DHS in Action

Many DHS personnel hold public-facing jobs throughout the United States and are well positioned to witness indicators of potential human trafficking, interact with potential traffickers and victims, and report suspicions to U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of DHS. Continued improvements to identification and screening lead to holding more traffickers accountable and more victims who are safe, stable, and offered protections. Within DHS:

• The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking is responsible to conduct, review, and assist DHS components with screening and identification tools and efforts. As part of this effort, the DHS Blue Campaign within the CCHT makes available free printed materials, awareness videos, public service announcements, social media, and industry-specific toolkits for all DHS components to distribute to their stakeholders to increase identification. The DHS Blue Campaign will work with Components to customize materials as well.
• U.S. Customs & Border Protection identifies potential human trafficking as it protects nearly 7,000 miles of land border and 327 ports of entry. This includes using a specialized human trafficking screening for all unaccompanied children.
• U.S. Coast Guard is on alert for forced labor on fishing vessels and during migrant interdictions.
• U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services identifies potential trafficking during its asylum and refugee processing and interviews.
• The Transportation Security Administration watches for human trafficking signs while screening airport passengers.
• U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations identifies potential human trafficking during encounters and in detention facilities.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency is prepared to identify trafficking following natural disasters.
• The DHS Office of Science & Technology funded the creation of a searchable database of tools and indicators for professionals whose work brings them in contact with victims of sex and labor trafficking to increase identification.

DHS uses every available administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement authority to hold human traffickers accountable. This includes more than 1,000 criminal investigations annually for sex trafficking and forced labor, including forced labor in the supply chain. DHS also enforces the prohibition against the importation of goods produced with forced labor by issuing withhold release orders and formal findings. Furthermore, DHS works to ensure its own supply chain is clean by implementing contractual requirements, audits, and suspension and debarments within DHS acquisitions and contracts. For example:

• The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking works with DHS component enforcement agencies to coordinate on intelligence and operations and leverage authorities and resources. The CCHT also provides comprehensive support to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations whose human trafficking investigations mission is two-fold:
  • To proactively identify, disrupt, and dismantle human trafficking organizations and minimize the risk they pose to public safety and national security and
  • To employ a victim-centered approach, whereby equal value is placed on the identification, protection, and stabilization of victims and the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.
• U.S. Customs & Border Protection executes the Department’s trade enforcement response by denying entry at any U.S. ports for goods produced with forced labor using 19 U.S.C. 1307, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
• U.S. Coast Guard stops illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, including forced labor aboard vessels.
• U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations removes human traffickers who are criminal aliens from the United States.
• The Transportation Security Administration’s Federal Air Marshal Service identifies flight routes exploited by human traffickers.
• U.S. Secret Service conducts financial investigations and supports law enforcement nationwide with forensic services on human trafficking cases.
• U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate refers suspected human traffickers for criminal investigation.  
• The DHS Chief Procurement Officer is the Department’s Senior Accountable Official responsible for preventing human trafficking in DHS acquisitions and contracts and coordinating suspension and debarment actions.

DHS employs a victim-centered approach, which is key to human trafficking identification, protection, and enforcement. That approach entails placing the crime victim’s priorities, needs, and interests at the center of the work with the victim; providing nonjudgmental assistance with an emphasis on self-determination, and assisting victims in making informed choices; ensuring that restoring victims’ feelings of safety and security are a priority; and safeguarding against policies and practices that may inadvertently re-traumatize victims. Within DHS:

• The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking operates a comprehensive Continued Presence program serving law enforcement nationwide, making available a public resource guide, pamphlet, webinars, and online submission portal. The CCHT is also required to incorporate a victim-centered approach throughout DHS policies, training, and practices.
• U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services helps to protect victims of human trafficking and other crimes by providing eligible victims with immigration benefits, including T visas, U visas, Special Immigrant Juvenile classification, and Violence Against Women Act benefits.
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations victim assistance personnel provide services to victims and conduct forensic interviews of victims in support of HSI criminal investigations which contribute to a victim’s ability to become an effective witness and participate in the criminal justice process.
  • HSI Victim Assistance Specialists connect victims to local resources for comprehensive services, such as health and mental health care, food, shelter, legal assistance and other social service programs that may provide them with the stability and security they need.
  • HSI Forensic Interview Specialists are critical resources for HSI Special Agents. They gather facts from crime victims about their experiences, perpetrators and other potential victims while minimizing retraumatization or revictimization. These specialists create neutral, safe spaces where victims are empowered to share information in their own words.

DHS conducts a substantial amount of training for its employees worldwide as well as partners in local, state, federal, tribal, territorial, and foreign law enforcement and other stakeholders. The training ranges from general awareness and identification to advanced enforcement and protection sessions. DHS also administers the Blue Campaign, the Department’s flagship human trafficking public awareness campaign, with the goal of increasing identification and reporting to law enforcement. For example:

Training

• The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking is mandated to conduct, review, and assist with DHS human trafficking training. As a result, the CCHT offers:
  • Annual virtual multi-day seminar open to all DHS employees interested in DHS’s counter-human trafficking efforts
  • Biannual advanced human trafficking investigations training for Special Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations
  • Quarterly law enforcement and biannual public webinars on Continued Presence
  • Customized train-the-trainer presentations for DHS components
  • Co-presenting with DHS components
  • Technical assistance reviewing and enhancing DHS components’ trainings
• The CCHT, through the DHS Blue Campaign, provides components with mandatory training per 6 U.S.C. § 642. The online training is customized for how personnel may encounter human trafficking so that they are able to identify and report suspected trafficking and is offered by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers provides front line law enforcement, support staff, and other stakeholders with the knowledge they need to recognize and properly respond to potential human trafficking situations.
• U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate trains its officers on best practices in sharing information on potential human trafficking cases to assist with the development of potential leads for referral to HSI and to support ongoing cases. FDNS also hosts agency-wide virtual learning sessions on human trafficking awareness tailored for USCIS employees who regularly conduct in-person interviews, administer site visits at homes and businesses, and engage with members of the community.
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations collaborates with the DHS Blue Campaign on posters and materials to distribute within ICE facilities, including detention centers as well as reporting offices and sub-offices. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor trains all new attorneys on human trafficking and victim-based immigration benefits.
• The DHS Chief Procurement Officer mandates that all members of the DHS Acquisition Workforce complete biennial human trafficking training to maintain their Federal Acquisition Certification.

Outreach & Engagement

• The DHS Blue Campaign within the CCHT makes available free printed materials, awareness videos, public service announcements, social media, and industry-specific toolkits, all with the goal of increasing identification and reporting to law enforcement. Campaign specialists provide awareness presentations for tens of thousands of people annually, fulfill thousands of orders for print materials, and reach millions through digital ad campaigns.
• The DHS Blue Campaign also works with DHS components to customize materials for their outreach efforts, such as:
  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations posters and materials distributed within ICE facilities, including detention centers as well as reporting offices and sub-offices
  • Custom materials and ad campaigns for large scale special events including major sporting events and conventions, in cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations efforts.
• U.S. Secret Service employees volunteer nationwide to bring the Childhood Smart Program to parents and children in grades K-12 about real-world and internet safety.