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Chronic underfunding of the federal agency charged with protecting workers means labor traffickers are able to operate with impunity because they are pretty sure no one is watching.  That has to change. The U.S. Department of Labor must have the resources to hire, train and deploy inspectors who visit job sites and make sure workers are being treated fairly.

It is too easy for criminal networks to hide their true identity when setting up illicit companies. Attorneys, accountants, and others that work for these companies are currently exempt from having to ensure their clients are operating within the law. Congress has the power to close this loophole by passing the bipartisan ENABLERS Act and help ensure they are not enabling human trafficking.

By its very definition, the crime of human trafficking involves being forced, manipulated or tricked into activities that a person would not otherwise engage in - such as selling sex or picking vegetables for hours in the hot sun with no pay. Yet the federal government has no mechanism to ensure that people who have federal criminal charges on their records as a result of their victimization can get those records cleared. Tell Congress: Federal criminalized trafficking victims deserve relief.

The Administration can and must lead the way toward fixing the broken system that allows for – even encourages – labor trafficking of workers who are in this country on temporary visas. There are several steps in that direction that the White House and agencies can take immediately and others in which congressional action is necessary. The solutions are clear and the time is now.

Understanding the realities of how love is often used as a weapon in situations of human trafficking is critical to preventing it. Learn more about the grooming process and what love doesn’t look like. Share our videos and graphics on social media to expand awareness of what human trafficking really looks like — directly from the experiences of survivors.

Most people assume that the 13th amendment entirely abolished legal slavery in the United States. But there is an exception: Prison labor. Unscrupulous corporations and governments looking to plug holes in their budgets have used this exception to turn a profit. This is trafficking, and it is not what the framers intended. 

LGBTQ+ people are particularly vulnerable to human traffickers in part because bias and discrimination in things like jobs and housing gives traffickers an opening to step in. The Equality Act would make such discrimination illegal under federal law.

Survivors should not have to pay federal taxes on money they win by facing down their traffickers in court. Contact your Representatives and ask them to support the bipartisan Human Trafficking Survivor Tax Relief Act.

We all may have encountered relationships, whether our loved ones’ or our own, where we grow concerned about behaviors or realize later on that they were manipulative. Pledge to be THAT friend who learns what love isn’t and trafficking is and chooses to tell the truth.

Understanding the realities of child sex trafficking will help you to not only keep your own children safe, but to become an effective advocate for the safety of all children and families in your community. Share our graphics on social media and expand awareness of what child trafficking is and how it works.

Youth and young adults experiencing homelessness often remain invisible as they live on the streets, in shelters, in their car or by staying temporarily with others. Homeless young people have already been failed by numerous systems - and people - who were supposed to help keep them safe. They are in survival mode, lacking the basic necessities of life - a safe place to live, regular sources of food. That’s when traffickers swoop in.