Press Releases

Polaris, Consejo Ciudadano, and The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking gathered virtually to enhance regional cooperation to assist victims and survivors of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is a complex and dynamic crime,” said Catherine Chen, CEO of Polaris. “Without an investigation of exactly what happened before migrants were put on a plane and unwittingly used for political gain, it would be irresponsible to accuse anyone of trafficking. 

Polaris, the leading organization working to prevent and reduce sex and labor trafficking in North America, issued the following statement in response to accusations of human trafficking by Wyoming congressional candidate Harriet Hageman.

In light of today's sentencing decision in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Robert Beiser, Polaris's Director of the Strategic Initiative on Sex Trafficking, released the following statement

Catherine Chen, CEO of Polaris, was appointed by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas to the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Chen joins 32 other new members on the Council, the principal external advisory body to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The USDA notice cancelling the Farm Labor Survey will lower the salaries of H-2A workers and also leaves them at more risk of human trafficking.

Polaris is excited to announce the appointment of veteran anti trafficking strategist Catherine Chen as the organization’s new chief executive officer.

In the past week, the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline has received numerous reports involving text messages claiming the recipient has an unclaimed package awaiting delivery.

The U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline reports an overall increase in human trafficking situations last year, and an increase in survivors contacting the Trafficking Hotline directly. 

Over the past several days the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received hundreds of reports that reference viral posts claiming Wayfair has been involved in sex trafficking children.

Polaris tracked the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on victims and survivors of sex and labor trafficking. As part of this effort, Polaris has undertaken a systematic examination of relevant data from the Polaris-operated U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. The data brief includes the findings of this analysis and policy recommendations.

Polaris stands in solidarity with all who are protesting the violence against Black Americans and the systemic injustice in our communities. We mourn the many incidences of police brutality that overwhelmingly plague Black communities.