United States Dept. of Justice

"Human Trafficking is a violation of the human body, mind and spirit. For this vile practice to be taking place in a country that the world looks to as a beacon of freedom...is a terrible irony and an utter tragedy."

Defining the crime of trafficking in human beings; essentially, trafficking is the transport of persons, by means of coercion, deception, or consent for the purpose of exploitation such as forced or consensual labor or prostitution:

"Trafficking in persons" shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth [above] shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth have been used.

Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, is a tragically widespread form of modern-day slavery. Pursuing and prosecuting traffickers and rescuing victims of trafficking are high priorities of the Department of Justice. The Office of Legal Policy coordinates the development of the Department's anti-trafficking policies and is responsible for compiling the Attorney General's Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Assessment of U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Assistant Attorney General serves as the Department's representative to the Senior Policy Operating Group, an Executive level policy implementation group created to address emerging interagency policy, grants, and planning issues. (Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
2006 National Conference on Human Trafficking)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - Department of Justice Announces Launch of Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative

Human Trafficking Hotline
1-888-428-7581