MEMORANDUM

To: Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons of the State Department led by Ambassador
Mark P. Lagon
From: U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Date: 10-27-08
Subject: Mandate training and enhance outreach and victim protection programs

This policy memo makes a recommendation to the Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons
(OMCTP) of the State Department to mandate training in the state level, and to enhance its outreach and
victim protection programs. This recommendation seeks to better identify and protect the victims of
human trafficking, to increase awareness in local government and communities, and to prevent future
human trafficking in the United States.

Background
Ambassador Lagon: As you know, human trafficking is a monstrous crime that destroys the
dignity of all human beings. It is the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world. 1
Victims are trafficked for variety of purposes, such as commercial sex and forced labor, while the
traffickers make billions of dollars as they dehumanize the victims with their loathsome “business.” Many
people assume that all victims of human trafficking are from a poor, foreign country; however, there is
neither one specific pattern of human trafficking nor a consistent face of a trafficking victim. Trafficked
persons can be rich or poor, men or women, adults or children, and foreign nationals or U.S. citizens. 2

According to the 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked
across international borders each year. 3 As of May 2004, the Department of Justice estimates 14,500 to
17,500 people trafficked into the United States each year. 4 Moreover, Free the Slaves reports that there
are human trafficking cases reported in all fifty states, specifically in ninety-one cities. 5 Compared to
previous years, the number of victims trafficked into the country has decreased; there were about 50,000

1"The Campaign to Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking: About Human Trafficking." U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services: Administration for Children and Families. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/index.html

2 "Polaris Project." Polaris Project. http://www.polarisproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=86

3 "Trafficking in Persons Report June 2005." Department of State. www.state.gov/documents/organization/47255.pdf

4"Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons June 2004." Department of Justice. www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/wetf/
us_assessment_2004.pdf

5 "Stop Modern Slavery Group Toolkit." http://www.stopmodernslavery.org/docs/toolkit.pdf

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people in 1998 and 20,000 in 2003. 6 However, 14,500 to 17,500 people is still a high number, and
experts all agree that human trafficking is a growing pandemic—it is unlikely to diminish in intensity any
time soon.
The present administration, specifically your office, as well as various NGOs and other actors
have been playing an active role in decreasing and combating human trafficking. However, each of these
actors faces challenges and limitations in order to protect the victims effectively and to prevent future
crimes of trafficking.

Analysis
Human trafficking problem dwells in this society because there is a lack of support and ability to
end the problem. The OMCTP should address the following three major areas:

Training
Training is one of the key elements to combat human trafficking. According to Sister Sheila
Novak, the co-director of the Salvadorian Anti-Human Trafficking Project and the Coordinator of the
Central California Coast Coalition of Human Trafficking, human trafficking cases are usually found
through police discovery or through social worker referrals. Since the law enforcers and social workers
play an important role in identifying victims and traffickers, they ought to have an appropriate training in
order for them to be more effective in discovering and assisting human trafficking cases.
“Human trafficking is a new issue,” says Sergeant John Vanek, the Human Trafficking Task Force
Program Manager of the San Jose Police Department. 7 In the United States, the level of training is from
sophisticated to none. Not all states have a training program and not all states have required its local law
enforcers to receive training. In California, the state requires a mandatory local level training; however,
the law does not say how soon the law enforcers must receive their training. The challenge that Sergeant
Vanek faces in his work is to get the “right” people on board; there needs to be more officers who are
knowledgeable and able to identify human trafficking cases. Exposure of human trafficking and measures
how to combat it may be “new”; however, this issue will always remain “new” and the learning process
about this issue will be very slow if the OMCTP does not mandate a standard training in each state given
at a specific time.
Another reason why training is very important is that there are many cases where victims do not
realize that they are victims. According to Sister Sheila Novak, social workers and other immigration staff
should coordinate its efforts with the law enforcement officers to identify and assist the victims. She
added that it is important for law enforcers, border patrols, and immigration jail officers to be aware of the

6“Assessments of U.S government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons.” U.S Department of Justice. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/wetf/
us_assessment_2004.pdf

7 Vanek, John. Interview by author. Phone. Oct. 6, 2008.

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small signs and be very sensitive while asking the appropriate questions since victims are very
vulnerable.8 Moreover, through training, social workers, who help the victims, will be able to determine
whether the victims need special medical attention—both mental and physical health. Finally, social
workers who are able to speak the mother tongue of the victim will be very beneficial in order for the
victim to feel less intimidated and be more open to communicate about the journey and the traffickers.
In the 2007 Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of the U.S.
Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Department of Justice recommends to
“ensure that law enforcement agents and service grantees, subcontractors, and partners collaborate
expeditiously to identify victims, provide care, and secure immigration relief.” 9 The very first step of
combating human trafficking is to identify victims, but this task will always remain a challenge without
having trained officers or social workers in the field.

Awareness
Combating human trafficking is not only the responsibility of law enforcers but it is everyone’s
responsibility. Children and women victims are more vulnerable and are less likely to know what to do
than men victims. Therefore, it is crucial that communities expand their knowledge and be able to identify
the crimes of human trafficking. Through increasing awareness in local communities, including schools
and hospitals, more people will be more willing to report the crime and will be able to guide the victims
to receive the resources and help that they need. Moreover, as the Department of Justice recommends,
expanding media campaigns of human trafficking will reach many people, including victims. 10 According
to Lynette Parker, a J.D Law Professor at Santa Clara University, the more people who are aware of this
issue, there is a higher chance we can find and identify victims sooner. To increase awareness and be
successful in combating human trafficking, Parker believes that actors who are involved in the process
should occasionally meet and discuss the challenges and responsibilities each actors have. 11

Protection of Victims
It is crucial for the OMCTP to protect the victims of human trafficking with its full potential in
order for the victims to break free from the control of their traffickers. Moreover, by protecting the
victims, they will not fall back into the hands of traffickers. According to the California Alliance to
Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force, due to victims’ fear of retaliation and their difficulties of

8 Novak, Sheila. "Human Trafficking Panel." Migration Club and Stop Human Trafficking, Monterey, September 30, 2008.

9"Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of the U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons."
Department of Justice. www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports/tr2007/agreporthumantrafficing2007.pdf

10"Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of the U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons."
Department of Justice. www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports/tr2007/agreporthumantrafficing2007.pdf

11 Parker, Lynette. "Human Trafficking Panel." Migration Club and Stop Human Trafficking, Monterey, September 30, 2008.
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undertaking the application process, the actual numbers of victims is “undoubtedly much higher.” 12
Therefore, it is important for the OMCTP to intensify its capacity to provide victim and witness
protection. The first step to protect victims, however, is to make sure that the victims are aware of their
rights, federal and state benefits, free or low-cost services, and their access to translation/interpretation.
Second, victims of human trafficking are vulnerable; thus, safety is a necessity. The OMCTP should
strengthen its public housing programs and subsidize “safe house” programs provided by various NGOs.
Providing a shelter is only one of the necessary supports that the victims need in order for them to
be able to stand up on their own feet and sustain their lives without fear of reprisal from their traffickers.
The OMCTP should make sure to provide health screenings and give them medical and psychological
assistance when needed.
In addition to health attention, the OMCTP should assist in providing legal assistance to the
victims, ensuring their stay in the U.S. as they obtain a T-visa. According to Lynette Parker, the
application of a T-visa costs $545 U.S. dollars. The Department of Justice recommends to Congress to
“create a pathway to citizenship for qualified T-visa holders through publication of regulation for the
adjustment of status for T-visa holders.” 13 Before creating a pathway to citizenship, the OMCTP must
first create a pathway to obtain a T-visa. The OMCTP must work with the Congress to waive the cost of
T-visa application, because victims cannot afford to pay that much money—traffickers treated many of
the victims as slaves and many of these victims are heavily in debt. To protect the victims, the OMCTP
should ensure that immigration policies would not add to their anxiety and their “indebtedness.” Finally,
as indicated by Wendy Pattern, the U.S. Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, the OMCTP must
ensure that the assistance provided for children below 18 are different from adults—that the shelter and
education that the children receive would be helpful for their recovery and reintegration. 14

Status Quo
Amy O’Neil Richard, who is your Senior Advisor, mentioned that if the OMCTP were to
maintain the status quo and not develop a standard training module, the state and local government
agencies would have more authority and flexibility in tailoring their own training manual according to
their particular dynamic. However, she acknowledged that a national training module would be helpful in
many ways as long as the state and local government agencies use it as an example and tailor it
accordingly. 15 Moreover, since the present administration is already spending almost $30 million dollars

12"Fact Sheet." HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CALIFORNIA California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery (CA ACTS) Task Force (2008),
http://safestate.org/documents/Fact_Sheet_Human_Trafficking_in_California.pdf

13
"Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of the U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons."
Department of Justice. www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports/tr2007/agreporthumantrafficing2007.pdf

14
"U.S.: Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery (Human Rights Watch, 7-7-2004)." Human Rights Watch - Defending Human Rights
Worldwide. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/15/usdom9075.htm

15 O’Neil Richard, Amy. Interview by author. Phone. Oct. 16, 2008

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fighting human trafficking, 16 spending extra costs such as subsidizing “safe house” programs and
waiving the T-visa fee could affect the current funding for programs such as public awareness.

Policy Recommendations
1. The OMCTP should develop a standard, intensified human trafficking training module that can be
implemented to state and local law enforcers, victim-witness personnel, and prosecutors. The OMCTP
should mandate this training with specific deadlines to receive the training. However, the training module
should only be used as an example, and states and local agencies are allowed to tailor the training to be
more efficient and effective. Furthermore, the OMCTP should increase its cooperation with law enforcers,
victim-witness personnel, and prosecutors to enhance accountability and to ensure that all trainings are
provided in a timely manner.

2. The OMCTP should encourage the state and local government agencies to provide further assistance
and training for social workers, who work with victims, specifically with children victims who are more
likely to be intimidated by adults.

3. The OMCTP should enhance its outreach programs to state and local police, prosecutors, all service
providers in the community, as well as schools and hospitals, to educate what human trafficking is and
inform them of ways to help combat human trafficking. The OMCTP should also encourage the state and
local government agencies to meet, discuss, and collaborate on how to increase awareness in the
community more effectively.

4. The OMCTP should protect the victims of trafficking to its full potential by the following methods:
(a) Ensure that victims are aware of their rights, federal and state benefits, free or low-cost services,
and their access to translation/interpretation.
(b) Strengthen its public housing programs and subsidize “safe house” programs provided by various
NGOs.
(c) Provide health screenings and give them medical and psychological assistance when needed.
(d) Provide legal assistance to the victims and waive the T-visa application fee.
(e) Ensure that children under 18 have a separate shelter from adults and an education that would help
them in their recovery and reintegration process.

16 Vanek, John. Interview by author. Phone. Oct. 6, 2008.