraud, and coercion to control and exploit victims. This might include imposing debt, fraudulent employment opportunities, false promises of marriage or a better life, psychological coercion, and violence or threats of violence. Some human trafficking occurs entirely within the United States, while in other instances, victims move across our borders unaware that they will become trafficking victims. Human trafficking occurs in both legal and illegal industries, and may intersect with other criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, gangs, corruption, money laundering, domestic violence, and rape and sexual assault. 1 Human trafficking refers to (1) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or (2) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Other terms for human trafficking in common circulation include trafficking in persons and modern slavery. Forced labor and labor trafficking are used interchangeably in common conversation. Forced labor has slightly different definitions between the federal criminal code and the federal customs code. 2 International Labour Organization, Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2014). 3 International Labour Organization and Walk Free Foundation, Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2017). 2 A U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle inspects goods at a port of entry. Globally, forced labor is estimated to be the predominant form of human trafficking, far more prevalent than sex trafficking. In many cases, inadequate rule of law, high crime and poverty rates, and cultural norms contribute to the epidemic of forced labor. A lack of transparency in complex, extensive global supply chains or a lack of attention to the problem of forced labor can endanger the lives of laborers and negatively impact consumers and corporations. Forced labor is antithetical to American values and undermines legitimate trade and competition. Imported goods produced with forced labor4 present several risks for the public, corporate, government, and military supply chains, ranging from food safety and intellectual property to nationalsecurity. U.S. law prohibits the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part from forced labor and violators may face criminal and civil consequences. Therefore, it is incumbent upon U.S. importers to ensure their supply chains are free from forced labor. The United States remains unique among countries in instituting this prohibition and DHS is the primary federal department tasked with enforcing this ban. In addition to harming laborers, consumers, and corporations, importing such goods undermines the ability of similar American-made goods to be sold at a competitive price. Human trafficking victims include victims of forced labor. 4 Forced labor in the context of a federal trade violation means 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 himself voluntarily. This includes forced child labor, prison labor, or slave labor. This differs from the definition of forced labor, also known as labor trafficking, in federal criminal law. 3 Child sexual exploitation involves victimizing a minor for sexual gratification or some other personal or financial advantage. It includes acts related to child sexual abuse material (pornographic images and video of children), transnational child sexual abuse,5 and child sex trafficking. A child cannot be charged with prostitution under federal law. When a child performs commercial sex acts, even if no force, fraud, or coercion is involved, federal law considers that human trafficking. Similarly, other offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children are also criminalized under U.S. law. Each year, DHS forensically examines more than 3,000 terabytes of data in support of child sexual exploitation investigations. In particular, the permanency of child sexual abuse depicted in images and video allows offenders to victimize children with each view. Beyond hard drives where many perpetrators store thousands of files depicting the sexual abuse of children, smart phones and other web-enabled devices allow perpetrators to possess, transport, or have access to millions of files that depict the sexual abuse of children. These web-enabled devices with digital cameras are in the palms of offenders’ hands all over the world, allowing perpetrators to produce and share child sexual exploitation and abuse material almost instantaneously. Traditionally, perpetrators share child sexual abuse material with one another in close-knit, likeminded communities online without profiting from the trade. Increasingly, though, perpetrators abuse children, mostly young children and babies, remotely using an internet connected camera, or webcam, often called live streaming of abuse, for money. Abusers offer livestreaming for low prices and profit from the volume of transactions. A single livestreaming abuser may have thousands of buyers, many of whom are in the United States, interested in watching a livestreamed child sexual abuse session. A single buyer often views many thousands of unique abuse sessions. Digital forensics is critical to many child sexual exploitation cases. 5 U.S. laws prohibits any U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident from traveling to a foreign country with intent to engage in any form of sexual conduct with a U.S.-defined minor. It is also illegal to help organize or assist another person to travel for these purposes. 4 Child sexual exploitation costs little money or sophisticated technology to commit. Child abusers’ early adoption of new, free, and widely-available technologies and platforms often ensures difficulty in locating and rescuing child victims as well as identifying and arresting perpetrators. More and more, these illicit marketplaces and communities of perpetrators exist on the dark web where perpetrators connect using hidden networks and specialized software to operate with perceived anonymity. Dark web communities often require that perpetrators produce new child sexual exploitation and abuse material to gain access and achieve status in the community. Dark web sites and forums can include manuals and instructions on how to evade law enforcement on non-dark web platforms. Investigators of child sexual exploitation are also concerned that end-to-end encryption will reduce the number of reports of covered child sexual exploitation crimes that technology companies make to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline, as mandated in law. The NCMEC, a nonprofit, may then choose to make many of those reports available to law enforcement for further investigation. In 2018, NCMEC’s CyberTipline received more than 18.4 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation and abuse, an all-time high that grows exponentially each year. Not only is this an indicator of a growing volume of online child sexual exploitation, but also that companies have improved at detecting it. End-to-end encryption could threaten a company’s ability to detect child sexual exploitation on their platforms and lead to fewer referrals for investigation. SCOPE This strategy builds on the Department’s successes with a holistic approach that combats all forms of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and leverages the Department’s broad authorities to reduce the threat, disrupt illicit activity, identify and assist victims toward stability and recovery, and build strong partnerships throughout the homeland security enterprise as force multipliers across the Nation. Additionally, this strategy will ensure that DHS law enforcement, our service providers, and our partners protect victims and build and maintain trust between victims and the communitiessupporting them and law enforcement and other criminal justice actors. This strategy addresses three interrelated illicit activities involving human exploitation: human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. Additionally, this strategy reflects DHS’s unique legal authorities, responsibilities, and operational activities within the broader U.S. Government’s approach to combating these three illicit activities. This strategy also distinguishes human trafficking from other distinct criminal offenses, particularly human smuggling.6 6 Human trafficking and human smuggling are often used interchangeably in error. These are distinct crimes. Human trafficking does not require crossing a border. Human trafficking victims have been exploited by their trafficker for commercial sex acts or labor. By contrast, human smugglers engage in the crime of bringing people into the United States, or unlawfully transporting and harboring people already in the United States, in deliberate evasion of immigration law. In some situations, human smuggling may result in human trafficking. Understanding these conceptsis critical to ensuring human trafficking victims are properly identified, assisted, and protected. 5 GUIDING PRINCIPLES This strategy aligns with:  the 2017 National Security Strategy,  the Presidential Executive Order on Enforcing Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking,  the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 as amended,  the 2000 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Palermo Protocol), supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC),  the U.S.-endorsed United Nations’ A Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, which seeks to end modern slavery by 2030,  the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and  the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget Memorandum on AntiTrafficking Risk Management Best Practices & Mitigation Considerations. The following guiding principles inform the Department’s approach to this strategy:  Protecting civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy. All DHS policies, programs, and operations will preserve individual liberties, fairness, and equality under the law with respect for civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.  Conducting a victim-centered approach in all operations. DHS places equally high value both on the identification, assistance, and protection of victims as well as on the investigation and prosecution of traffickers and those who sexually exploit children. A victim-centered approach includes a traumainformed, survivor-informed, and culturally competent approach to all engagements and policies regarding victims.  Equipping, empowering, and uniting the homeland security enterprise. DHS will collaborate with partners throughout the homeland security enterprise to have a unified, far-reaching effect while respecting our partners’ perspectives and approaches to this challenge.  Facilitating legitimate trade and travel. DHS will take enforcement action against the importation of goods produced with forced labor in a manner that facilitates legitimate trade and travel.  Supporting operators and personnel. DHS will support the well-being of law enforcement officers, first responders, service providers, field operators, and other personnel with the appropriate tools, training, technology, and counseling to cope with traumatic events involving human trafficking.  Administering evidence-based programming and policymaking. DHS will ensure that management processessupport the goals and objectives of this strategy and apply socialscience-informed and evidencebased evaluations for programming decisions.  Innovating through research and development. DHS will invest in research and development to improve our ability to combat these illicit activities, particularly in keeping pace with emerging technology facilitating crime, such as the dark web, livestreaming, and social media exploitation. 6 A U.S. Secret Service agent instructs children on safe practices, particularly online, through the Childhood Smart Program. GOAL 1: PREVENTION Prevent Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Human traffickers and those who sexually victimize children engage in illicit activities that exploit significant numbers of individuals in communities across every state in America and target all socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds. These crimes take the lives of, seriously harm, and traumatize victims, which negatively affects their ability to productively contribute to society. These crimes also disrupt and undermine the legitimate economy and divert government and public resources to deal with their consequences. For this reason, focusing efforts to prevent the crime from occurring is an essential investment in the safety, security, and prosperity of the United States. Prevention is critical to achieving the goal of ending human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Effective prevention stops these crimes and all associated harms before they occur. That may be done through building skills, understanding, and awareness in the public so that members of the public avoid subjugation to or involvement in human trafficking. Successful preventative measures include investing in and empowering vulnerable populations, reducing risk factors, enhancing what makes an environment safe, and building resilience against human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Prevention efforts also seek to reduce the number of individuals perpetrating human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Early interventions with those who are at risk to engage in these illicit activities may help reduce its likelihood. Some individuals may knowingly or otherwise purchase the goods and services from human trafficking, so another key aspect of prevention is educating the public on human trafficking, empathy for victims, and the associated penalties for committing a crime. DHS is committed to advancing prevention activities and strengthening our support for the prevention activities carried out by other organizations. These prevention activities require a coordinated, multi-disciplinary, wholeof-society approach focused at the state and local level. The preponderance of these prevention activities are sponsored, coordinated, or carried out by other federal agencies, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, and civil society. 7 OBJECTIVE 1.1 EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO RESIST HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION DHS provides information and resources to specific vulnerable populations targeted by human traffickers to help them resist deception, coercion, and manipulation. These efforts include providing know-your-rights information to temporary foreign workers, young students on exchange programs, and individuals released from detention or paroled into the United States. DHS law enforcement officers also visit schools and community groups to teach children skills for protecting themselves online through its iGuardian and Childhood Smart Programs. These interactions help to equip children with tools they may use to avoid dangerous situations. They also boost the morale of law enforcement personnel in providing direct engagement with the children who they work so diligently to protect. This outreach also enhances relationships between our law enforcement personnel and their communities, which facilitates a level of trust that has proven to help victims and support related investigations. DHS will reduce the caseload for all those who work on or support the other goals of this strategy by successfully preventing new individuals from being trafficked for sex and labor and children from becoming victims. Stakeholders combating all elements of these illicit activities will have fewer victimsto identify, assist, and protect and fewer criminals and criminal networks to investigate, prosecute, and dismantle when investing in successful prevention. The Homeland Security Investigations iGuardian Program teaches children, parents, and others about safe practices online. 8 Priority Actions: Assess Prevention Efforts. DHS will assess its current prevention initiatives and determine areas for growth and improvement. The assessment will leverage research on effective prevention programming and evaluate the effectiveness of DHS’s current initiatives, as well as opportunities to harmonize and de-conflict approaches with other prevention efforts within the Federal Government and by state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and non-governmental organizations. Build Critical Safety Skills in Targeted Populations. DHS will ensure that populations targeted by human traffickers and those who sexually exploit children can recognize grooming or other deceptive and dangerous behavior, including online; assess risk; understand the principles of consent, defining personal boundaries, and fair labor practices; engage in self-defense or other protective measures; and have information about their rights and available means of support from social services and law enforcement agencies. DHS will involve law enforcement and other operators in prevention-related outreach to build their rapport with and understanding of these communities. DHS will bolster iGuardian and Childhood Smart Programs. Create a Prevention Initiative to Reduce Perpetration of Human Trafficking. DHS will expand upon its current prevention initiatives to address individuals at risk to perpetrate human trafficking, be it as a trafficker or buyer. In concert with human trafficking experts, survivors, behavioral clinicians, and prevention practitioners, DHS will explore the validity of using prevention frameworks to reduce offending. Develop a Technology Industry Outreach Plan. DHS will develop a technology industry outreach plan that shares information on the nature of the threat and collaborates on innovation and developing technological solutions to prevent child sexual exploitation, particularly the livestreaming of abuse, and human trafficking on their platforms. Assess Methods to Increase Oversight of Labor Recruitment and Contracting Practices in Nonimmigrant Visa Programs. DHS will strengthen oversight of sponsors, their contractors, and associated recruiters seeking candidates for work-related nonimmigrant visa programs. This will reduce the risk that these visa holders are vulnerable to exploitation once in the United States. Designate a Senior Accountable Official on Acquisitions. DHS will designate a senior accountable official to combat human trafficking in federal acquisitions and contracts, to include the use of suspension and debarment. That official will also oversee a procurement official and an expert who both specialize in combating human trafficking. These three will work together to implement the anti-human trafficking Federal Acquisition Regulation and related policies across the Department. 9 GOAL 2: PROTECTION Identify, Assist, and Protect the Victims of Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Human trafficking and child sexual exploitation remain underreported crimes. Human trafficking victims rarely come forward to seek help whether they are unable to do so or their vulnerabilities are being exploited to prevent them from seeking assistance. They rarely know their rights and how to get help, or they are afraid to reach out for fear of being hurt, arrested, or deported. In addition, service providers, law enforcement, and other community members who interact with victims may be unfamiliar with the indicators of human trafficking. Sometimes they erroneously perceive victims primarily as teen runaways, juvenile delinquents, users of illegal substances, prostitutes, or removable aliens. This can generate inappropriate responses and ignores the very vulnerabilities for which traffickers targeted them. It is incumbent on law enforcement, service providers, members of the public, and other professionals encountering and working with possible victims to identify the indicators of sex and labor trafficking, to offer a protective response, and seek appropriate help. Certain communities or locations are more likely to encounter victims, such as transportation services and hubs, hotels, medical emergency and urgent care providers, welfare services professionals, faith-based organizations, shelters, and jail or detention facilities. Even though these crimes may seem hidden from the public’s eye, there can be numerous opportunities for individuals to recognize that something is amiss and report that information for further investigation or assistance. Your awareness is needed to identify indicators of human trafficking, offer a protective response, and seek appropriate help. 10 A possible victim of human trafficking is depicted in a Blue Campaign public service announcement. Authorities must work to build a victim’s trust as part of their role of preventing people from becoming victims of crime and seeking criminal justice on behalf of those who have been victimized. Authorities must demonstrate their trustworthiness, empathize with victims, connect with victims by appreciating victims’ cultural backgrounds and acknowledging their own cultural backgrounds, understanding victims’ trauma, and avoiding actions that further traumatize victims. Appropriate engagement at this critical juncture will help individuals who suffered exploitation stabilize and recover. Once survivors begin to recover, they can make new contributions to society, which can include supporting their families, offering their experiences and expertise to prevent crimes against others, or participating as witnesses in the criminal justice process so traffickers are brought to justice. With human trafficking cases, a victim’s cooperation and often their testimony is essential to obtaining a conviction. Victims of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation have often endured unspeakable levels of injury that can be physical, psychological, sexual, financial, or otherwise harmful in nature. The potentially diminished capacity of victims to productively contribute to society due to their trauma is a hidden cost of the crime that continues well-after the criminal activity concludes. Safely removing victims from a situation of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation is only the first step in a victim’s recovery. Victims often require a wide range of short- and long-term assistance, ranging from immediate shelter, nourishment, and medical care to lawful immigration status, housing, education, and employment opportunities. Receiving adequate and appropriate assistance as soon as possible is the intervention victims need to stabilize, avoid falling victim again, and work toward recovery. The U.S. Coast Guard assists an individual found at sea. 11 OBJECTIVE 2.1 IMPROVE THE IDENTIFICATION AND REPORTING OF SUSPECTED ILLICIT ACTIVITY As a Department with numerous public-facing and operational roles, DHS employees are well-positioned to recognize and report suspected human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. In the past five years, DHS identified and assisted 2,670 human trafficking victims and 5,105 child sexual exploitation victims in the United States. Of these victims, 5,912 were U.S. nationals. DHS’s partner law enforcement agencies across the country identified and assisted many more victims. In addition to DHS personnel who range from law enforcement officers, investigators, screeners, adjudicators, and other service providers, community members who have the trust and confidence of victims, and observant, concerned members of the public are also well-suited to intervene through identifying and reporting suspicious activity. Training and public awareness campaigns will help bring these crimes out of the darkness. DHS supports, coordinates with, and provides guidance, technology, and training to partners across the country to identify and report human trafficking and child sexual exploitation when they encounter it during their own work. DHS also engages in national public awareness initiatives that strive to be accessible for diverse communities to encourage crime tips. You can find free Blue Campaign resources at DHS.gov/BlueCampaign. 12 Priority Actions: Increase Public Awareness of Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation. DHS will develop and disseminate educational and informational material to partners and the public on identifying and reporting human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Targeted audiences will be selected for perceived risk, and materials will be tailored to the audience using survivor and the target community’s input. DHS will evaluate the effectiveness of those awareness campaigns to the extent feasible. Implement Training that Informs DHS Personnel of Warning Signs. DHS will enhance training for its employees who may have direct or indirect contact with victims during the execution of their duties on recognizing and reporting signs of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. The training will include operationally-relevant scenarios and regularly updated links to more information and other advanced trainings. Establish Protocols and Methods for DHS Personnel to Report Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation. Integrate and update screening and encountering protocols and records systems to more effectively and timely identify and report suspicious activity. Screening results will be made available for analysis. A Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers instructor trains Transportation Security Administration employees on identifying human trafficking. 13 OBJECTIVE 2.2 TREAT VICTIMS AS VICTIMS ACROSS ALL ENGAGEMENT AND ENCOURAGE OTHER AUTHORITIES TO DO THE SAME Victims can be reluctant to work with law enforcement for several reasons, including a fear of law enforcement or immigration enforcement actions that perpetrators instill in victims. DHS places equally high value on both the identification and stabilization of victims as well as on the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of criminal activity. Law enforcement requires the trust of victims and their supporters to gain their collaboration in an investigation and prosecution. Without that trust, law enforcement will not have victims as witnesses. Without witnesses, a prosecution is unlikely to succeed, and perpetrators of these heinous crimes will remain at large. DHS and its personnel value and must work to establish and maintain that trust every day. In accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended, DHS recognizes that protecting law enforcement interests requires ensuring that victim-witnesses have the appropriate protections. While no category of individuals with an immigration violation is exempt from removal from the country, all law enforcement has discretion and the responsibility to assess the impact on enforcement efforts. Law enforcement also should recognize that sometimes individuals have engaged in unlawful activity as a result of being a victim of human trafficking. That activity can include prostitution, entering the country without documentation, or working without documentation or with false documents. Victims may have particular needs that should be accommodated, such as the need for language or disability support services. Also, the trauma inflicted on victims necessitates appropriate care. Accordingly, law enforcement and service providers require specialized training to engage with traumatized victims. A good Samaritan vessel supports the U.S. Coast Guard in rescuing an individual at sea. 14 Priority Actions: Develop Victim-Centered Policies and Procedures for DHS Personnel. DHS will ensure policies and procedures affecting victims of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation are consistent with the DHS victim-centered approach. This includes mandated training on a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach and safeguards against unnecessarily or inappropriately penalizing or subjecting to enforcement actions, on a caseby-case basis, victims of human trafficking. Victim-witnesses of trafficking who are actively working with federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal law enforcement authorities will be afforded appropriate protections. Victims’ needs will remain a priority through the investigative and judicial process. Maintain Appropriate Victim Anonymity. DHS will maintain the anonymity of victims whenever possible to protect them against further stigmatization. DHS will also assess whether migrating certain systems to secure computing would enhance victim privacy. Strengthen Intelligence-Driven Criminal Investigations. DHS will maintain standards that do not enable overly broad operations that often lead to victim arrests. DHS will also follow through in outreach and training to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement partners on recommending types of operations that are victimcentered. The Victim Identification Lab at the Homeland Security Investigations Cyber Crimes Center uses the latest technology to identify victims appearing in child sexual abuse material. 15 OBJECTIVE 2.3 IMPROVE AND EXPAND THE ASSISTANCE THAT DHS PROVIDES TO VICTIMS Although providing victims with necessary assistance is fundamentally an interagency and national endeavor, DHS has unique authorities to assist victims. In many cases, DHS operators are the first individuals to identify and assist victims of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Over the years, DHS has developed strong partnerships with over 200 domestic and international non-government organizations, faith-based organizations, healthcare and mental health professionals, and other service providers to ensure trafficking victims receive support and relief. Victim Assistance Specialists who refer victims to assistance are not only necessary support for investigators, but also for other DHS operators. Referrals to assistance are critical to stabilizing victims and empowering them to recover and return to being healthy, productive, and self-sufficient members of society. Additionally, DHS provides lawful status in the United States through Continued Presence,7 T visas,8 and U visas9 for eligible victims who cooperate with U.S. law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of human trafficking cases. Training and outreach on immigration options available to victims of human trafficking is essential to ensuring that victims receive the protection they deserve and allowing law enforcement to keep cooperative victim-witnesses in the country for investigations and prosecutions. Together, these initiatives expedite support for victims to recover from the hardships of human trafficking and support DHS’s ability to identify and arrest traffickers of foreign national victims. Priority Actions: Improve Coordination of Immigration Options for Victims of Human Trafficking. DHS will use Continued Presence and work with the interagency to develop solutions for victims of human trafficking who have not yet received Continued Presence, a T visa, or a U visa. Expand Field Support for Victims Assistance Programs. DHS will expand its victim assistance program and its personnel to more adequately support human trafficking investigations and designate points of contact for victim issues within operational agencies, including within Enforcement and Removal Operations’ custody programs. Educate the Public on Immigration Protections and Benefits for Victims of Human Trafficking. DHS will provide potential victim-witnesses, victim services providers, immigration law practitioners, the public, and law enforcement with current information and increased training and outreach on immigration options and protections and federally-mandated assistance. Specifically, this will include outreach to federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement on their role in certifying T and U visas. 7 Continued Presence is a temporary immigration status provided to individuals identified by any U.S. law enforcement officer as victims of a severe form of human trafficking who may be a potential witness. 8 T nonimmigrant status, commonly referred to as a T visa, is a temporary immigration benefit available to victims of human trafficking who have assisted law enforcement or have been unable to cooperate with law enforcement due to physical or psychological trauma and who meet other requirements. The T visa allows victims to remain in the United States for up to four years with work authorization and access to certain federally-funded benefits and services. 9 U nonimmigrant status, commonly referred to as a U visa, is another temporary immigration benefit enabling victims of certain qualifying crimes, including human trafficking, who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result of the crime and meet other requirements. The U visa allows victims to enter or remain in the United States for a maximum of four years. 16 Homeland Security Investigations is at the forefront of investigating human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. GOAL 3: SUPPORTING PROSECUTION Leverage DHS Law Enforcement and National Security Authorities to Investigate, Take Enforcement Action, and Refer Cases for Prosecution The expansive nature of exploitative crimes requires DHS to leverage all enforcement tools at our disposal. An interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to investigations raises the likelihood of an investigation leading to enforcement actions and successful prosecutions. Parallel financial investigations give prosecutors the opportunity to pursue other charges against traffickers and are essential if victims hope to obtain restitution from the forfeited assets of criminals. What begins as an investigation of a particular crime can often result in the investigation of other criminal activity. For example, investigators find that human trafficking and child sexual exploitation often intersect with other illicit activities, such as illicit finance, trade violations, drug trafficking, gang activity, human smuggling, wildlife trafficking, and other forms of child exploitation. DHS seeks to increase and improve its investigations of U.S.-based labor trafficking, a likely underreported crime that rarely reaches the stage of prosecution and conviction. DHS deters and disrupts forced labor overseas by enforcing the prohibition on goods produced wholly or in part with forced labor from entering the U.S. market. The sheer volume of reports of online child sexual exploitation to investigate is incredible. Despite a significant commitment, DHS investigative capabilities must continue to increase to meet the demand for investigative activity. Livestreaming of child sex abuse is a horrific method of disseminating the crime that is difficult to identify and investigate given its ephemeral nature, but which DHS would like to prioritize in disrupting and dismantling. 17 Enforcement actions beyond arrest include the ability to deny known foreign national traffickers and child sex offenders’ access to U.S. immigration benefits and remove them from the country. DHS also shares information with its international partners on traveling child sex offenders who are seeking to engage in transnational child sexual abuse to possibly deny these offenders admission to a country. Diversity of perspective and expertise enables better investigations, and widening the backgrounds of those who participate on human trafficking task forces, such asincluding U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s participation on task forces near the U.S. southern and northern borders, may improve outcomes. Investigators of all types of human trafficking require advanced training to successfully investigate these complex crimes. Within DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations serves as an investigative law enforcement agency that works with the Department of Justice to develop cases for prosecution. In support of the Department of Justice’s oversight of the prosecutorial process, DHS is heavily invested in the successful prosecution of human trafficking violators and those who sexually exploit children. Convictions and penaltiesfor human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation keep criminals and transnational organized crime networks from further threatening the safety and security of the United States. Parallel financial investigations of human trafficking networks can lead to forfeiting the assets of human traffickers and additional criminal charges. 18 Law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security seek to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks.. OBJECTIVE 3.1 DISRUPT AND DISMANTLE CRIMINAL NETWORKS ENGAGED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION DHS’s investigative authorities derive from immigration and customs laws, including the authorities to administer U.S. border security, giving DHS investigators a comparative advantage over other investigative agencies in investigating transnational threats. Human trafficking and child sexual exploitation are often perpetuated by transnational organized crime networks, a priority target for the DHS and the U.S. Government. At the borders, DHS screens air, land, and maritime travelers and cargo for human trafficking and child sexual exploitation victims and for goods produced with forced labor at ports of entry, while patrolling along our border and coasts to prevent unlawful entry into the United States. DHS also conducts extensive investigations within the United States to prevent abuse of our immigration system and eliminate illicit activity. Priority Actions: Develop Strategic Threat Assessments on Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation. DHS will gather intelligence and conduct thorough strategic analysis on the threat from human trafficking and from child sexual exploitation. These assessments will inform policy and operational priorities. They will also include analysis of the associated financial crimes and some estimation of the prevalence of the demand from purchasers and consumers of this illicit activity. Develop Actionable Intelligence to Support Operations and Investigations. DHS will enhance tactical and operational reporting related to transnational criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking in the various DHS land, air, and sea domains. DHS will proactively use financial intelligence to identify human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and subsequent investigations will identify and seize assets, monies, and proceeds 19 derived from or used in support of these illicit activities. Regional and local efforts to combat human trafficking will focus on select typologies of the crime assessed as more predominant for the area. Improve Information Sharing. DHS, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will develop law enforcement data standards and recommendations for leveraging existing functions on the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) to improve human trafficking and child exploitation investigations. This effort will also assess the need for federated searches across various overlapping investigative platforms. DHS will also pursue localized, small group data sharing agreements relevant to the prevalence of certain types of human trafficking in an area. Additionally, DHS will work with interagency stakeholders to enable state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement targets to be nominated to the U.S. Government’s Transnational Organized Crime Watchlist. Enhance Data Management and Analysis. DHS will create or leverage an online repository for indicators and signatures of human trafficking, including indicators of suspicious financial activity, and another for information on buyers, both made accessible to all U.S. law enforcement. DHS will also examine the possibility of developing a platform for managing, processing, and displaying information discovered in connection to a case while maintaining appropriate protections for civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy. Invest in Technology Automating Time-Intensive Investigative Efforts. DHS will consider investing in technology-based solutions to enhance the speed and accuracy of identifying victims and conducting investigations, such as technology to support reviewing or monitoring call records, financial records, surveillance video, jail calls, and online forums. Investing in technology used to more quickly and effectively identify victims in child sexual abuse material will remain a top priority. Implement Advanced Training for Investigators. DHS will implement accessible, advanced training that supports a holistic approach to combating these threats. Critical advanced training includes training on cultural competencies and interpreter use, device forensics, online investigations, financial investigations, and other advanced investigative techniques. Advanced training also includes exercises wherever possible to enhance learning and will be made available digitally to law enforcement across the country as often as possible. DHS will encourage increased participation of women in advanced training. DHS will also support partners’ effective advanced training programs, such as the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam) Initiative and U.S.- Mexico Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiatives. Support Human Trafficking Task Forces. DHS will increase Department-wide expertise, participation, and support for human trafficking task forces throughout the United States and ensure DHS participants in task forces nationwide have mechanisms to share promising practices. Integrate Human Trafficking Investigations into DHS Law Enforcement Functions. DHS will encourage law enforcement personnel throughout the Department to consider evidence of human trafficking, particularly labor trafficking, during their execution of routine law enforcement functions, such as worksite enforcement actions or border security investigations, and refer those cases for investigation prior to removal. Deny Admissibility to Human Traffickers and Child Sex Offenders. DHS will prioritize the removal of convicted or wanted human traffickers and child sex offenders. Attorneys who litigate removal proceedings against human traffickers will receive increased training and technical assistance. DHS will assess and implement safeguards when screening applicants for immigration benefits to deny convicted human traffickers and child sex offenders admission to the United States. 20 OBJECTIVE 3.2 INTERDICT THE IMPORTATION OF GOODS PRODUCED WITH FORCED LABOR DHS is the primary federal agency responsible for enforcing civil and criminal laws to disrupt and dismantle the importation of goods produced with forced labor. DHS is streamlining trade policies and procedures and ensuring trade partners and industry understand the threat from this illicit activity. The Department inspects imports for signs of goods produced through forced labor, investigates suspicious trade activity, issues notices to detain or seize particular goods at our ports, and pursues criminal prosecutions against individuals and companies involved in the importation of those prohibited goods. Industry’s support and collaboration is essential to compliance. If industry views violating law and regulation as a cost of doing business, then those laws and regulations prohibiting forced labor have not achieved their goal of preventing the heinous activity from occurring. DHS should support industry in taking proactive measures to prevent and eliminate human trafficking in their supply chains. While several countries may have regulatory restrictions on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, forced child labor, prison labor, or slave labor, no other nation has civil and criminal penalties associated with importation. This lack of criminal designation in partner nations can undermine our ability to interdict these shipments, as shippers can recall goods seized at our ports before attempting to re-import the goods following transshipment. DHS is working to strengthen international, interagency, and non-governmental coordination to interdict illicit goods in our supply chains. U.S. CBP has civil enforcement authority and issues withhold release orders and findings on goods produced with forced labor. 21 Priority Actions: Increase Investigative and Enforcement Capacity. DHS will expand its capacity to assess civil penalties and pursue criminal prosecutions against U.S. importers for violations of forced labor authorities. To strengthen overall enforcement, DHS will consider streamlining regulatory frameworks guiding the process for forced labor enforcement actions. DHS will also coordinate, consolidate, and publicize allegation and intake reporting channels and other information to ensure quality, actionable leads, gain information for ongoing cases, and verify forced labor allegations. Improve Education and Outreach to Industry Partners. DHS will educate industry on the threat of goods produced with forced labor destined for U.S. importation and improve trade alert reporting, due diligence policies, and compliance assistance tools. Encourage International Partners to Adopt Reciprocal Safeguards. DHS will raise awareness among foreign partners of U.S. trade laws, limitations, and innovations, encourage international adoption and enforcement of reciprocal safeguards that combat forced labor, and obtain agreements to support investigation and verification of forced labor allegations. DHS will also work with international partners in the process of adopting the prohibition on a two-way system for issuing trade alerts when enforcement actions go into effect. Homeland Security Investigations investigates individuals or companies involved in the importation of goods produced with forced labor. 22 GOAL 4: PARTNERSHIP Strengthen Partnerships to Reduce Human Trafficking, the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, and Child Sexual Exploitation These illicit activities occur within diverse communities across the Nation, and the known scale and scope of the threat from these activities overwhelm our resources. For example, about one in ten HSI agents are currently investigating online child sexual exploitation, and yet DHS is barely making a dent in the millions of leads that make up a backlog of potential cases. Given limited federal resources, partnerships in many forms are essential to securing the United States from these threats. The Department values partnership across all facets of the homeland security enterprise, which includes other federal agencies, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, international government partners, the private sector, non-governmental and community organizations, academia, and the public engaged in efforts to protect our homeland security. Each member of the homeland security enterprise has varied authorities, roles, and responsibilities in the fight, and some members will have a comparative advantage over others in certain realms. While the Department has its own plans to improve its efforts, DHS must work with the whole homeland security enterprise to see the greatest results. The United Nations recognizes World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30 and assists countries in implementing the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. 23 OBJECTIVE 4.1 EMPOWER AND INCENTIVIZE THE HOMELAND SECURITY ENTERPRISE Strengthening and leveraging DHS partnerships by expanding the diversity of support, perspectives, and leadership will significantly enhance the cumulative value of all stakeholder efforts. Our partners in industry are critical to our ability to advance research and technology. Survivors of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation provide unique, valuable input, however engaging with survivors should be through appropriate channels to mitigate re-traumatizing victims. The presidentially appointed U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking is an entity composed of survivors and charged with providing recommendations to the federal government on its policies and programs. Government partners, whether domestic or foreign, are better aligned with DHS efforts when we can share information with one another, always in a manner that protects individuals’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, as consistent with law and policy. Partnerships also support educating our personnel on the evolving nature of these illicit activities and methods to more effectively combat them. To successfully prevent, protect, and prosecute human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation, DHS should both empower and incentivize its partners to effectively collaborate. Homeland Security Investigations delivers a presentation to partners. 24 Priority Actions: Develop Regional Approaches. DHS, in partnership with the homeland security enterprise, will assess the needs of specific regions of the United States impacted by human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and recommend specific approaches and compacts based on their unique needs. Incorporate Input from Survivors. DHS will increase engagement and regular consultation with the presidentially appointed U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and implement their recommendations, including all those present in their annual report, as appropriate. Emphasize Locally-Based Solutions. Explore developing a partnership framework to support state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and ensure they are equipped to play a central role in vital tasks such as investing in programs and services to prevent crime, identify and assist victims, and investigate and prosecute traffickers and child sex offenders. Partner with Foreign Governments to Combat Transnational Child Sexual Abuse and Human Trafficking. DHS will work with foreign governments, particularly those with a high volume of travel to the United States, to receive notifications when their known sex offenders seek to travel to or gain an immigration benefit in the United States, leveraging existing agreements, arrangements, and processes where possible. Generally, DHS will identify primary source and transit countries of human trafficking and child exploitation and take appropriate action to incentivize countries to improve. Set Standards with the Private Sector. DHS will work with law enforcement and the appropriate technology sector partners to develop templates and standards for technology companies to use when answering lawful requests for information. Establish Field-Based Fellowships. DHS will establish fellowship opportunities for leaders in the field of combating human trafficking and child sexual exploitation, the technology sector, and statistics and data analytics to spur innovation and problem-solving, particularly within our Science and Technology Directorate. Human trafficking and child sexual exploitation happens everywhere and overcoming these crimes requires a united, collaborative approach. 25 The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate conducts research and development of tools and technologies that Homeland Security Investigations uses to investigate online child sexual exploitation and identify victims. GOAL 5: ENABLING DHS Enable DHS to Combat Human Trafficking, the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, and Child Sexual Exploitation Every DHS Component contributes to the goals and objectives of this strategy. For that reason, this strategy must also invest in harmonizing and organizing its programs efficiently. Coordination and consolidation across the Department is vital in this mission space and enables DHS to attain its goals more quickly and effectively. Combating these illicit activities does not simply require operational actions or new programs, it also requires appropriate management of our Department’s resources and talent. When we invest in our personnel, we invest in more effective operations and achieve positive results. 26 OBJECTIVE 5.1 INTEGRATE EFFORTS WITHIN AND AMONG DHS COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE THEIR IMPACT DHS is at the forefront of the U.S. Government’s efforts to combat these illicit activitiesthrough its investigations, victim assistance programs, intelligence and analysis, policy development, and training and awareness programs. Fortunately, DHS is widely and deeply engaged on combating human trafficking and deeply engaged on combating child sexual exploitation. The Department’s support functions, such as policy, legal counsel, outreach, and legislative and public affairs, exist to serve the mission carried out operationally across DHS components. At the same time, DHS representation to key interagency fora must represent and reflect that breadth and depth of engagement. There are also times when efforts to combat human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation are viewed as too distinct from one another to coordinate with the other lines of effort. Most often the focus on public awareness to combat human trafficking overtakes an interest in publicly engaging on combating other forms of child sexual exploitation, such as the most predominant form of online child sexual abuse that involves producing and sharing imagery without charging money. To be most effective and unified, DHS requires a centralized and coordinated mechanism to harmonize and focus all its resources to combat human trafficking and to find opportunities to share that capacity with the efforts to combat child sexual exploitation. Priority Actions: Explore Organizational Models to Better Integrate DHS’s Capabilities to Combat Human Trafficking. DHS will evaluate and establish an organizational mechanism to harmonize, leverage, and, as appropriate, centralize and coordinate its capabilities and resources to combat human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Adjust Metrics for Success. DHS will establish law enforcement performance measures that incentivize proactive criminal investigations, task force engagement, and victim identification regardless of the criminal justice outcome. Assess and Address Intersectional Crimes. DHS will assess its role and applicable authorities or need thereof to address other intersectional exploitation-based crimes, such as forced marriage, domestic violence, fraud and smuggling in international adoption, child soldiers, and organ trafficking. 27 OBJECTIVE 5.2 SUPPORT THE WELL-BEING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, SERVICE PROVIDERS, FIELD OPERATORS, AND OTHER PERSONNEL Too often individuals underestimate the personal effects of encountering human trafficking and child sexual exploitation in the line of duty. Without support and treatment for the personal effects of this work, vicarious trauma, or other job-related stressors, employees will be diminished in their capacity or unable to contribute to this important mission. DHS already invests in proactive services for investigators exposed to child sexual exploitation material that includes prevention of stressors, confidential assistance, and transition services for those moving onto other investigative programs. Health and resilience programs can include training on mindfulness, support for good nutrition and physical fitness, and remote mental health counseling. Training and outreach on the potential effects of job-related stress and the available support services should reach all law enforcement personnel investigating cases of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation, including their supervisors or managers. Those law enforcement personnel include investigators deploying overseas where they are likely to work a human trafficking or child sexual exploitation case even though it is outside their usual area of expertise due there being fewer agents working in a particular jurisdiction. Priority Actions: Prioritize Adopting Technology to Keep Investigators Safe. DHS will develop and apply technology that minimizes exposure to offensive media and allows agents to perform forensics more effectively. Conduct Outreach to Engage Employees on Mental Health. Develop and implement a DHS awareness campaign designed to decrease the stigma associated with seeking mental health services, especially for those law enforcement, intelligence personnel, and immigration officers engaged in combating human trafficking and child sexual exploitation activities. Training on vicarious trauma and available support resources will be incorporated into law enforcement training. Provide Support Services to Employees. DHS will ensure its employees have access to peer support programs and the Employee Assistance Program. DHS will require personnel encountering human trafficking and child sexual exploitation access support on a regular basis, where possible. The Department will champion and pilot evidence-based health and resilience programs for all DHS employees. The well-being of the DHS workforce is essential to successfully combating human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. 28 CONCLUSION The strategy’s goals and the accompanying objectives are intended to coordinate and improve our efforts to eliminate human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Within 180 days of issuing this strategy, DHS will develop an implementation plan that includes specific deliverables, timelines, and metrics for key results. DHS will assess implementation of this strategy’s goals and objectives on a routine basis and report progress to the Secretary. With each step of implementation, this strategy will strengthen the security of the border, travel, immigration, and customs systems, as well as assist communities in becoming more resilient to these illicit activities. DHS will lead the fight against this scourge, in collaboration with our homeland security enterprise partners. Together, we will end these illicit activities and protect targeted communities from further exploitation. Human trafficking and child sexual exploitation is criminal and has no place in our free society. 29 APPENDIX A: CURRENT DHS EFFORTS ENTITIES CENTERED ON COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING, THE IMPORTATION OF GOODS PRODUCED WITH FORCED LABOR, AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) T and U Nonimmigrant Status: USCIS oversees the nation’s lawful immigration system and administers certain immigration benefits programs. T nonimmigrant status or “the T visa” and U nonimmigrant status or “the U visa” programs provide immigration benefits to eligible victims of trafficking and child exploitation through these programs. The T visa is a temporary immigration status available to certain victims of human trafficking who have complied with reasonable requests for assistance from law enforcement (unless an exception applies) and have met other eligibility requirements. The U visa is a temporary immigration status available to victims of certain qualifying crimes, including human trafficking, who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result of the crime and who assist law enforcement in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of the crime. These programs are intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking and other serious crimes while offering immigration status to eligible victims. Both T and U visa recipients are issued work authorizations and may eventually apply for permanent residence in the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Forced Labor Division: CBP Office of Trade’s Forced Labor Division researches and investigates allegations of forced labor related to U.S. importations. CBP issues withhold release orders (WRO)—commonly referred to as detention orders—whereby CBP prevents the release of imported goods if it receives or develops information that reasonably, but not conclusively, indicates that merchandise made wholly or in part with forced labor is, or is likely to be, imported. CBP shares information on compliance with forced labor prohibitions via public messaging, engaging with private sector advisory committees, and conducting compliance trainings. CBP supports other DHS Components with trade analysis in furtherance of forced labor enforcement. Information on CBP forced labor programs, information for importer due diligence, and submission of allegations are publicly available on CBP’s website. CBP collaborates with domestic and international partners to develop enforcement cases and has broad engagement with stakeholders on these cases. Removing in March 2016 the “consumptive demand” clause from the Tariff Act of 1930 provided CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with enhanced enforcement potential and led CBP to refocus resources to effectively enforce this prohibition. The CBP Forced Labor Division coordinates with its partners, such as ICE, to enforce the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act Section 321, which prohibits the importation of goods manufactured, mined, or produced by North Korean citizens or nationals anywhere in the world. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Operation Sex Offender Alien Removal (SOAR): Operation SOAR targets criminal aliens convicted of sex offenses in daily enforcement operations and surge operations, and then removes them from communities. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Angel Watch Center (AWC): ICE HSI’s Child Exploitation Investigations Unit (CEIU) manages the Angel Watch Center as a joint effort with CBP and the U.S. Marshals Service. The AWC targets individuals previously convicted of sexual crimes against a child who may pose a potential new threat: traveling overseas 30 for the purpose of sexually abusing or exploiting minors, a crime known as transnational child sexual abuse. Using flight data, the National Sex Offender Registry, and publicly available state sex offender websites, CEIU and CBP identify and alert foreign law enforcement, through ICE attaché offices or CBP joint partnerships, of offenders pending arrival to their country. Armor: To address the inherent occupational stressors of DHS personnel involved in child exploitation investigations, the ICE Director of Resilience developed and launched this model resiliency program. Armor is an extension of the peer support program and incorporates specific psychoeducation elements designed to: increase awareness of secondary trauma, reduce mental health stigma/increase help-seeking behavior and foster strength-based skill development to buffer the deleterious effects of job demand tasks. The program also endorses suitability screening to help determine personnel most appropriate for this type of work. Child Exploitation Investigations Unit (CEIU): ICE HSI’s Child Exploitation Investigations Unit manages Operation Predator, which investigates, interdicts, and refers for prosecution individuals involved in the possession, receipt, distribution, transportation, advertisement, and production of child pornography or engaged in illicit sexual conduct with minors, even if only traveling to a foreign country with the intent to do so. CEIU conducts large scale, international investigations of exploited Internet technology and services and provides technical and operational support to the field. ICE HSI’s National Victim Identification Program at its Cyber Crimes Center employs the latest technology in investigations to rescue child victims of sexual exploitation. CEIU leverages national and international investigative assets, global law enforcement partnerships, and relationships with private industry to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks. ICE HSI participates on all 61 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces across the United States. CEIU partners with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to help rescue sexually exploited children and apprehend offenders. ICE HSI represents the United States at the INTERPOL working group locating new online child sex abuse material and refers cases to the country where the abuse is believed to be occurring for further investigation. ICE HSI is a founding member and previous chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce to combat transnational child sexual exploitation through a global collection of law enforcement agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private sector partners. Several laws support ICE HSI efforts to see that sexual predators who harm children will be held accountable, such as the Mann Act, the 1994 Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act, the 2003 Protect Act, and the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Federal law bars U.S. residents from engaging in sexual or pornographic activities anywhere in the world with a child under the age of 18. Penalties include up to 30 years in prison for the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child pornography; up to 30 years in prison for traveling abroad for purposes of engaging in illicit sexual activity with a child, facilitating sex with children, or participating in these crimes; and up to a life sentence for trafficking children for commercial sex. Convicted Sex Offender (CSO) Data Sharing Project: In an effort to increase criminal information sharing among the Five Eye (FVEY) international government partners (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States), ICE began sharing biometric and biographic information on third-country nationals who have been removed from the United States based on a sex offense conviction. ICE is leveraging the Visa and Immigration Information Sharing and Preventing and Combating Serious Crime Agreements via the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the Secure Real Time Platform to share CSO data. A joint effort is underway among the National Targeting Center, ICE HSI, ICE ERO, and the U.S. Marshals Service to protect vulnerable populations domestically and abroad. The National Targeting Center now places alerts in the TECS system on FVEY-provided CSO records for third-country nationals. This information sharing effort will enhance multiple operational areas to include exclusion at the border, incountry case work for DHS attachés, priority targets for removal (if back in the United States), prosecution for Adam Walsh Act violations, fraud investigations, and human trafficking investigations. Forced Labor Program: ICE HSI investigates allegations of goods, wares, articles, and merchandise being manufactured, mined, or produced wholly or in part in any foreign country by forced, convict, or indentured labor imported into the United Statesin violation of law. ICE HSI initiates and coordinatesthese investigations with interagency partners. ICE HSI obtains information about goods produced with overseas forced labor and attempting entry into the United States by working with trade associations, foreign embassies, corporations, foreign government officials, and civil society organizations. 31 Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps Program: The HERO Child Rescue Corps program trains injured or ill Special Operations Forces in high-tech computer forensics and law enforcement skills to assist federal agents in the fight against online child sexual exploitation. This program was established in April 2013 in partnership with the U.S. Special Operations Command and the National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT). The HEROs first attend three weeks of training with PROTECT to understand the impact of the child exploitation crimes and then attend seven weeks of training in computer forensic analysis and digital evidence collection at HSI’s Cyber Crimes Center. Following training, HEROs serve in HSI offices nationwide in the Child Exploitation Investigation and Computer Forensic Units. Upon successful completion of the program, HEROs have the knowledge, skills, and experience to apply for careers with federal, state, and local police agencies and other organizations in the field of computer forensics. The Human Trafficking Training Program (HTTP), ICE HSI: The Human Trafficking Training Program is an advanced, six-day course sponsored by the HSI Academy in partnership with the Human Trafficking Unit. Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) offered the course once in Fiscal Year 2019 and is scheduled to offer it twice in Fiscal Year 2020. Special Agents, analysts, task force officers, and partner agency representatives working human trafficking cases are invited to attend. The curriculum covers investigative techniques, current trends, resource availability and utilization, victim resources, and partner agency assistance. Human Trafficking Unit (HTU): The Human Trafficking Unit supports ICE HSI’s anti-human trafficking mission to (1) proactively identify, disrupt, and dismantle cross-border human trafficking organizations and minimize the risk they pose to national security and public safety; and (2) employ a victim-centered approach, whereby equal value is placed on the identification and stabilization of victims and on the deterrence, investigation, and prosecution of traffickers. The HTU provides programmatic and operational support, interagency and intra-agency coordination, domestic and foreign law enforcement training, and partnering with the DHS Blue Campaign on public awareness to generate leads. The HTU works closely with other ICE entities, such as the Victim Assistance Program, the Parole and Law Enforcement Programs Unit, the Tipline, the Office of Intelligence, and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor. iGuardian, ICE HSI: Project iGuardian educates children, teens, and parents about online safety and aims to keep children and teens safe from online sexual predators. The project is an outreach effort to share information about the dangers of online environments, how to stay safe online, and how to report abuse and suspicious activity. The iGuardians ™ team provides kids safety tips, a number to call, and a website with links to more information and resources. Victim Assistance Program (VAP), ICE HSI: The Victim Assistance Program provides a critical resource to ICE HSI investigations and criminal prosecutions by ensuring that victims can participate actively and fully in the criminal justice system process. VAP personnel have been utilizing the victim-centered approach since the inception of the program in 2008. VAP responds to a wide range of federal crimes, including human trafficking, child pornography, transnational child sexual abuse, white collar crime, and human rights abuse. Victim Assistance Specialists provide information to victims as well as referrals to non-governmental organizations providing services. Additionally, Forensic Interview Specialists conduct victim-centered and legally defensible forensic interviews. The ICE VAP can be reached at 1-866-872-4973 or VictimAssistance.ICE@ice.dhs.gov. Office of Partnerships and Engagement (OPE) Blue Campaign: The Blue Campaign, created in 2010, is a national public awareness effort designed to combat human trafficking. The Blue Campaign educates members of vulnerable communities on the threat of trafficking and how to protect themselves. The campaign also worksto protect victims by educating the public, law enforcement, and industry partners to recognize and respond appropriately to the indicators of human trafficking. The Blue Campaign works with its stakeholders and partners to develop educational awareness products (such as information sheets, pamphlets, cards, posters, infographics and toolkits), training tools and public service announcements. Many products are available in multiple languages. One of the lines of effort within the DHS Blue Campaign is the Blue Lightning Initiative (BLI), a joint initiative led by U.S. Customs 32 and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of Transportation. BLI trains U.S. commercial airlines and their employees to identify potential human trafficking victims and then notify federal authorities. U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Childhood Smart Program: This program educates parents and children about online and personal safety. Ensuring this safety is a responsibility shared broadly among parents, teachers, government, and communities. As such, child safety experts at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) created educational resources for parents and K-12 students and the Secret Service helps to disseminate these resources through its “Ambassadors Program.” The Secret Services recruits and trains employees who act as Ambassadors for the Childhood Smart Program. Ambassadors nationwide deliver these free prevention materials to children and parents in various educational settings, such as classrooms, parent-teacher organization meetings, and community action events. 33 ENTITIES SUPPORTING EFFORTS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING, THE IMPORTATION OF GOODS PRODUCED WITH FORCED LABOR, AND CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection & National Security (FDNS) Directorate: USCIS advances efforts to combat transnational organized crime primarily through proactive biometric and biographic information-sharing with partners. USCIS, through its adjudication of immigration benefits, is an end-user of such shared information from partners. USCIS may also provide additional identifying data elements it obtains from individuals applying for immigration-related benefits while maintaining confidentiality of protected classes as required by law and regulation. FDNS facilitatesthe identification of foreign nationals, determines and verifiesimmigration status, and reviews immigration applications, petitions, and requests to identify threats to national security and public safety, detect and combat immigration benefit fraud, and maximize law enforcement and Intelligence Community partnerships. FDNS reviews can reveal connections to other foreign nationals affiliated with a transnational criminal organization, such as human traffickers and those who sexually exploit children. FDNS participates on various task forces, including local ICE HSI Documents and Benefits Fraud Task Forces, local FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and the DHS JTF-W and JTF-I. FDNS supports ICE HSI's Human Trafficking Unit with a full-time, on-site liaison. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO): The Office of Field Operations is responsible for border security at U.S. ports of entry by utilizing physical inspection, technology, and canine teams to detect illicit activity. CBP officers at ports of entry conduct inspection of all persons arriving to the US and are trained to interview, observe, detect and recognize signs of potential fraud, human trafficking, and human smuggling during their inspectional duties, at air, land and seaports. When certain human trafficking indicators are suspected or found during an immigration inspection, a more secured secondary interview will be conducted and coordinated with ICE/HSI. U.S. Border Patrol (USBP): U.S. Border Patrol is responsible for patrolling the 6,000 miles of land border and 2,000 miles of coastal waters between ports of entry. USBP works closely with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partnersto advance the common goal of disrupting and degrading transnational organized crime activity. USBP achieves this mission by using intelligence to analyze transnational organized crime threats, conducting joint interagency operations, and integrating with investigative units to conduct targeted enforcement activities. Additionally, USBP deploys a consequence delivery system to guide agents to evaluate each apprehended individual and identify the most effective and efficient consequence to break the smuggling cycle. Air and Marine Operations (AMO): Air and Marine Operations applies advanced aeronautical, maritime, and domain awareness capabilities to secure the Nation’s borders from threats posed by transnational organized crime. AMO has three lines of effort. First, AMO conducts interdiction operations to intercept, apprehend, and disrupt threats in the land, sea, and air domains as they move toward or across our borders. Second, AMO conducts investigations in the air and maritime domains to disrupt criminal networks. Finally, AMO creates domain awareness by utilizing sensors deployed on aircraft and vessels, as well as land-based persistent widearea surveillance systems. These technologies are used in combination with intelligence, law enforcement case work, and open source information. 34 National Targeting Center (NTC): The CBP-led National Targeting Center identifies high-risk people and cargo in the air, land, and sea environments before entering and leaving the United States. High-risk people and cargo includes being potentially connected to terrorism or other transnational crimes, such as narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, merchandise counterfeiting, and money laundering. More than twenty U.S. government and foreign partner organizations are co-located at the facility. CBP implemented a counternetwork approach to evolve beyond traditional, transactional responses to threats posed by transnational criminal organizations and instead facilitate a proactive posture that combats them in a systematic and collaborative manner. The intent is to leverage CBP data – such as trade, travel, and other information derived from border security activities – and better synthesize it with partner information to analyze threats and identify options for intelligence-driven, risk-based, threat mitigation responses. National Targeting Center-Investigations (NTC-I): Since 2013, ICE has participated at CBP’s NTC through the NTC-I program. ICE HSI's collaboration at NTC supports the entire border security continuum, from CBP interdictions and ICE HSI investigations, to the joint exploitation of law enforcement intelligence. NTC-I plays a critical role in identifying and investigating transnational criminal organizations and their attempts to undermine DHS's border security efforts, particularly when it comes to financial and trade schemes. The quantity and quality of investigative referrals and intelligence received from ICE HSI's foreign and domestic field offices have solidified ICE HSI presence at the NTC, making the collaborative work with CBP a staple for all ICE HSI significant investigations. NTC-I has also augmented ICE HSI Headquarters’ programmatic efforts regarding financial crimes, gang enforcement, contraband smuggling, intellectual property rights, counter-proliferation, and human trafficking. U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Under 6 U.S. Code Section 468, the USCG conducts Homeland Security operations throughout the globe to deter and counter illicit activity that threatens the United States. Operational areas susceptible to trafficking in persons include drug and migrant smuggling interdictions and fisheries law enforcement. These operations occur onboard U.S. flagged vessels or foreign flagged vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction or under international agreements and customary international law as well as in international and domestic waters. The USCG, among other U.S. maritime enforcement agencies, provides first-line interactions with vessels and persons attempting to or conducting illicit activity in the maritime domain. Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) All of FLETC’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Programs for criminal investigators, uniformed police, and land management police include human trafficking awareness training. This training defines human trafficking, reviews applicable criminal laws, describes current trends and indicators, and details investigative responses. This training also incorporates a Human Trafficking Awareness training video developed in collaboration with the Blue Campaign. FLETC also works with the Blue Campaign to provide human-trafficking-related training for state, local, and tribal law enforcement professionals who are already established in their careers via in-service and online training methods. During the 5th Session of the Department of Homeland Security Leadership Academy (DHSLA) conducted from May 14 – 24, 2018, FLETC included a human trafficking overview. Participants included 25 law enforcement executives representing 18 states, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. FLETC hosted the 6th Session of the DHSLA from December 4 – 14, 2018, with 24 command-level officers representing 20 states and one U.S. territory attending. FLETC hosted the 7th Session 35 of the DHSLA from April 30 – May 10, 2019 with 29 command-level officers representing 20 states and one U.S. territory attending. The DHSLA is the result of a shared vision of FLETC and the National Sheriffs’ Association to establish a professional development venue for state, local, and tribal law enforcement leaders to explore contemporary issues impacting homeland security and law enforcement operations. FLETC presented the second pilot of the Human Trafficking Awareness Training Program (HTAT) on September 24-25, 2019, in Glynco, GA. The pilot’s purpose is to train law enforcement and other industry partners to recognize the indicators and to respond appropriately to suspected cases of human trafficking. The HTAT is a one-day program that provides students with an in-depth understanding of current indicators that law enforcement and the private sector may observe in industries known for human trafficking. Current immigration relief policies for victims are also covered. The training is classroom oriented with witness accounts, case studies, videos, and student-centered learning activities to enhance the learning experience. Additionally, FLETC has worked closely with the Office of Legislative Affairs to help increase awareness among Members of Congress and their staff, through informational briefings and participation in field trainings for state, local, and tribal law enforcement hosted by congressional offices nationwide. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) FEMA’s primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. FEMA’s Strategic Plan developed with input from state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, non-governmental organizations, and private sector stakeholders creates a shared vision for the field of emergency management. Its first responders are well-positioned to identify and assist victims of crime. In support of DHS efforts to combat human trafficking and child exploitation, FEMA provides all employees with training and resources to recognize and report suspected activity. In Fiscal Year 2019, FEMA added the “How to Report” tile to the main FEMA intranet page to simplify reporting. FEMA’s Office of Law Enforcement Engagement and Integration added several DHS links on its intranet webpage to videos, training, and resources to identify and report suspected human trafficking. FEMA partners with faith and community leaders through the DHS Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives to provide training, technical assistance, and federal resources to identify the signs of human trafficking and provide trauma-responsive approaches to survivors. The Center seeks to strengthen partnerships with law enforcement, social service and mental health providers and academia in support of the whole community. Together with the DHS Blue Campaign, the Center developed the Faith-Based and Community Toolkit, a human trafficking resource for the faith community. This toolkit provides tips and resources to engage houses of worship and the community on human trafficking awareness and response. FEMA, in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, provides technical assistance at the request of a state, local, tribal, or territorial government to support the reunification of children under 21 years of age with their parent or legal guardian if they are separated as a result of a disaster. FEMA and the DHS Blue Campaign have collaborated to support the inclusion of human trafficking awareness indicators into the American Red Cross’s internal reunification and sheltering guidance. FEMA is revising internal messaging to include posted notices to support the identification and reporting of suspect human trafficking or child sexual exploitation in FEMA Regional and Joint Field Offices and throughout FEMA headquarters. Additionally, FEMA will include information on combating human trafficking and child sexual exploitation in distributed monthly newsletters to the workforce. 36 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ICE is the primary investigative Component of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE’s mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. ICE investigates and enforces more than 400 federal statutes governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. ICE is also at the forefront of enforcing these laws in cyberspace. Created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the former U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, ICE now has more than 20,000 employees in more than 400 offices in the United States and 50 foreign countries. ICE has an annual budget of approximately $7 billion, primarily devoted to two operational directorates — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). These two operational directorates are supported by Management and Administration (M&A) and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) ICE HSI has primary jurisdiction among all federal law enforcement agencies to investigate violations of law involving the movement of people and goods into and out of the United States. HSI investigates issues such as immigration crime; human rights violations; human smuggling; smuggling of narcotics, weapons and other types of contraband; human trafficking; child pornography; financial crimes; cybercrime; export control violations; and critical infrastructure industries vulnerable to sabotage, attack or exploitation. In addition to HSI criminal investigations, HSI oversees ICE's international affairs, operations, and intelligence functions. HSI consists of more than 10,000 employees, of whom 6,700 are special agents, who are assigned to more than 200 U.S. cities and 50 countries around the world. Parole and Law Enforcement Programs Unit (PLEPU): PLEPU adjudicates requests to parole an alien into the United States to serve a significant public benefit to the U.S. Government and serves as the HSI point of contact for all S-visa and witness security matters. Significant public benefit parole (SPBP) provides a mechanism of entry into the United States for otherwise inadmissible aliens to serve a significant public benefit, including to support law enforcement in functioning as a confidential informant or material witness or appearing as a defendant in a criminal trial. SPBP does not constitute an admission and confers only temporary authorization for an inadmissible alien to be considered lawfully present in the United States. PLEPU also adjudicates Continued Presence (CP) requests. CP is a discretionary law enforcement tool that authorizes a victim of a “severe form of trafficking” to remain in the United States to facilitate an investigation or prosecution of human trafficking-related crimes. CP provides temporary relief from removal, allows victims of severe forms of trafficking to receive authorization to work in the United States, and may permit them to receive access to public benefits and services. HSI adjudicates all SPBP and CP applications from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. ICE Tip Line: Law enforcement agencies and the public may report suspected violations of HSIinvestigated immigration and customs laws to the ICE Tip Line. All Tip Line staff members receive indepth training on defining and differentiating human trafficking and human smuggling and recognizing specific human trafficking indicators. Intake information is coordinated with ICE field offices, HSI Investigative Programs, and Blue Lightning Initiative partners as appropriate in each circumstance. ICE Tip Line personnel take reports 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and receive over 100,000 leads annually on human trafficking, crimes against children, and other crimes. The ICE Tip Line can be reached at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) from the United States and Canada or at 1-802-872-6199 from other locations around the globe. 37 Cyber Crimes Center (C3): ICE HSI’s Cyber Crimes Center oversees and coordinates investigations of cyber-related criminal activity, bringing together all cyber investigations with computer forensics assets in one location. C3 is home to the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, the Computer Forensics Unit, and the Cyber Crimes Unit. The Cyber Crimes Unit supports investigations into transnational organized cybercrime exploiting the convenience and anonymity of the internet to commit crimes such as identity theft, document fraud, money laundering, narcotics smuggling, child exploitation, and online theft of intellectual property and export-controlled data. The Cyber Crimes Unit provides training, investigative support, and expertise to HSI field offices in emerging cyber technologies. The Computer Forensics Unit has personnel trained to perform forensic examinations of seized digital storage devices and media, such as computer hard drives, flash drives, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, DVDs, CDs, tablets, and tape media. The use of devices has greatly increased the volume of data that HSI Special Agents must examine during an investigation. HSI investigators manage digital evidence that is highly volatile, mobile, and subject to encryption, adding to the challenge of recovery and stewardship of evidence. Computer Forensics Unit personnel use all available digital evidence recovery techniques to preserve an item's authenticity and integrity while maintaining a strict chain of custody. Computer Forensics personnel are located in HSI offices throughout the world to provide their expertise and are often called upon to furnish computer forensics expert testimony in criminal trials and provide support to state and local law enforcement. Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BESTs): Through ICE HSI’s Contraband Smuggling Unit, Border Enforcement Security Task Forces work to combat emerging and existing transnational criminal organizations by employing the full range of federal, state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement resources in the fight to identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle these organizations at every level of operation along U.S. international borders (land, sea, and air). The BEST investigative model is a comprehensive response to the growing threat to border security, public safety, and national security. BESTs eliminate the barriers between federal, state, and local prosecutors and law enforcement officers as well as international partners in multinational criminal investigations. ICE currently operates BESTs in 63 U.S. locations, leveraging the participation of more than 1,000 members representing over 150 federal, state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement agencies. In response to the opioid crisis, ICE HSI has established a BEST unit at the Memphis International Mail Facility (IMF), with a primary mission of opening investigations related to shipments found to contain opioids. Moreover, ICE HSI has utilized this IMF model to establish additional BEST units at the Los Angeles International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) ERO’s mission is to identify, arrest, and remove aliens who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, as well as those who enter the United States illegally or otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration laws and border control efforts. ERO oversees programs and conducts operations to identify and apprehend removable aliens, to detain these individuals when necessary, and to remove illegal aliens from the United States. ERO prioritizes the apprehension, arrest, and removal of convicted criminals, those who pose a threat to nationalsecurity, fugitives, recent border entrants, and aliens who thwart immigration controls. ERO manages all logistical aspects of the removal process, including domestic transportation, detention, alternatives to detention programs, bond management, and supervised release. In addition, ERO repatriates aliens ordered removed from the United States to more than 170 countries around the world. Comprising six headquarters divisions and 24 Field Offices, ERO consists of 7,621 employees and manages a budget of approximately $4.1 billion. 38 Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Program: The ICE ERO-led SAFE initiative is an information sharing partnership between ERO and foreign law enforcement partners regarding fugitives named in active criminal arrest warrants in their home nations and who are amenable to removal proceedings in the United States. After instituting this information sharing program, ICE was able to remove criminals it had previously deemed non-criminal without access to foreign law enforcement information. In Fiscal Year 2018, SAFE facilitated the identification, arrest, and removal of 138 criminal fugitives to El Salvador, 185 criminal fugitives to Honduras, and 145 criminal fugitives to Guatemala. In September 2018, ERO authorized the SAFE program to expand to more countries. The Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC): LESC provideslaw enforcement agents with data, criminal intelligence, and other person-centric information regarding immigration status and criminal history of persons under investigation, in custody, or otherwise encountered. LESC operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Using the full range of DHS indices, along with other federal databases and intelligence resources, LESC supports federal,state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement partners, including INTERPOL and ICE Attaché offices. LESC also manages the administration of ICE records within the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). LESC furthers the prevention of gun violence through providing immigration status information to FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System for federal background checks on firearms purchases. Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor is the largest legal program in DHS with over 1,000 attorneys. Pursuant to statute, OPLA serves as the exclusive representative of DHS in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review litigating cases involving criminal aliens, terrorists, human traffickers, human rights abusers, and other priority aliens. OPLA also provides a full range of legal services to all ICE programs and offices. OPLA attorneys support the U.S. Department of Justice in the prosecution of ICE cases. In addition to Headquarters in Washington, D.C., OPLA has 25 Offices of Chief Counsel in more than 60 locations throughout the United States. Human Rights Law Section of the Homeland Security Investigations Law Division provides counsel on HSI’s human trafficking investigations, both sex trafficking and forced labor. The Criminal Law Section of the Homeland Security Investigations Law Division provides counsel on a range of HSI-related matters including, but not limited to, investigations pertaining to importations of forced labor-made goods and other customs violations, child sexual exploitation, financial crime, contraband smuggling, and cybercrime. The Commercial and Administrative Law Division provides counsel on the use of suspension and debarment to preclude traffickers from receiving federal contracts and certain forms of non-procurement transactions, such as grants and loans. ICE’s Most Wanted Program ICE’s Most Wanted Program aids ICE in locating and arresting dangerous fugitives and at-large criminal aliens, develops community support by improving visibility and fostering awareness of ICE’s public safety mission, and builds cooperative relationships with law enforcement partnersthrough the exchange of mutually beneficial information aimed at removing these threats from local communities. The program’s website lists wanted fugitives and at-large criminal aliens from ICE’s two operational agencies, HSI and ERO, but also has a separate list of those most wanted in the category of human trafficking. 39 DHS Joint Task Forces (JTFs) There are three JTFs: East, West, and Investigations. JTF East (JTF-E) and JTF West (JTF-W) are geographically focused. JTF Investigations (JTF-I) is functionally focused. All three JTFs incorporate elements of the USCG, CBP, and ICE. As necessary, they also integrate capabilities from other DHS Components; federal departments and agencies; and international,state, and local partners. The DHS Southern Border and Approaches Campaign Plan (SBACP) directs JTFs to execute integrated joint operations to disrupt, degrade, and ultimately dismantle transnational criminal organizations that conduct illicit activity such as human smuggling and trafficking. The SBACP directs how DHS uses a joint integrated approach to secure the southern border and approaches to the United States. JTF-East: Integrates and executes prioritized DHS counter-transnational organized crime operations and coordinates cross-departmental contingency operations through unity of effort within the JTF-E Joint Operating Area to secure the southern border and approaches. JTF-E headquarters is in Portsmouth, Virginia. USCG is the executive agent for JTF-E. JTF-West: Protects the American public along the Southwest border and littorals. JTF-W coordinates with domestic and international partners to prioritize threats and conducts intelligence driven counter-network operations to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations and illicit networks that undermine border security. JTF-W headquarters is in San Antonio, Texas. CBP is the executive agent for JTF-W. JTF-Investigations: Facilitates complex counter-network investigations in support of the DHS SBACP. The objective is dismantling, and preventing the reconstitution of, transnational criminal networks operating within the SBA. JTF-I supports the overall DHS mission, by focusing, enhancing, and integrating criminal investigations (threats and problems that JTF-E, JTF-W, and the DHS Components assess as the most urgent and important to address). To align investigations and investigative support to these Department level operational priorities, JTF-I leads and implements the Homeland Criminal Organizational Target (HOMECORT) process. JTF-I headquarters is in Washington, DC. ICE is the executive agent for JTF-I. Management Directorate (MGMT) The Chief Procurement Officer leads nine Heads of Contracting Activities who support DHS Components, Directorates, and Offices. Within these offices, more than 1,300 procurement personnel are responsible for purchasing products and services needed to enable the mission of DHS. Through training of the acquisition workforce, DHS increases awareness and understanding of U.S. Government policy prohibiting trafficking in persons, including trafficking-related activitiesthat may occur under government contracts. DHS procurement personnel are required to complete a two-hour training module that defines and identifies forms of human trafficking, describes vulnerable populations, explains indicators of human trafficking, and articulates specific remedies available to the government if contractors or contractor employees engage in human trafficking or trafficking-related activities. Additionally, staff in the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer participate in interagency working groups, committees, and campaigns that work to strengthen protections under federal contracts against trafficking in persons. 40 Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) The CIS Ombudsman advances efforts to combat human trafficking and child exploitation through its case assistance and recommendations for improvements on the delivery of immigration benefits and services. A victim of human trafficking or child exploitation can request assistance, especially in an emergency situation, with the CIS Ombudsman over phone or email when encountering difficulty with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The CIS Ombudsman provides impartial, independent, and confidential assistance in resolving problems with USCIS. The CIS Ombudsman also issues formal recommendations to improve USCIS humanitarian programs, including those that victims of human trafficking and child exploitation use to obtain lawful status, such as U or T nonimmigrant visas. Past recommendations have highlighted administrative challenges and provided USCIS the opportunity to improve its operations to better serve vulnerable applicants. Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) CRCL reviews relevant policies and programs to help ensure that the civil rights and civil liberties of human trafficking victims are protected across the Department. CRCL co-leads the DHS Council on Combating Violence Against Women (CCVAW), which coordinates the Department’s efforts to stop crimes against women and ensure the effective administration of laws to that effect, including those governing human trafficking. CRCL is also at the forefront of an interagency effort to mitigate the risk of human trafficking following a natural disaster. In addition to its policy work, CRCL works closely with DHS Components and the DHS Blue Campaign to provide input on public awareness materials and human trafficking-related training courses for public sector employees, and raise awareness of human trafficking indicators. CRCL has also worked to raise concerns about the risk of human trafficking in specific industries, such as on fishing vessels. DHS Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) In an effort to transform the DHS Intelligence Enterprise (IE) into a fully synchronized, cohesive enterprise that fuses intelligence, operational information, disciplines, and activities to drive actions that effectively neutralize Homeland threats, the DHS Chief Intelligence Officer (CINT)/Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis (USIA) realigned DHS I&A resources under a federated Mission Center construct. When it reaches full operational capability, the Transnational Organized Crime Mission Center will coordinate the production of strategic intelligence that identifies criminal networks, trends, tactics, and patterns relevant to DHS operational law enforcement missions. Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) OLA, in partnership with OPE, ICE, and FLETC, provides briefings to Members of Congress and staff about human trafficking and forced labor. During the last five years, DHS has provided more than 200 briefings designed to educate the congressional community about the crime of human trafficking and its different forms – sex and labor – and to provide them with a better understanding of the resources that DHS has in place to assist Congressin raising awareness and combating this crime. Additionally, OLA regularly monitors hearings and legislation pertaining to human trafficking, often working closely with congressional staff to provide important input on select draft bills. OLA has also worked with House and Senate offices to organize and support events nationwide that help Members of Congress raise awareness of human trafficking, including local roundtables. These events 41 provides Members of Congress an opportunity to bring together entire communities to share best practices and identify new ways to work together with federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement. Supporting these roundtables helps to connect DHS with state and local law enforcement, as well as concerned groups and individuals. In recent years, these events were held in Houston, Memphis, Rochester, Miami, Virginia Beach, and Philadelphia, as well as other cities. In anticipation of bipartisan interest in this new DHS strategy and its goals, OLA will continue to work closely with the Blue Campaign and DHS Components to provide regular briefings to individual personal offices, as well as committees of primary jurisdiction over DHS. Office for State and Local Law Enforcement (OSLLE) As part of the Department’s Office of Partnership and Engagement, OSLLE serves as the primary DHS liaison to state, local, tribal, territorial, and campus (SLTTC) law enforcement agencies and organizations. OSLLE shares information, resources, and Department initiatives with SLTTC partners, and solicits their input on DHS policies, programs, and initiatives. OSLLE’s goal is to identify and respond to law enforcement challenges that affect homeland security. This partnership with state and local law enforcement is firmly rooted in the Department’s mission areas, to include human trafficking. OSLLE works with the Blue Campaign to educate law enforcement about the indicators of human trafficking and how to respond to suspected human trafficking cases by sharing informational products and training tools and conducting workshops and other engagement activities. OSLLE also engages with its state and local partners, including the Nation’s 31 border sheriffs, to advance the common goal of disrupting and dismantling the transnational criminal organizations that engage in human trafficking and other crimes at the border. OSLLE also works in conjunction with other federal law enforcement and grant making agencies to provide technical assistance, grants, and other resources to these border communities to address human and sex trafficking, and to develop task forces to detect, arrest, and prosecute transnational criminals. Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (PLCY) Countering Transnational Organized Crime Policy (CTOC): CTOC, previously Law Enforcement Policy, was established in September 2014 to centralize and coordinate the management of critical law enforcement policy issues across DHS. CTOC coordinates extensively within DHS, with other Federal Government stakeholders, and with foreign partners to advance DHS law enforcement programs and priorities, develop cross-cutting Department policy, and address the evolving criminal and national security challenges confronting DHS law enforcement in the field. CTOC is the focal point for coordinating the Department’s policy and strategy in the combating transnational organized crime, counter-narcotics, human trafficking, and child sexual exploitation mission spaces. CTOC also routinely engages in traditional law enforcement policy matters, such as the use of force; recording of custodial interviews; use of confidential informants; law enforcement deconfliction; reporting of off-duty officer misconduct; international policing/collaboration; and the application of law enforcement tools and technologies (e.g., body-worn cameras, cell-site simulators, and smart gun technology requirements). Border, Immigration and Trade Policy (BIT): BIT manages a standing monthly meeting with the U.S. interagency working group on forced labor. Numerous U.S. Government entities participate to share information on their activities relating to forced labor, make connections among U.S. interagency partners, and identify new opportunities to collaborate on studying, preventing, and enforcing against forced labor. BIT also advocates for forced labor enforcement and coordinates with the broader USG, including with the White House, National Security Council, and senior U.S. Government leadership. 42 Office of International Affairs (OIA): OIA engages with foreign partners and multilateral organizations to address trends and responses to human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. For example, these subjects are routinely on the agenda for multilateral Secretarial engagements, such as the Five Country Ministerial, the Group of Seven (G7) Security Ministerial, and the U.S.-European Union Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial. The topics featured prominently on the agenda for the last Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America. In addition, priorities are advanced through staff-level international engagements, such as the G7 Roma Lyon Group, Migration Five, and U.S.- EU Senior Officials Meeting. Bilaterally, OIA regularly discusses these issues with foreign counterparts worldwide, but particularly in the Western Hemisphere. OIA frequently engages with the Northern Triangle governments in Central America on anti-trafficking issues. Prior Secretary Nielsen signed a Joint Statement with the Northern Triangle countries toward a Regional Compact, and one of its pillars is to combat human trafficking. DHS also engages Canada on ways to continue collaboration on combating human trafficking, improve Canada’s ability to stop the transit of goods produced with forced labor as agreed to under the U.S.- Mexico-Canada Agreement, and update its trafficking in persons action plan. Privacy Office (PRIV) PRIV works closely with CRCL to fulfill the Department’s commitment to protect the privacy of victims of human trafficking and other crimes. These victims are eligible for certain immigration protections, such as U or T nonimmigrant status, and their benefit applications and determinations are protected from disclosure under 8 U.S.C. § 1367. As part of DHS’s obligation to protect the privacy of victims, the DHS Chief Privacy Officer is required to review all information sharing and access agreements to ensure that they incorporate language to protect Section 1367 records. In addition, the DHS Chief Privacy Officer must determine any potential impacts a privacy incident may have on individuals, including those protected by Section 1367. If a suspected Section 1367 unauthorized disclosure occurs, PRIV monitors the incident and coordinates its response with CRCL. A coordinated investigation is launched to ascertain whether there was inappropriate sharing, whether exceptions apply to the disclosure, or whether enforcement actions should be taken. In keeping with the Department’s victim-centered approach, PRIV recommended that USCIS increase transparency through a Privacy Impact Analysis exclusively for Section 1367 information. All Components must establish, to the fullest extent reasonably practicable, means of identifying individuals protected by Section 1367 and take steps to safeguard information about them in relevant systems. All the activities noted above reinforce the importance of 8 U.S.C. § 1367 and demonstrate the significance of safeguards being implemented to ultimately protect the safety of victims of human trafficking and other crimes. Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) S&T performsresearch and development (R&D) in support of DHS operational components and other federal, state, and local government stakeholders. As part of its mission, S&T conducts studies and R&D in support of ICE HSI and their efforts to combat human trafficking and child exploitation (war criminals, sexual exploitation, and child abuse). These efforts will enhance ICE HSI’s ability of to investigate, share, query, and analyze law enforcement information/data, thereby enabling law enforcement investigations related to human trafficking, child exploitation, and other crimes. That R&D includes conducting an interactive mapping of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academia working to combat human trafficking while also developing a stakeholder-informed technology prototype and recommendations for additional medium- and long-term, science-based solutions. S&T is focused on research to improve detection, analysis, and understanding of human trafficking; understand human trafficking as a process and its impacts on individuals, communities, the United States, and the systems within; and conduct gap analyses 43 to identify aspects of human trafficking (victims or perpetrators) in greatest need of empirical research. S&T is also cooperating with foreign partners to support law enforcement in the investigation of human trafficking and child sex exploitation. In particular, S&T is working with Five Eyes countries through the Combatting Child Exploitation Network as a part of the Five Research and Development Council. S&T is also working with the United Kingdom to test and evaluate software to improve the ability of law enforcement agents to isolate faces and objects in the seized illicit material for child exploitation and human trafficking. U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 3056(f), the Secret Service is authorized, at the request of NCMEC or any state or local law enforcement agency, to provide forensic and investigative assistance in support of any investigation involving missing or exploited children. Additionally, the Secret Service receives funding through its annual appropriation of $6,000,000 for a grant for activities related to investigations of missing and exploited children. Through an interagency agreement with the Department of Justice, the grant funds are dispersed to NCMEC. Additionally, the Secret Service has developed the Childhood Smart Program, a prevention education outreach program that serves to educate parents and children regarding trends and tactics related to child exploitation and abduction. The agency delivers safety resources in schools and communities throughout the United States by utilizing trained Secret Service employees via its Ambassadors Program. Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS): TSA is responsible for aviation security, including all individuals who may pose a threat to aviation or national security, and for the security of highways, railroads, ports, mass transit systems, and pipelines. The Federal Air Marshal Service is the law enforcement agency supporting TSA’s in-flight security and incidents, inquiries, and investigations into insider threats. Federal Air Marshals are assigned to in-flight security missions on high-risk domestic and international routes. FAMS coordinates with other law enforcement authorities and supports interdicting transnational organized crime actors trafficking humans and contraband through commercial aviation or federalized airports. To protect victims and interdict suspects, FAMS works regularly with CBP, NCMEC, and state and local law enforcement to identify flights that may be carrying missing or exploited children or suspects of human trafficking. Security Operations: Security Operations is responsible for security of the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. This includes checkpoint and baggage screening operations impacting millions of passengers at approximately 440 airports every day, oversight of more than 280 international airports conducting last points of departure operations to and from the United States, and a surface network that encompasses freight railroad, passenger rail, mass transit, maritime, and pipelines. Security Operations is also responsible for ensuring all modes of transportation follow domestic and international regulatory requirements. Training and Development: The TSA Human Trafficking Awareness Course, implemented at TSA in 2016, teaches indicators and uses scenario-based training techniques to help field operators recognize human trafficking activities and report them through appropriate channels for immediate action. This course is an annual requirement for the screening workforce, up to and including Assistant Federal Security Directors, as well as Law Enforcement/FAMS employees and is tailored to their respective roles and responsibilities. This course satisfies the training requirements set out in Section 902(a) of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (JVTA), 6 U.S.C. § 642(a). 44 Global Strategies (GS) Multilateral Engagement Branch (MEB): TSA GS MEB is the DHS representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Aviation Security Panel, which establishes international aviation security standards and recommended practices. In May 2018, GS MEB attended a joint forum on the role of civil aviation stakeholders in eradicating human trafficking convened by ICAO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The forum included discussions on establishing common reporting mechanisms and tools that collect appropriate actionable information. As a member of the RomaLyon Group of Seven (G7) Transportation Security Sub Group (TSSG), GS MEB is the subject matter expert supporting an Italian-led project to examine the exploitation of transportation security systems by criminal traffickers, including human traffickers. Under the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Aviation Experts Group (AEG) GS MEB is shaping international aviation security policy in recognizing the impact of criminal trafficking in building and sustaining an airport security culture to mitigate insider threats. Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler Engagement (CRL/OTE): CRL/OTE is TSA’s liaison to the DHS Blue Campaign, advising on proposed training and engagement initiatives and hosting annual antislavery and human trafficking programs. Since 2014, CRL/OTE has coordinated discussions among TSA employees and human trafficking survivors, experts, and law enforcement officials intended to increase awareness and educate TSA employees on combating these crimes. In 2015, CRL/OTE published TSA Management Directive (MD) 3700.1, Implementation of Section 1367 Information Provisions, outlining TSA employee responsibilities pursuant to DHS Directive 002-02 and 8 U.S.C. § 1367(d). MD 3700.1 outlines the confidentiality, training, and reporting requirements for TSA employees that encounter “1367 information,” defined as any information relating to individuals seeking or who have been approved for immigration status as, among other contexts, victims of a severe form of human trafficking who generally are cooperating with law enforcement authorities. 45 APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY OF TERMS Child Sexual Abuse Material: Any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computergenerated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where—the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; such visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or such visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Child Sexual Exploitation: The sexual exploitation of any child under the age of 18. Child sexual exploitation includes 1) the possession, receipt, distribution, transportation, advertisement, or production of child sex abuse material; 2) travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct with any child under the age of 18; and 3) all other acts involving the sexual abuse of children under the age of 18. Child Sex Trafficking: Any child (under the age of 18) who has been recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized, or solicited to engage in a commercial sex act is a victim of trafficking regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion is used. The use of children in the commercial sex trade is prohibited both under U.S. law and by legislation in most countries around the world. [18 U.S.C. Section 1591] Continued Presence: A temporary immigration status provided to individuals identified by law enforcement as victims of a “severe forms of trafficking in persons” who may be potential witnesses. Thisstatus allowstrafficking victims to lawfully remain in the United States temporarily and work during the investigation into the human trafficking-related crimes committed against them and during any civil action under 18 U.S.C. § 1595 filed by the victims against their traffickers. Continued Presence is initially granted for two years and may be renewed in up to two-year increments. Debt Bondage: U.S. law prohibits the use of a debt as a form of coercion to compel a person’s labor. Some workers fall victim to traffickers or recruiters who unlawfully exploit an initial debt assumed as a condition of employment, while in certain countries some workers “inherit” the debt. Although contract violations and hazardous working conditions for migrant laborers do not in themselves constitute human trafficking, the imposition of costs and debts on these laborers can contribute to a situation of debt bondage. In other cases, employment-based temporary work programs in which the workers’ legal status in the country is tied to a particular employer present challenges to workers who would like to flee from such an employer. Domestic Servitude: Working in a private residence can create unique vulnerabilities, particularly because what happens in a private residence often is hidden from the world, and it is easy to isolate a worker in a private residence. Domestic workplaces are often informal, connected to off-duty living quarters, and not shared with other workers. Such an environment is conducive to exploitation because authorities cannot inspect private homes as easily as formal workplaces. The use of informal, or even verbal, employment contracts compounds vulnerability. Foreign domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to abuse due to factors such as language and cultural barriers and lack of community ties. Forced Child Labor: Although children may legally engage in certain forms of work, forms of slavery or slavelike practices – including the sale of children for exploitation, forced or compulsory child labor, and debt bondage and serfdom of children – continue to exist, despite legal prohibitions and widespread condemnation. 46 Goods produced with forced labor, which are prohibited from importation into the United States, are goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or forced labor. This includes forced child labor, prison labor, or slave labor. [19 U.S.C. Section 1307] Human Trafficking or a "Severe Form of Trafficking in Persons" means:  sex trafficking (the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing or soliciting of a person for purposes of commercial sex) in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, o or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or  the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor orservices, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. [22 U.S.C. 7102(9)] Labor Trafficking: Encompasses the range of activities – recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining – involved when a person uses force or physical threats; psychological coercion; abuse of the legal process; a scheme, plan, or pattern intended to hold a person in fear of serious harm; or other coercive means to compel someone to work. Once a person’s labor is obtained by such means, the person’s previous consent or effort to obtain employment with the trafficker does not preclude the person from being considered a victim, or the government from prosecuting the offender. U.S. law prohibits the importation of goods produced by forced labor, including forced child labor; convict labor; and indentured labor under penal sanctions. Sex Trafficking: When a person is required to engage in a commercial sex act as the result of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion or any combination of such means, that person is a victim of human trafficking. Under such circumstances, perpetrators involved in recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, advertising, maintaining, patronizing, or soliciting a person for that purpose are guilty of federal sex trafficking of an adult. This is true even if the victim previously consented to engage in commercial sex. [18 U.S.C. Section 1591] T Nonimmigrant Status (T visa): Provides immigration protection specifically to eligible victims of a “severe forms of human trafficking.”10 Eligibility includes that the victim must have complied with any reasonable request for assistance in a federal, state, or local investigation or prosecution of human trafficking cases. Victims under the age of 18 and victims unable to cooperate because of physical or psychological trauma are not required to have complied with any reasonable law enforcement requests for assistance. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(T); 8 CFR § 214.11 Transnational Child Sexual Abuse (formerly called Child Sex Tourism): Traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a child under the age of 18. Illicit sexual conduct includes commercial sex with or sexual abuse of anyone under 18, any sex with anyone under 16, and production of child pornography. 10 A severe form of trafficking in persons is defined in 22 U.S.C. 7102(11). 47 Trauma-Informed Approach: Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances experienced by an individual as physically and emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s physical, social, emotional, orspiritual well-being. A trauma-informed approach considersthe impact of, for example, an enforcement action, policy or training, with an understanding of vulnerabilities and experiences of trauma survivors, including an understanding of the prevalence and physical, social, emotional, and spiritual impact of trauma. Trauma-informed approaches place priority on restoring the survivor’s feelings of safety, choice, and control. U Nonimmigrant Status (U visa): An immigration benefit that is available to victims of certain qualifying crimes in the United States – including human trafficking – who have been helpful, are being helpful, or are likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the qualifying criminal activity and meet other requirements. The U visa is a tool intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute certain types of crimes, while also protecting crime victims and encouraging them to come forward and assist law enforcement. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U); 8 CFR § 214.14 Unlawful Recruitment or Use of Child Soldiers: Child soldiering can be a form of human trafficking when it involves the unlawful recruitment or use of children – through force, fraud, or coercion – by armed forces as combatants or to carry out support roles such as cooks, porters, messengers, medics, or guards. Perpetrators may be government forces, paramilitary organizations, or rebel groups. In addition to being recruited or used for combat or labor, some child soldiers are sexually abused or exploited by armed groups. Victim-Centered Approach: Placing the crime victim’s priorities, needs, and interests at the center of the work with the victim; providing nonjudgmental assistance, with an emphasis on self-determination, and assisting victims in making informed choices; ensuring that restoring victims’ feelings of safety and security are a priority and safeguarding against policies and practices that may inadvertently re-traumatize victims. In the context of enforcement operations, a victim-centered approach means the enforcement agency places equally high value on the identification, assistance, and protection of victims as on the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators. Assistance is not tied to prosecution decisions or outcomes or whether victims were forced to commit illegal acts during their exploitation. This approach is key to the successful investigation and prosecution and ensures that victims have the right to be informed and have opportunities to participate in their case throughout the judicial process. A victim-centered approach entails a trauma-informed, survivor-informed and culturally competent approach. 48   APPENDIX C: PRIMARY AUTHORITIES TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT (TVPA)  Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386 (2000)  Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-193 (2003)  Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-164 (2005)  William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-457 (2008)  Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-4 (2013)  Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-393 (2018)  Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-392 (2018)  Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-427 (2019)  Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-425 (2019) CRIMINAL STATUTES  18 U.S.C. § 1589 – Forced Labor  18 U.S.C. § 1590 – Trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor  18 U.S.C. § 1591 – Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud or coercion  18 U.S.C. § 1761 – Transportation or importation of prison-made goods  18 U.S.C. § 1956 – Laundering of monetary instruments  18 U.S.C. § 1963 – RICO Criminal penalties  18 U.S.C. § 2251 – Sexual exploitation of children  18 U.S.C. § 2252 – Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors  18 U.S.C. § 2252A – Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors  18 U.S.C. § 2260 – Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States  18 U.S.C. § 2422 – Coercion and enticement of minor  18 U.S.C. § 2423 – Transportation of minors TRADE AND GOODS PRODUCED WITH FORCED LABOR STATUTES  Section 307 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1307)  Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), Pub. L. No. 115-44 (2017) REGULATIONS  8 CFR § 214.11  8 CFR § 214.14  FAR Clauses 55.222.-18, -19, and -50 49 OTHER KEY MANDATES  The PROTECT Act, Pub. L. No. 108-21 (2003), created 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c), which targets those U.S. citizens or aliens admitted for permanent residence in the U.S. who travel abroad for the purpose of engaging in sex with a minor.  Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-22 (2015)  International Megan’s Law (IML), Pub. L. No. 114-119 (2016) – Signed into law to prevent child exploitation and other sexual crimes through advanced notification of