REPORT ON 

U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO 

COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

December 2017

PRESIDENT’S INTERAGENCY
Photo by Ellie Van Houtte/USAID
The President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons was authorized by section 105(a) 

of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-386) and established by Executive Order 13257, sec. 1(a) 

(Feb. 13, 2002).
MY ADMINISTRATION WILL FOCUS ON ENDING THE 

ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC PRACTICE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

AND I AM PREPARED TO BRING THE FULL FORCE AND WEIGHT 

OF OUR GOVERNMENT...WHATEVER WE CAN DO, IN ORDER TO 

SOLVE THIS HORRIFIC PROBLEM.” 

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

REMARKS AT LISTENING SESSION ON DOMESTIC 

AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING

FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Photo by the White House
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 5

REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT 

EFFORTS TO COMBAT 

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Trafficking in persons, also known as modern slavery or 

human trafficking, undermines the United States’ core 

principles and values. It robs millions of people of their 

freedom, and all too often is a hidden crime. 

Human trafficking respects no boundaries. In the United 

States and in countries around the world, it splinters 

communities, threatens public safety and national 

security, distorts economic markets, undermines rule 

of law, and spurs transnational criminal activity. Human 

traffickers will continue to expand and diversify their 

recruitment tactics and methods of exploitation if left 

unchecked. Traffickers can be strangers, acquaintances, 

or even family members, and they prey on the 

vulnerable and on those seeking opportunities to build 

for themselves a brighter future. 

The United States has made the global fight against 

human trafficking a policy priority and employs a wholeof-government approach to address all aspects of 

this crime. The President’s Interagency Task Force to 

Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) and the 

Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG), which consists 

of senior officials designated as representatives of the 

PITF agencies, work year-round to address the many 

aspects of human trafficking both in the United States 

and around the world. The agencies of the PITF are the 

Departments of State (DOS), Treasury (Treasury), Defense 

(DOD), Justice (DOJ), the Interior (DOI), Agriculture 

(USDA), Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), 

Transportation (DOT), Education (ED), and Homeland 

Security (DHS), as well as the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 

(USTR), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence 

(ODNI), the National Security Council (NSC), the 

Domestic Policy Council (DPC), the U.S. Agency for 

International Development (USAID), the Federal Bureau 

of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

PITF agencies regularly convene to advance and 

coordinate federal policies and work with a range 

of stakeholders to collaborate, including on the 

enforcement of criminal and labor laws to end impunity 

for traffickers; victim-centered identification and 

protection services; innovations in data gathering and 

research; education and public awareness activities; and 

synchronization of strategically linked foreign assistance 

and diplomatic engagement. 

This report reflects the work that these agencies have 

accomplished, through a diverse range of partnerships 

and five SPOG Committees, from September 2016 

through September 2017. The achievements included in 

the following pages range from unveiling a new online 

and mobile app that provides guidance to companies 

on how to develop comprehensive social compliance 

programs to launching a training and technical 

assistance center aimed at enhancing the public health 

response to human trafficking and the development of 

a new program to address the housing needs of human 

Human trafficking robs millions 

of people of their freedom, and 

all too often is a hidden crime.
6 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

trafficking victims. In addition, the PITF expanded in 

the last year to include Treasury in recognition of the 

expertise it brings to anti-trafficking efforts, including in 

evaluating the nexus between money laundering and 

human trafficking. 

Throughout the reporting period, federal agencies 

explored how to use resources as effectively as 

possible to assist victims of this crime, including by 

identifying those who remain in the shadows subject to 

unimaginable exploitation and empowering those who 

have dedicated themselves to shining a light on the 

darkness cast by human trafficking. This Administration 

will continue pursuing ways to bolster intelligence 

collection, information-sharing, and analysis; leverage 

the best tools and learning; establish effective 

partnerships with stakeholders; and better integrate 

survivor input into a range of activities to combat and 

respond to human trafficking.

FOREWORD BY THE CHAIR

Human trafficking respects 

no boundaries.

Photo by Morgana Wingard/USAID
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 7

Sex Trafficking

When an adult is required to engage in a commercial sex 

act as the result of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion 

or any combination of such means, that person is a 

victim of human trafficking. Under such circumstances, 

perpetrators involved in recruiting, enticing, harboring, 

transporting, providing, obtaining, advertising, maintaining, 

patronizing, or soliciting a person for that purpose are 

guilty of federal sex trafficking of an adult. This is true 

even if the victim previously consented to engage in 

commercial sex.

Child Sex Trafficking: Any child (under the age of 18) 

who has been recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, 

provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized, 

or solicited to engage in a commercial sex act is a 

victim of trafficking regardless of whether or not force, 

fraud, or coercion is used. The use of children in the 

commercial sex trade is prohibited both under U.S. law 

and by legislation in most countries around the world.

Labor Trafficking

Labor trafficking encompasses the range of activities—

recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or 

obtaining—involved when a person uses force or 

physical threats; psychological coercion; abuse of the 

legal process; a scheme, plan, or pattern intended to 

hold a person in fear of serious harm; or other coercive 

means to compel someone to work. Once a person’s 

labor is obtained by such means, the person’s previous 

consent or effort to obtain employment with the trafficker 

does not preclude the person from being considered a 

victim, or the government from prosecuting the offender. 

U.S. law prohibits the importation of goods produced by 

forced labor, including forced child labor; convict labor; 

and indentured labor under penal sanctions.

Debt Bondage: U.S. law prohibits the use of a debt 

as a form of coercion to compel a person’s labor. 

Some workers fall victim to traffickers or recruiters 

who unlawfully exploit an initial debt assumed as a 

condition of employment, while in certain countries 

some workers “inherit” the debt. Although contract 

violations and hazardous working conditions for 

migrant laborers do not in themselves constitute 

human trafficking, the imposition of costs and debts 

on these laborers can contribute to a situation of 

debt bondage. In other cases, employment-based 

temporary work programs in which the workers’ legal 

status in the country is tied to a particular employer 

present challenges to workers who would like to flee 

from such an employer.

Domestic Servitude: Working in a private residence 

can create unique vulnerabilities, particularly because 

what happens in a private residence often is hidden 

from the world, and it is easy to isolate a worker in 

a private residence. Domestic workplaces are often 

informal, connected to off-duty living quarters, and 

not shared with other workers. Such an environment is 

conducive to exploitation because authorities cannot 

inspect private homes as easily as formal workplaces. 

The use of informal, or even verbal, employment 

contracts compounds vulnerability. Foreign domestic 

workers are particularly vulnerable to abuse due to 

factors such as language and cultural barriers and 

lack of community ties. 

Forced Child Labor: Although children may legally 

engage in certain forms of work, forms of slavery or 

slave-like practices—including the sale of children for 

exploitation, forced or compulsory child labor, and 

debt bondage and serfdom of children—continue to 

exist as manifestations of human trafficking, despite 

legal prohibitions and widespread condemnation. 

Unlawful Recruitment or Use of Child Soldiers

Child soldiering can be a form of human trafficking when 

it involves the unlawful recruitment or use of children—

through force, fraud, or coercion—by armed forces as 

combatants or to carry out support roles such as cooks, 

porters, messengers, medics, or guards. Perpetrators 

may be government forces, paramilitary organizations, 

or rebel groups. In addition to being recruited or used for 

combat or labor, some child soldiers are sexually abused 

or exploited by armed groups. 

THE FACE OF MODERN SLAVERY

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Photo by Keith Weller
10 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1 Investigate and prosecute traffickers and dismantle the criminal networks that 

perpetrate trafficking in persons.

Enhance victim identification and the provision of relief and services for all 

victims of trafficking.

Enhance training of stakeholders, including civil society, law enforcement, and 

government officials, to increase identification of victims.

Encourage foreign governments to combat trafficking through international 

diplomacy and engagement.

Forge and strengthen partnerships and other forms of collaboration to combat 

trafficking in persons.

Fund domestic and international anti-trafficking programs focusing on 

prosecution, protection, and prevention.

Integrate anti-trafficking components into relevant government programs.

Promote public awareness about modern slavery.

Spur innovation and improve capacity to combat modern slavery through data 

collection and research.

Gather and synthesize actionable intelligence to increase the number of 

domestic and international trafficking prosecutions.

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3

4

5

6

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December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 11

1 Investigate and prosecute traffickers and dismantle the criminal networks 

that perpetrate trafficking in persons.

» DOJ, in coordination with DOL and DHS, continued to develop high-impact human trafficking investigations 

and prosecutions through the highly effective Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam) Initiative, leading 

implementation of the Initiative in all six Phase II ACTeam Districts, and delivering advanced training and 

strategic guidance to Phase II ACTeam federal agents, prosecutors, and victim assistance professionals.

» DOJ secured convictions against 499 defendants in federal human trafficking prosecutions in FY 2017. Of 

these convictions, 471 involved predominantly sex trafficking and 28 involved predominantly labor trafficking, 

although several involved both. 

» DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI) initiated 833 

human trafficking cases, resulting in 1,602 arrests and 578 convictions, and identified 518 victims of human 

trafficking in FY 2017. 

» The FBI Human Trafficking Program initiated 316 human trafficking investigations in FY 2017, resulting in the 

arrests of 553 suspects. The FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Program opened 486 cases relating to child 

sex trafficking and made 2,135 arrests in FY 2017. The FBI also dismantled 42 criminal enterprises engaged 

in child sex trafficking, one opened in FY 2017 and 41 opened prior.

» In FY 2017, DOD initiated 17 human trafficking investigations against contractors, which resulted in 22 

suspensions, six debarments, one job termination, and one Administrative Compliance Agreement. DOD 

has seven ongoing human trafficking investigations and two investigative projects. 

» DOS’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) had 186 open cases, as of September 2017, where DS Special 

Agents determined human trafficking may be involved. DS conducts human trafficking investigations, most 

with a nexus to passport or visa fraud, through field offices around the country and agents assigned to U.S. 

embassies and consulates overseas; it maintains between 150 and 200 active cases per year with a human 

trafficking element. 

» DOD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline received 33 complaints regarding suspected trafficking in 

persons incidents and provided those allegations to the appropriate agency for investigation and inquiry. 

Additionally, the DOD OIG closed 15 previously opened complaints.

» DOJ and DHS continued to collaborate with Mexican law enforcement counterparts through the U.S.-

Mexico Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiative aimed at dismantling human trafficking networks 

operating across the U.S.-Mexico border. In August 2017, DOJ secured convictions against eight members of 

a transnational organized criminal sex trafficking enterprise charged and apprehended through the Initiative. 

» In 2017, each of DOJ’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices formulated and submitted district-specific strategies to 

enhance victim identification, investigation, prosecution, and collaboration, pursuant to DOJ’s January 2017 

National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking and the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

» DHS created an interagency working group to identify areas of collaboration within the federal government 

to develop a unified approach to enforcing the statutory prohibition on the importation of goods produced 

with forced labor. 

» DOJ funded 29 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) anti-trafficking task forces across the United States. 

» DHS ICE/HSI and DOL participated, respectively, in 91 and 75 human trafficking task forces throughout the 

United States. These task forces are comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement, prosecutors, 

and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with a vested interest in human trafficking.

» Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) continued to receive Suspicious Activity Reports 

referencing the 2014 advisory informing financial institutions on the indicators of human trafficking. FinCEN 

proactively shared the information with domestic law enforcement agencies, including PITF agencies, that 

use financial information to support their human trafficking investigations.
12 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

2 Enhance victim identification and the provision of relief and services for all 

victims of trafficking.

» The SPOG Victims Services Committee, co-chaired by DOJ, HHS, and DHS, continued to implement and 

track progress on the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United 

States, 2013-2017, and released the FY 2015 Status Report in November 2016 and the FY 2016 Status Report 

in August 2017. 

» HHS anti-trafficking grantees identified 383 foreign national and 98 U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident 

victims of trafficking, connecting them to services during FY 2017. From January to June 2017, HHS issued 

approximately 196 certification letters to foreign national adults and 186 eligibility letters to foreign national 

children. 

» DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) grantees providing services to human trafficking victims reported 

6,136 open client cases in 2016, including 2,532 new clients, an increase from 4,517 open client cases and 

2,582 new clients served between the same period the previous year. 

» DHS’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted T nonimmigrant status to 669 

victims and 667 eligible family members in FY 2017; USCIS met the 10,000 cap for U nonimmigrant status it 

may grant to principal petitioners each year and approved petitions for 7,627 eligible family members.

» DHS USCIS published an updated T Nonimmigrant Status Interim Final Rule (Classification for Victims of 

Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons; Eligibility for ‘‘T’’ Nonimmigrant Status) in December 2016. 

» DOI led an interagency working group to develop a set of resource maps that identify federal victim 

assistance personnel working in Indian Country by address in relation to DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 

districts and Indian Country. The resource maps will be distributed to DOI BIA, FBI, and U.S. Attorney’s Office 

law enforcement and victim service personnel. 

» In FY 2017, DOS’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) funded a program that helped 

277 individuals join family members who were identified as victims of trafficking in the United States, and 

provided return assistance to one trafficking survivor. 

» HHS published a report detailing the results of an effort to develop and pre-test a trafficking screening tool 

with 600 youth involved in child welfare and runaway and homeless youth settings, which was found to be 

accessible to youth and effective in identifying victims. 

» The FBI Victim Services Division’s (VSD) 153 victim specialists provided more than 32,000 direct services 

to victims of human trafficking in nearly 400 cases. FBI victim specialists also provided ongoing support to 

victims and families throughout the investigative process. 

» DOS’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) continued to support a global 

emergency victim assistance fund, managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), to 

provide short- to medium-term direct assistance for trafficking victims overseas on an emergency, caseby-case basis. In FY 2017, 253 victims of human trafficking received services, including shelter, medical care, 

repatriation, and reintegration assistance. 

» DOL’s Reentry Employment Opportunities Program in FY 2017 served 517 formerly incarcerated women 

participating in work release programs that identify participants at risk of being targeted by traffickers due 

to past criminal involvement and offer trauma-informed case management and employment and training 

resources to help mitigate this risk. 

» The EEOC received 12 new charges of discrimination linked to human trafficking from civil lawsuits, 

resolved 10 pending charges, and recovered $272,500 in monetary benefits for charging parties through 

its administrative enforcement efforts from September 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. As of September 30, 

2017, the EEOC had 27 pending charges linked to human trafficking. 
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 13

» DOJ’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded $1,350,000 to three pilot sites and 

$521,523 to one training and technical assistance (T&TA) provider for the FY 2017 Mentoring for Child Victims 

of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Domestic Sex Trafficking Initiative to enhance the capacity of grantees. 

» USAID programming reached more than 15,000 trafficking victims worldwide through the provision of services, 

including legal support, health and psychosocial support, life skills training, and job placement. 

» DOS’s Diplomatic Security Victims’ Resource Advocacy Program provided operational support during the 

execution of warrants where victims were identified, as well as direct services and connections to case 

management, housing, and available support for victims. 

» DOL completed law enforcement certifications for T and U visas, including for extortion, fraud in foreign labor 

contracting, and human trafficking. 

Photo by Benoit Almeras, 

Handicap International
14 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

3 Enhance training of stakeholders, including civil society, law enforcement, and 

government officials, to increase identification of victims.

» In January 2017, HHS’s Office on Trafficking in Persons launched the National Human Trafficking Training and 

Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC) to inform and improve the health and human services response to 

human trafficking.

» DOI BIA provided training on human trafficking in Indian Country to 1,324 attendees on a range of topics 

meant to increase public awareness about human trafficking in Indian Country and help attendees learn to 

detect and respond to human trafficking. DOI BIA training initiatives include law enforcement and victim or 

social services in federal, state, and tribal governments and NGOs. DOI BIA expanded to new disciplines 

and organizations, such as the National Indian Gaming Commission, medical services, and states developing 

human trafficking task forces.

» DOJ provided anti-trafficking T&TA through the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)’s T&TA Center to 3,748 

victim service providers and allied professionals between September 2016 and September 2017 to build 

community capacity to identify and respond to human trafficking. 

» DHS’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) provided Human Trafficking Train the Trainer inservice training for FLETC instructors and other agency personnel and trained more than 1,650 students 

of federal law enforcement basic training programs in indicators of human trafficking. Additionally, FLETC 

provided advanced training to more than 1,300 federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials and 

stakeholders on human trafficking, including how to detect and investigate the crime. 

» DOL completed the delivery of Human Trafficking Awareness training to all Wage and Hour investigators 

and launched a mandatory new course for all DOL employees on recognizing indicators of human trafficking. 

» HHS trained 1,213 individuals, including health care providers and social workers, through regional offices 

and NHTTAC. HHS also provided T&TA to child welfare agencies in all 50 states, schools, youth-serving 

organizations, and local businesses, among others. 

» DOT provided anti-trafficking training for federal, state, and local bus and truck inspectors, and nearly all 

55,000 DOT employees.

» In FY 2017, several DOL-funded State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) worked with victim service providers, state 

Attorney General offices, and the EEOC to train staff of several farmworker-serving American Job Centers on 

human trafficking. This training is to fulfill part of updated DOL regulations that require SWAs to train their 

outreach workers on human trafficking and sexual assault. 

» HHS established a five-year strategic plan for the SOAR (Stop. Observe. Ask. Respond.) to Health and 

Wellness training program. The plan provides a three-tiered approach that first provides foundational 

information through SOAR trainings and resources to individuals and HHS personnel, then builds on this 

foundation by focusing on how to enhance organizations’ response to human trafficking. Lastly, SOAR offers 

in-person training on proactive approaches to build a community-based, multi-disciplinary response to 

human trafficking. 

» In FY 2017, DOS TIP Office grantees trained 4,530 criminal justice practitioners, including judges, magistrates, 

prosecutors, and law enforcement officials, in 20 countries to strengthen coordination on victim-centered 

investigations and prosecutions. 

» DHS USCIS trained more than 3,700 stakeholders on immigration options available to victims of human 

trafficking. USCIS also created and provided training for its officers who adjudicate applications for T 

nonimmigrant status and petitions for U nonimmigrant status on how employer power and control may lead 

to workplace crimes, including labor trafficking.
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 15

» Nearly all DOI full-time law enforcement are taking the DHS Blue Campaign computer-based human trafficking 

training as part of their basic training at FLETC. In addition, 254 DOI employees, mostly law enforcement officers, 

have voluntarily taken the Blue Campaign online class in FY 2017.

» DOJ provided training for hundreds of prosecutors, law enforcement, and victim services professionals on 

strengthening victim-centered and trauma-informed human trafficking investigations and prosecutions, including 

how to build proactive labor trafficking investigations, financial investigations, and mandatory restitution orders.

» USAID enhanced training of government and civil society stakeholders to combat human trafficking in Africa 

and Asia. These programs included training on how to implement action plans and how to institutionalize antitrafficking content into police training curriculum.

» USDA offered several training modules to its personnel and local law enforcement officers on how to identify 

and combat human trafficking. 

» The EEOC continued training staff and representatives of state and local fair employment practice agencies on 

identifying and developing human trafficking cases.

» DOS DS’s San Francisco Field Office hosted more than 100 law enforcement and prosecution officials from 

nine partner nations, INTERPOL, and more than two dozen U.S. law enforcement agencies at the Transnational 

Organized Crime Conference in May 2017.

Photo by Cade Martin Photography
16 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

4 Encourage foreign governments to combat trafficking through international 

diplomacy and engagement.

» DOS released the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, assessing the anti-trafficking efforts of governments 

and ranking 187 countries and territories, including the United States. The theme of the 2017 Report focused 

on effective strategies to enhance criminal accountability of traffickers and address global challenges in 

prosecution efforts.

» DOS led the U.S. government delegation—which also included DOJ, HHS, and DHS—in the third Trilateral 

Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, which Mexico hosted in November 2016. At this meeting, 

government and NGO counterparts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States focused on prevention, and 

participants discussed collaboration on anti-trafficking awareness efforts and exchanging best practices on 

investigations and prosecutions. 

» Between September 2016 and September 2017, DOS undertook engagement with foreign governments and 

collaborated in several multilateral venues, such as the United Nations and the Organization for Security 

and Co-operation in Europe, encouraging increased efforts to prosecute trafficking, improve protection for 

victims, and prevent the crime. Multilateral engagements helped DOS generate support for key priorities in 

outcome documents, such as addressing the risks of human trafficking in supply chains, increasing victim 

identification and assistance, including in situations of crisis and conflict, and incorporating survivor input.

» U.S. trade agreements and trade preference programs negotiated by USTR include enforceable obligations 

to eliminate forced labor and to address trade in goods produced by forced labor. USTR continued to engage 

foreign governments to combat human trafficking through Trade and Investment Framework Agreements, 

particularly in Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, for example, USTR met with government officials to address 

legislative amendments to strengthen efforts to combat human trafficking. 

» The DOS TIP Office launched two Child Protection Compact Partnerships in FY 2017. In the Philippines, the 

Partnership will support sustainable improvements in the capacity of the government and civil society to 

combat child labor trafficking and sex trafficking in which Filipino children are induced to perform sex acts 

for live internet broadcast to paying customers, many of whom are foreigners; in Peru, the Partnership will 

build on state and civil society efforts to address all forms of child trafficking. 

» As a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Transportation Working Group, DOT 

highlighted anti-trafficking activities by several APEC countries and worked to ensure the Working 

Group’s Ministerial Statement commended these efforts and underscored the integral role of Ministries of 

Transportation in combating human trafficking.

» DHS’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) chaired the annual Border Five meeting in Sydney, Australia, to 

propose international collaboration, joint operations, and international standardization of practices to combat 

forced labor among the Border Five partner countries—Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United 

Kingdom. 

» DOD collaborated with foreign partner militaries in more than 50 countries to provide training on human 

trafficking, reaching an estimated 2,200 foreign military members. 

» Through its International Visitors Leadership Program, DOS’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) 

sponsored 124 individuals, including government officials, human rights activists, law enforcement officials, 

and NGO representatives, in 17 projects to review efforts in the United States to combat trafficking at the 

federal, state, and local levels. 

» The FBI provided training on child sexual exploitation to officials from Thailand and Ethiopia, and met with 

delegations from Canada, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia to discuss victim-centered responses to child 

sex trafficking. 

» A DOS-funded project in Peru co-organized the Fifth Latin American Congress on Trafficking and Smuggling 

in June 2017, which united 121 actors from 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to exchange 

promising practices and discuss the complexities of human trafficking in Latin American and the Caribbean 

region.
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 17

5 Forge and strengthen partnerships and other forms of collaboration to combat 

trafficking in persons.

» PITF agencies collaborated with the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking on implementation 

of the recommendations in its 2016 annual report for improving federal anti-trafficking programs and policies. 

» DOJ OVC transferred more than $16 million to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 

Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs to develop a new award program to address the housing 

needs of human trafficking victims. DOJ and HUD worked with interagency partners to design the program, 

incorporating feedback received from survivors on housing needs.

» HHS piloted the first cohort of the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy. The program is designed to 

promote leadership opportunities among survivors of trafficking and anti-trafficking professionals as they 

work to identify promising practices and make recommendations to anti-trafficking grantees on providing 

services that are both survivor- and trauma-informed.

» Treasury’s FinCEN partnered with international and domestic stakeholders to increase efforts to combat the 

financial operations of human traffickers and networks. 

» On September 19, 2017, during the 72nd Meeting of the UN General Assembly, the United States along with 

36 other countries endorsed “A Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, and Human Trafficking,” 

a high-level political commitment to enhance international responses, including strengthening legislation 

and criminal justice efforts, providing victim support, increasing prevention and community engagement, 

addressing transparency in supply chains, and forging partnerships with civil society and the private sector.

» DOI, primarily BIA’s victim services personnel and law enforcement, partnered with more than 60 state, 

local, and tribal criminal justice and social service providers to raise awareness of human trafficking. These 

partnerships led to training initiatives, including for casinos, state-wide strategic anti-trafficking plans for 

tribes, a greater number of victims identified and served, and mapping of resources. 

» DOS, in collaboration with DOL and OMB, and Public Services and Procurement Canada, organized a senior 

working-level forum with government officials from New Zealand and the United Kingdom to discuss 

government efforts to combat human trafficking in public procurement and private sector supply chains. 

» The DHS Blue Campaign entered into a formal partnership with the new Alaska Human Trafficking Working 

Group established by the Mayor of Anchorage to provide training and awareness materials and collaborate 

on local anti-trafficking efforts.

» In January 2017, DOL and DHS USCIS signed a Memorandum of Agreement authorizing the agencies to 

share real-time immigrant and nonimmigrant visa program information, including labor certification data. 

This agreement was designed to enhance worksite investigations and information-sharing about program 

debarments and other sanctions imposed on program violators. 

» DOS ECA collaborated with Coursera, an online education provider, to expand the Coursera for Refugees 

partnership by launching pilots in additional cities. Additional educational platforms may reduce the 

vulnerability of refugees to trafficking. Since the partnership’s launch in June 2016, the program is estimated 

to have served more than 6,000 refugee learners. 

» In 2017, DOJ’s Office on Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training partnered with Mexico’s 

Office of the Attorney General to develop a victim identification curriculum that is currently being taught to 

Mexican federal and state officials, as well as NGO stakeholders. 

» DOJ led an interagency collaboration with DOL and DHS to increase criminal investigations and prosecutions 

targeting actors benefiting financially from forced labor within corporate supply chains in the importation 

context.

» DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section continued its collaboration with Treasury’s FinCEN, 

NGOs, and other entities to raise awareness of the financial side of combating human trafficking and the 

ability to return forfeited funds to victims. 
18 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

Photo caption text here....

Members of the first U.S. Advisory Council 

on Human Trafficking at the launch 

event of the Council’s 2017 Report 

in Washington, DC.

Photo by Sal Gonzalez at Baker McKenzie

Survivors play uniquely important roles in combating human 

trafficking effectively in the U.S. and around the world. As 

subject matter experts, they provide essential tools that 

investigators, prosecutors, and communities need to 

combat and prevent human trafficking.” 

U.S. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING,

2017 ANNUAL REPORT
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 19

6 Fund domestic and international anti-trafficking programs focusing on 

prosecution, protection, and prevention.

» The SPOG Grantmaking Committee, co-chaired by DOS, DOJ, and USAID, continued to collaborate on 

matters relating to international and domestic grants and priorities to inform funding decisions and ensure 

programs are strategic and not duplicative. 

» HHS funded the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which received reports of 8,686 unique cases of 

potential trafficking in FY 2017, referencing 21,644 potential victims of human trafficking. 

» The DOS TIP Office awarded more than $23 million to fund 35 new projects worldwide that address both sex 

and labor trafficking. As of September 2017, the DOS TIP Office had 86 open anti-trafficking projects in 65 

countries, totaling more than $69 million.

» The DOS TIP Office awarded $25 million for the new Program to End Modern Slavery, which aims to reduce 

the prevalence of modern slavery in specific countries and regions, as well as to increase global funding to 

address this issue. 

» HHS awarded $13.194 million in grants to identify and assist domestic and foreign national victims of 

trafficking in FY 2017. 

» DOJ funded 11 task forces in FY 2016 and two task forces in FY 2017 through 26 awards to law enforcement 

agencies and victim service providers, totaling $18 million under the ECM Task Force grant program, a 

cooperative effort designed to execute a comprehensive approach to identifying and combating all forms 

of trafficking. 

» DOJ made 38 new awards for the identification of and assistance to victims of human trafficking in FY 2016, 

totaling $25.7 million, and 23 awards in FY 2017, totaling $21.4 million. Of these new awards, 12 were for 

comprehensive services, 39 were for specialized services, six were for improving outcomes for child and 

youth victims of trafficking, three were for strengthening services for American Indian and Alaska Native 

victims of sex trafficking in urban areas, and one was for increasing legal assistance to trafficking victims 

across the United States.

» DOJ awarded two organizations a total of $1.7 million in FY 2017 to provide T&TA to victim service providers 

on the housing and employment needs of trafficking survivors. 

» DOL funded projects implemented by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to address forced labor. For 

example, the ILO issued a survey report on labor recruitment practices in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector, which 

led the Government of Uzbekistan to acknowledge publicly, for the first time, the risks of forced labor and 

endorse the report’s recommendations for recruitment system reform. In addition, the ILO supported the 

Governments of Nepal and Peru to carry out nationally representative statistical surveys on child labor and 

forced labor.

» DOJ OJJDP provided funding to develop a National Judicial Institute on Domestic Child Sex Trafficking, 

which provides judicial officials an opportunity to expand their knowledge of trafficking risk factors, victim 

identification, effective intervention strategies, and cultural considerations. As of July 2017, six institutes were 

held in five states.

» DOS’s Office of the Chief of Protocol (Protocol) implemented the domestic worker In-person Registration 

Program for A-3 and G-5 visa holders employed by foreign mission and international organization personnel. 

Protocol launched a new employment contract template to facilitate compliance, and had ongoing dialogue 

with Deputy Chiefs of Mission and senior international organization officials on their obligation to provide 

oversight of domestic worker employment. 
20 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

Photo by Misty Keasler for 

Winrock International
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 21

7 Integrate anti-trafficking components into relevant government programs.

» Members of the SPOG Procurement & Supply Chains Committee supported the Federal Acquisition 

Regulatory Council’s work to evaluate public comments submitted in response to a Federal Register Notice 

seeking input on the definition of “recruitment fees” as used in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, “Ending 

Trafficking in Persons.”

» The EEOC’s Strategic Plan established a national framework to achieve the agency’s mission. In its 2017 

Annual Report, the EEOC reiterated its commitment to issues affecting vulnerable workers and underserved 

communities, including victims of human trafficking. 

» DHS ICE/HSI, through its Victim Assistance Program, created and distributed a new brochure entitled, 

“Information for Immigration Court Personnel,” and launched a dedicated hotline for immigration court 

personnel to relay time-sensitive information on potential human trafficking cases. 

» In Nepal, USAID supported the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare to develop an online service 

directory that provides stakeholders, including victims of trafficking, with easy access to information on 

emergency care and shelter, health and psychosocial care, vocational services, livelihood development 

support, and legal services. USAID also worked with Nepal’s Ministry of Education to host 90 career fairs for 

12,790 students in government schools and collaborated on curriculum development to mainstream safe 

migration and human trafficking messages.

» HHS integrated anti-trafficking activities within runaway and homeless youth, child welfare, Native American 

social and economic development, domestic violence, teen pregnancy prevention, and mental health 

service programs. 

» DOD’s Defense Contract Management Agency, in combination with U.S. Pacific Command and Army 

Contracting Command, created human trafficking training exercises for the Operational Contract Support 

Joint Exercise held in March 2017 that focused on potential contract violations and the appropriate corrective 

actions. 

» On November 18, 2016, the EEOC approved its new Enforcement Guidance on National Origin Discrimination, 

providing the EEOC’s interpretation of the law that protects against national origin employment discrimination, 

including such employment discrimination involving human trafficking. The EEOC also issued two companion 

publications: “Questions and Answers: Enforcement Guidance on National Origin” and “Small Business Fact 

Sheet: National Origin Discrimination.” 

» DOT and DHS, through the Blue Lightning Initiative, continued to train airline personnel on recognizing and 

responding to potential instances of human trafficking and formed new partnerships with 16 airlines and 

associations. 
22 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

8 Promote public awareness about modern slavery.

» The SPOG Public Awareness & Outreach Committee, co-chaired by DOS, HHS, and DHS, served as a 

forum for agencies to seek feedback on public awareness and outreach activities and share information on 

planned events and materials to allow for cross-promotion and avoid duplication of effort. The Committee 

also collaborated on a social media toolkit for federal agencies to amplify National Slavery and Human 

Trafficking Prevention Month through engagement with public audiences and stakeholders.

» ED continued to raise awareness about human trafficking by informing school communities about the 

problem; providing technical assistance through its four technical assistance centers; encouraging schools 

to embed the issue in emergency operations and management planning; and working with other federal, 

state, and local agencies to develop and disseminate resource material, such as Human Trafficking in 

America’s Schools. 

» The EEOC partnered with community-based organizations devoted to anti-trafficking work and conducted 

226 anti-trafficking outreach events, reaching 12,056 attendees from September 1, 2016 to September 30, 

2017. The EEOC also continued its efforts to increase public awareness about human trafficking and the link 

to equal employment opportunity law by providing resources on its website for human trafficking victims.

» The DHS Blue Campaign raised public consciousness of human trafficking across the country by creating 

new tools and resources. In FY 2017, with input from human trafficking survivors and other partners, the Blue 

Campaign created a new Public Service Announcement (in English and Spanish) that is focused on labor 

trafficking, and updated posters, brochures, and key-tag cards targeting vulnerable communities to engage 

in the fight against human trafficking.

» In January 2017, HHS public awareness messages on human trafficking for National Slavery and Human 

Trafficking Prevention Month was shared with a potential audience of 2.6 million individuals through social 

media outreach. 

» DOT launched a public website for the Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking initiative with 

resources and a toolkit for industry stakeholders to sign pledges, issue leadership statements, train their 

employees, and conduct public awareness campaigns.

» USAID implementing partners reached more than 1.76 million individuals at risk for human trafficking through 

targeted outreach and awareness raising campaigns, including in Bangladesh, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan.

» DOS and DOL continued to engage with private sector representatives, including the electronic industry’s 

new Responsible Labor Initiative, the Consumer Goods Forum, and interested corporations, among others, 

through public speaking and meetings to urge the adoption of promising practices to combat human 

trafficking in supply chains. 

» In Egypt, USAID supported the first-ever national awareness campaign to educate young Egyptians 

on trafficking vulnerabilities related to migration. USAID also supported the development of an internet 

awareness campaign that reached more than 1.1 million viewers and brought significant attention to Egypt’s 

National Coordinating Committee for the Prevention of Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons’ 

Facebook page.

» DHS ICE/HSI Victim Assistance Specialists conducted 812 outreach events on human trafficking, providing 

training to more than 24,100 federal, state, and local law enforcement, victim advocates, NGOs, prosecutors, 

and others. 
December 2017 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 23

9 Spur innovation and improve capacity to combat modern slavery through 

data collection and research.

» The SPOG Research & Data Committee, co-chaired by DOS and DOJ, bolstered agencies’ understanding of 

the scope, demographics, and nature of human trafficking by facilitating information sharing about human 

trafficking research and data projects, inviting external researchers to present on their latest findings, and 

driving interagency discussions on how to address challenges related to gathering, harmonizing, and sharing 

human trafficking data. Committee members also contributed to member agency forums focused on human 

trafficking, particularly prevalence methodologies and estimates. 

» In September 2017, DOL released its Comply Chain: Business Tools for Labor Compliance in Global Supply 

Chains mobile application to provide companies with step-by-step guidance on how to identify, remediate, 

and prevent child labor and forced labor through strong social compliance systems in their global supply 

chains. DOL also updated its Sweat & Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World

mobile app to include the 2016 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor and the List of Goods Produced by 

Child Labor or Forced Labor. 

» USAID invested in innovation and anti-trafficking research, such as Afghanistan’s first national research study 

to identify gaps and challenges in existing government anti-trafficking policies and mechanisms, a mapping 

assessment of key private sector actors in Asia, and a victim identification survey in the Philippines looking 

at prevalence rates. 

» DOD’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency partnered with a company to fund the creation of 

software used to identify missing persons and potential trafficking victims through the web.

» HHS conducted a nationwide survey and interviews in six pilot states to understand stakeholder opinions on 

data collection practices, establish data standards and definitions, and evaluate the need for a new human 

trafficking data collection platform. 

» DOJ released its report on the Trafficking Information Management System, a standardized reporting tool for 

OVC grantees that collects performance measurement data to offer insight to anti-trafficking stakeholders 

about the broad range of service needs of trafficking victims.

» DOJ funded three new research and evaluation projects in FY 2017 to gain a better understanding of the 

identification of human trafficking victims and investigation of perpetrators.

» The DOS TIP Office supported IOM’s efforts to enhance its Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, the first 

global data hub on human trafficking. New partnerships with anti-trafficking NGOs have brought the total 

number of human trafficking case records on the site to nearly 80,000 victims of 180 nationalities in 117 

countries.

» In FY 2017, DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) obtained OMB approval to continue the 

National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), which looks at the demographic, employment, and health 

of hired crop farm workers, including workers employed by labor contractors, and made changes to the 

questionnaire. Some NAWS questions ask about potential indicators of human trafficking, such as being paid 

below the minimum wage and living in unsuitable (crowded) housing owned or operated by the employer.

» From January to March 2017, a project in West Africa funded by DOS PRM carried out nine data collection 

sessions using a tracking tool to collect data on mobility patterns, trends, and migrant profiles in regional 

migratory routes to provide referral services to victims of trafficking or migrant smuggling.

» The Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC) established the Human Trafficking Community of 

Interest, a secure and interactive web-based collaboration space for U.S. government interactions. 

» The EEOC continued to track training and outreach involving human trafficking issues through its charge 

data system. 

Photo by Veejay Villfranca/IOM
26 REPORT ON U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS December 2017

10 Gather and synthesize actionable intelligence to increase the number of 

domestic and international trafficking prosecutions.

» The Intelligence Community, PITF agencies, and HSTC continued to build processes to improve, review, and 

share intelligence reporting with a focus on preventing human trafficking, protecting victims, and advancing 

prosecutions.

» The FBI Human Trafficking Program continued to enhance the Labor Trafficking Initiative to improve efforts 

to identify labor trafficking cases. Under the Initiative, FBI agents collaborate with intelligence personnel 

to identify areas where vulnerable visa holders, as well as potential labor trafficking victims, may work and 

reside within the United States. Agents conduct outreach and liaise with state regulatory agencies, as well as 

other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies within their specific regions that regularly interact 

with potential victims. Agents also provide outreach materials to potential victims, as well as community 

members and others who may interact with potential labor trafficking victims. 

» HSTC delivered seven intelligence products to enhance law enforcement’s understanding of traffickers’ 

tactics by addressing key intelligence questions related to traffickers’ recruitment methods and activities as 

well as common indicators of the crime.

» DOS DS used its global case management system to analyze trends, anomalies, and vulnerabilities identified 

by criminal investigations and intelligence analysts of trafficking cases and provided weekly products to 

more than 2,300 agents, analysts, and law enforcement partners worldwide. 

» HSTC gained access to more than 20 databases/datasets from government agencies and NGOs and initiated 

a move to cloud-based storage, processing, and computing for generating leads, and network and link 

analysis for combating human trafficking.

» The U.S. Coast Guard, in collaboration with HSTC, shared intelligence summaries that included human 

trafficking reports and trends within the maritime domain. 

Photo by International Maritime Organization

• DESIGN & PRINTED BY A/GIS/GPS •

2018