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CBP takes stand against huma

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human trafficking and enslavement is a world-wide problem that has sp

to the United States. This woman, in her early 20s, was trafficked into a blue jean sweatsho

Bangkok, Thailand where she and other young women were locked in and made to work 20

day, sleeping on the floor, with little to eat and no pay. She managed to escape and was bro

to a shelter. After a few days, when she felt safe enough to tell her story to the director, the

were informed and they raided the sweatshop, freeing 38 girls, ages 14-26. CBP is working

identify individuals entering the U.S. that may be victims of such enslavement.

Illegal

rafficking

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Desperate for work and a better life,a family travels from Peru to the

United States by paying a smugglingorganization for illegal visas. These dreamsare quickly shattered, however, when thefamily falls victim to the smugglers and istrapped in a seeming no-way-out nightmare.

Once they arrived in the U.S., theirillegal visas were taken by the criminalsmuggling organization and they are told thatthey must work as house cleaners to pay back $6,000-$13,000 in new smuggling fees, or elsetheyll be turned in to the authorities. They receive $50 per week to support the entirefamily and are forced to live and sleep in a

room filled with 10 people and only one mattress.While the family voluntarily participated

in being illegally smuggled across the U.S.border, when they were threatened with theprospect of being arrested if they did notwork, they became victims of a worldwidescourge known as human trafficking.

This disturbing scenario is all too real.While most people who enter the United

States illegally are not forced to work againsttheir will, a U.S. government study estimates

that as many as 800,000 people are traffickedacross national borders each year and 17,500people are trafficked into the United Statesfrom another country.

CBP officers and Border Patrol agentsroutinely encounter incidents of humansmuggling and human trafficking, and itsimportant to distinguish between them.

Smuggling vs . Trafficking An individual may be smuggled andtrafficked, just smuggled, or just traffickedand the CBP officers and agents must

distinguish between them.

is a crime involvingthe movement of a person across acountrys border illegally.

exploitationis the key, not movement. Trafficking canbe defined as any situation where someoneis induced by force, fraud or coercion towork for little or no pay or to engage in a

commercial sexual act.By warning potential victims about

human trafficking and educating them abouttheir rights before the exploitation begins, wecan save lives, said CBP Commissioner W.Ralph Basham.

Numerous agencies within the U.S.government are engaged in combatinghuman trafficking, most notably Immigrationand Customs Enforcement, the Departmentof Health and Human Services, theDepartment of State, the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense and theDepartment of Justice, but CBP plays aunique role because of its position at the

borders.Frontline CBP employees often are thefirst people to encounter potential trafficking victims as they enter the country. Some whoenter the country may not know they are atrisk of being enslaved at the time that they cross the border, but CBP employees caneducate potential victims about their rights inthe United States and can keep an eye out forwarning signs.

Human smuggling:a crime involving the movement

of a person across a countrys

border illegally.

Human trafficking:any

situation where someone is

induced by force, fraud or

coercion to work for little

or no pay or to engage in

a commercial sexual act.P hot os by K ay C he r nush f or t he U.S. St a t e De par t me nt

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As part of a new awareness campaign,CBP employees are attempting to informtravelers who seem like they might be vulnerable to trafficking. CBP is also workingto educate the general public to recognize theindicators of human trafficking.

Additional outreach and trainingactivities include the development of an online training course for all CBPemployees on identifying human traffickingand information available on the CBP.gov Web site on combating this horrible

offense. Each of these tools will betterequip CBP employees to identify potentialhuman trafficking victims and to stop theexploitation before it starts.

Law enforcement typically focuses oncatching criminals, but CBP is focusingas much on helping victims as on puttingthe traffickers in jail. This victim-centeredapproach combined with the agencys role

as thesecurers of theborder give CBP a uniqueapproach to combatingmodern day slavery. Q _______________________by Laurie Weeks

...In trafficking, exploitation

the key, not movement...

defined as any situation

where someone is induce

by force, fraud or coerci

to work fo

little or

no pay...

From left clockwise:

O Much o the world is plagued by the enslavement o children andyoung adults. In south Asia, entire

amilies can be trapped into a li eas carpet weavers when a amily member alls into debt.

O Young people looking or a better li ein the fshing industry can actually besold to greedy ship captains.

O State Department estimates are thatmillions are trapped as sexual slaves

worldwide and that they live in such ear they are a raid to seek help.

O Children such as this young girl areprized by exploiters in the carpet industry

or their small, ast fngers.