Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons Fiscal Year 2009 July 2010 Table of Contents I. Introduction............................................................................................................... 1 II. Assessment of U.S. Government Activities in FY 2009 ......................................... 4 III. FY 2010 Recommendations.................................................................................... 14 IV. Benefits and Services Given Domestically to Trafficking Victims.................... 17 A. Department of Health and Human Services.......................................................... 18 B. Department of Justice ........................................................................................... 25 C. Department of Homeland Security ....................................................................... 30 D. Department of Labor............................................................................................. 32 E. Department of State .............................................................................................. 33 F. Legal Services Corporation................................................................................... 34 V. Immigration Benefits for Trafficking Victims ..................................................... 34 A. Continued Presence.................................................................................................. 35 B. T and U Nonimmigrant Status ................................................................................ 36 C. Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residence........................................... 39 D. The Victims and Trafficking Unit at the USCIS Vermont Service Center............. 41 VI. Investigations, Prosecutions, and Sentences......................................................... 41 A. Investigations .......................................................................................................... 41 1. Federal Bureau of Investigation............................................................................ 41 2. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement....................................................... 43 3. Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.......................................................... 45 4. Department of Labor............................................................................................ 46 B. Prosecutions ............................................................................................................ 47 i C. Sentences…………………………………………………………………………...49 VII. International Grants to Combat Trafficking ............................................... 49 A. Department of State Programs ................................................................................. 50 B. USAID Programs………………………………………………………………….51 C. Department of Labor Programs................................................................................ 55 VIII. Training and Outreach................................................................................... 58 A. Domestic Training.................................................................................................... 58 1. Department of Justice .......................................................................................... 58 2. Department of Homeland Security ...................................................................... 63 3. Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.......................................................... 65 4. Department of Defense ........................................................................................ 66 B. International Training and Outreach ....................................................................... 67 1. Department of Justice .......................................................................................... 67 2. Department of Homeland Security ...................................................................... 74 3. Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.......................................................... 77 4. Department of Health and Human Services......................................................... 78 C. Domestic and International Outreach and Public Awareness Efforts..................... 78 1. Department of Education ..................................................................................... 78 2. Department of Health and Human Services......................................................... 79 3. Department of Homeland Security ...................................................................... 84 4. Department of State ............................................................................................. 86 D. Department of State Outreach to Foreign Governments......................................... 88 E. Department of State Multilateral Affairs................................................................. 90 ii IX. Actions to Enforce 22 U.S.C. § 7104(g)................................................................. 92 X. Interagency Coordination ...................................................................................... 93 XI. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 94 Appendices Appendix A BJA/OVC Human Trafficking Task Forces……………………………..95 Appendix B NIJ Research……………………………………………………………..96 Appendix C Examples of Criminal Cases……………………………………………108 Appendix D HHS Victim Services Network…………………………………………118 Appendix E USG Funds Obligated in FY 2009 for TIP Projects……………………119 iii I. Introduction The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children. Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom….We must join together as a Nation and global community to provide [a] safe haven by protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence. ~ President Barack Obama1 Despite [our] achievements, there is much more work to be done. Meeting the civil rights challenges of the 21st century will require us to identify new enforcement strategies, to forge new partnerships, and to provide more support for victim service providers. But we should all be encouraged that the global movement to end human trafficking has received unprecedented attention and resources, as well as unprecedented political support….We must seize the opportunity to be a leader in the global fight against human trafficking, and to ensure that the nation we love remains a beacon of freedom for all humankind. ~ Attorney General Eric Holder2 Trafficking in persons (TIP), or human trafficking, is a widespread form of modern-day slavery. Traffickers often prey on individuals who are poor, frequently unemployed, or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets. Victims are often lured by traffickers with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and then forced to work under brutal and inhumane conditions. Due to the lengths to which perpetrators go to keep their crimes hidden, it is difficult to accurately estimate the extent of victimization. Nonetheless, the United States (U.S.) has led the world in the campaign against this terrible crime both at home and overseas. This year marks a significant milestone in the history of the U.S.’s ongoing campaign to eliminate human trafficking—the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), Pub. L. 106-386. Enactment of the TVPA in October 2000 signaled a new step forward in our nation’s response to trafficking. Specifically, the TVPA significantly enhanced three aspects of federal government activity to combat TIP: protection, prosecution, and prevention. First, the TVPA expanded the U.S. Government’s efforts to protect victims of trafficking. It provided for victim assistance in the U.S. by making foreign TIP victims who were otherwise ineligible for government assistance eligible for federally funded or administered health and other benefits and services; mandated U.S. Government protections for foreign victims of trafficking and, where applicable, their families; 1 Presidential Proclamation, National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, January 4, 2010. 2 Opening Remarks, 2010 National Conference on Human Trafficking, May 3, 2010. 1 outlined protections from removal, including T non-immigrant status for trafficking victims over the age of 18 who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking (victims under 18 are not required to cooperate in order to receive immigration benefits); and allowed T non-immigrant status holders to adjust to permanent resident status. Second, the TVPA provided a stronger focus for the U.S. Government’s prosecutorial efforts against TIP. Prior to October 2000, prosecutors filed human trafficking cases under several federal laws, including the Mann Act and various involuntary servitude and labor statutes. The TVPA clearly defined trafficking in persons as “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