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COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN OUR 

MAJOR CITIES 

FIELD HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

MARCH 20, 2014 

Serial No. 113–57 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman 

LAMAR SMITH, Texas 

PETER T. KING, New York 

MIKE ROGERS, Alabama 

PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan, Vice Chair 

PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah 

STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi 

LOU BARLETTA, Pennsylvania 

RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

MARK SANFORD, South Carolina 

VACANCY

BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi 

LORETTA SANCHEZ, California 

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas 

YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana 

WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts 

RON BARBER, Arizona 

DONDALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey 

BETO O’ROURKE, Texas 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

FILEMON VELA, Texas 

STEVEN A. HORSFORD, Nevada 

ERIC SWALWELL, California 

VACANCY, Staff Director 

MICHAEL GEFFROY, Deputy Staff Director/Chief Counsel 

MICHAEL S. TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk 

I. LANIER AVANT, Minority Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

STATEMENTS 

The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the 

State of Texas, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 3 

The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress From the 

State of Texas ....................................................................................................... 4 

The Honorable Gene Green, a Representative in Congress From the State 

of Texas: 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 17 

WITNESSES 

PANEL I 

Mr. Brian M. Moskowitz, Houston Special Agent in Charge, Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 18 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 20 

Mr. Steven C. McCraw, Director, Texas Department of Public Safety: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 23 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 25 

Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Sheriff’s Office, Harris County, Texas: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 28 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 31 

Ms. Ann Johnson, Assistant District Attorney, Office of the District Attorney, 

Harris County, Texas: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 34 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 36 

Mr. Charles A. McClelland, Jr., Chief, Houston Police Department, Houston, 

Texas: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 44 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 45 

PANEL II 

Mr. Robert Sanborn, Ed.D., President and CEO, Children at Risk: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 61 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 63 

Dr. Reena Isaac, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of 

Medicine and Attending Physician, Child Abuse Pediatrics Section of the 

Emergency Department, Texas Children’s Hospital: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 67 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 69 

Ms. Cheryl Briggs, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mission at Serenity 

Ranch: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 71 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 74 

Ms. Kathryn Griffin-Townsend, Founder, We’ve Been There Done That Reentry Program, Harris County Sheriff’s Office: 

Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 75 

Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 77 
Page

IV 

FOR THE RECORD 

The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the 

State of Texas, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security: 

Statement of the Department of Homeland Security ........................................ 6 

Statement of the Department of Justice ............................................................ 10 
(1) 

COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN OUR 

MAJOR CITIES 

Thursday, March 20, 2014 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, Houston, TX. 

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in Auditorium Room 116, Roderick R. Paige Education Building, College of 

Education, Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas, Hon. Michael T. McCaul [Chairman of the committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives McCaul and Jackson Lee. 

Also present: Representatives Poe, Farenthold, Gene Green of 

Texas, and Al Green of Texas. 

Chairman MCCAUL. We are proud to be here and also Al Green, 

an alumni of this institution, as well. 

I also want to thank State representative Allen Fletcher. I do not 

know where he is out there. He serves as vice chairman of the 

Homeland Security Committee in the State legislature, does a 

great job, former Houston police officer, and also was appointed to 

the Texas legislature’s Joint Committee to Study Human Trafficking and has a very keen interest in the subject matter. We 

thank you, sir, for your leadership at the State level. 

Last but not least, I cannot go forward without also recognizing 

the queen of Houston, Joanne Herring, who is joining us today. It 

is a real honor to have you. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. I could go on and on about her background, 

but I think we all know her so well. Thank you so much for being 

here today. 

So with that, the Committee on Homeland Security will come to 

order. 

The committee is meeting today to examine our Nation’s efforts 

to combat human trafficking. I want to thank everybody, including 

the witnesses, for attending this important hearing today. 

I appreciate the effort taken on behalf of those involved to put 

this hearing together. This is an official Congressional hearing, as 

opposed to a town hall meeting, and as such, we must abide by the 

rules of the Committee on Homeland Security and of the House of 

Representatives. There are some admonitions about applause and 

that sort of thing, but I think I will skip that and move on. But 

decorum of the committee, obviously, is important here today. 

Before I recognize myself for an opening statement, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Poe; the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Farenthold; the gentleman from Texas, Mr. 
2 

Gene Green; and the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Al Green—this is 

great to have an all-Texas panel, I got to tell you—be permitted to 

sit on the dais and participate in today’s hearing. Without objection, so ordered. 

I now recognize myself for an opening statement. 

We are here today in the heart of Houston, a metropolitan area 

of nearly 6 million people. The city has a thriving international 

community, the second-busiest port in the country, and this is a 

major center for commerce, not far from the Mexican border. It is 

known for hosting high-profile events, including the upcoming 

Super Bowl in 2017. Sadly, many of the things that make Houston 

an attractive place to live and do business also make it a major 

hub for the tragic business of human trafficking. 

In this city and many other cities across the United States, 

women and children, some not even in their teens, are held against 

their will and forced into prostitution rings. Children who should 

be learning in school, as we sit here, are also held captive and 

forced into manual labor, along with their parents, in order to satisfy exorbitant illegal debts to traffickers that they can never hope 

to repay. Some are brought into the United States from abroad 

with the promise of freedom and opportunity, only to be forced into 

modern-day slavery. As a father of five children, I cannot imagine 

that kind of situation. 

However, many are American citizens. They live in difficult conditions. Some are abandoned or homeless or runaways, and they 

trust the first person who offers them a way out. Often this person 

is a trafficker, a person that is an expert on detecting vulnerability 

and a master at exploitation. Human trafficking is emerging in epidemic proportions throughout the United States and the world. 

While victims might not be physically imprisoned, they are trapped 

in deplorable conditions through force, fraud, or coercion that can 

make escape seem impossible. 

As the fastest-growing criminal industry, it is generating billions 

of dollars for its perpetrators every day. Hundreds of thousands of 

American children have become victims of human trafficking. In 

Texas, the Office of the Attorney General reported that between 

2007 and 2012, it identified almost 700 human trafficking-related 

incidences, involving almost 800 victims. Yet, even with stats like 

these, it still comes as a surprise to many people just how prevalent and close to home human trafficking has become. 

Today, however, there is hope. One of our witnesses today entered the world of sex trafficking at age 12, which is utterly amazing and shocking and horrifying. Now decades later, she is working 

to rescue girls in the same situation. 

The Houston area has identified the problem and is making 

great strides towards prevention and eradication of trafficking. The 

Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance was formed in 2004 to bring together a range of law enforcement and victim service partners that 

traditionally would not have the opportunity to work together. In 

2003, Texas was one of the leading States to enact a robust State 

trafficking law and has recently formed a task force to combat trafficking and rescue and restore those that fall victim to it. 

At the Federal level, the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center serves as a clearinghouse for all information related to human 
3 

smuggling and trafficking. The Department of Homeland Security’s 

lead investigative unit is within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In 2010, DHS formed the Blue Campaign, a combined 

effort to provide enhanced public awareness, training, victim assistance, and criminal investigations. DHS, the Department of Justice, 

and the State Department have collaborated with Mexican law enforcement counterparts on the U.S./Mexico Human Trafficking Bilateral Enforcement Initiative. Through this initiative, both governments have developed high-impact bilateral investigations and 

prosecutions aimed at dismantling international human trafficking 

networks. 

Despite this collaboration, human trafficking is still far too prevalent and requires a coordinated effort from every available organization and resource to fight the problem. I am proud to cosponsor 

my friend and colleague, Congressman Ted Poe—his one bill, the 

End Sex Slavery Act, and his second one, Justice for Victims of 

Trafficking Act. These bills will address a number of gaps in 

human trafficking laws and provide much needed support to victims. 

I am grateful for the survivors who have bravely agreed to share 

their story here today, and I look forward to hearing from our other 

witnesses on their experiences in combating human trafficking. It 

is my hope that with the help of your testimony, we will raise 

awareness about this issue and identify solutions that will have a 

significant impact on human trafficking in Houston and throughout 

this Nation. 

[The statement of Chairman McCaul follows:] 

STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN MICHAEL T. MCCAUL

MARCH 20, 2014 

We are here today in the heart of Houston; a metropolitan area of nearly 6 million 

people. This city has a thriving international community, the second-busiest port in 

the country, and is a major center for commerce not far from the Mexican border. 

It is known for hosting high-profile events including the Super Bowl in 2017. Sadly, 

many of the things that make Houston an attractive place to live and do business 

also make it a major hub for the tragic business of human trafficking. 

In this city, and many other cities across the United States, women and children, 

some not even in their teens, are held against their will and forced into prostitution 

rings. Children, who should be learning in school as we sit here, are also held captive and forced into manual labor along with their parents, in order to satisfy exorbitant illegal debts to traffickers that they can never hope to repay. Some are 

brought into the United States from abroad with the promise of freedom and opportunity only to be forced into modern-day slavery. As a father of five children, I cannot imagine that situation. 

However, many are American citizens. They live in difficult conditions—some are 

abandoned or homeless or runaways—and they trust the first person who offers 

them a way out. Often this person is a trafficker, a person that is an expert on detecting vulnerability, and a master at exploitation. Human trafficking is emerging 

in epidemic proportions throughout the United States and the world. While victims 

might not be physically imprisoned, they are trapped in deplorable conditions 

through force, fraud, or coercion that can make escape seem impossible. 

As the fastest-growing criminal industry, it is generating billions of dollars for its 

perpetrators every year. Hundreds of thousands of American children have become 

victims of human trafficking. In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General reported 

that between 2007 and 2012, it identified almost 700 human trafficking-related 

incidences, involving almost 800 victims. Yet even with statistics like these, it still 

comes as a surprise to many people just how prevalent and close to home human 

trafficking has become. 
4 

Today, however, there is hope. One of our witnesses today entered the world of 

sex trafficking at age 12. Now, decades later, she is working to rescue girls in the 

same situation. 

The Houston area has identified the problem and is making great strides towards 

prevention and eradication of trafficking. The Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance 

was formed in 2004 to bring together a range of law enforcement and victim service 

partners that traditionally would not have the opportunity to work together. In 

2003, Texas was one of the leading States to enact a robust State trafficking law 

and has recently formed a task force to combat trafficking and rescue and restore 

those that fall victim to it. 

At the Federal level, the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center serves as a 

clearinghouse for all information related to human smuggling and trafficking. The 

Department of Homeland Security’s lead investigative unit is within Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement. In 2010, DHS formed the Blue Campaign, a combined 

effort to provide enhanced public awareness, training, victim assistance, and criminal investigations. DHS, the Department of Justice, and the State Department have 

collaborated with Mexican law enforcement counterparts on the U.S./Mexico Human 

Trafficking Bilateral Enforcement Initiative. Through this initiative, both governments have developed high-impact bilateral investigations and prosecutions aimed 

at dismantling international human trafficking networks. 

Despite this collaboration, human trafficking is still far too prevalent and requires 

a coordinated effort from every available organization and resource to fight the problem. I am proud to co-sponsor Congressman Ted Poe’s End Sex Slavery Act and his 

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. These bills will address a number of gaps in 

human trafficking laws and provide much-needed support to victims. 

I am grateful for the survivors who have bravely agreed to share their story, and 

I look forward to hearing from our other witnesses on their experiences in combating human trafficking. It is my hope that with the help of your testimony, we 

will raise awareness about this issue and identify solutions that will have a significant impact on human trafficking in Houston and throughout the Nation. 

Chairman MCCAUL. The Chairman now recognizes the acting 

Ranking Member, the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for 

any opening statement she may have. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today’s 

hearing on the issue of human trafficking in our major cities and 

just a brief moment of personal privilege to thank Texas Southern 

University. Dean Holley, thank you, the Dean of the Thurgood 

Marshall School of Law, to the dean of this school and to the dean 

of the School of Education and the dean of the School of Public Affairs, Mr. LaRence Snowden, and the president, President Rudley, 

and the regents. Let me thank you for the hospitality that you 

have offered us at a very historic institution. 

Might I also thank and welcome again the many witnesses who 

accepted our invitation to be here and for the work we have done 

together. 

Finally, the Chairman has already acknowledged Joanne Herring. He did not give her vitae. But all I will say to you is that she 

was on the early front lines of saving boys and girls in Afghanistan 

and in this Nation from the devastation of sexual exploitation and 

exploitation as it relates to their human rights. So welcome, Ms. 

Herring, and your very special guests as well. 

I am the Ranking Member of the Border and Maritime Security 

Subcommittee and have studied this issue from the connection in 

the Judiciary Committee to the fact that people traffic across borders, and I could not imagine being silent on this issue and particularly knowing the front lines that Texas and Texas law enforcement and social and civic leaders are involved in this issue. Knowing the magnitude of the problem in the State of Texas, and the 

Houston area in particular, I requested this hearing shortly after 

my colleague from Texas became Chairman of the Committee on 
5 

Homeland Security. Again, I thank him. I am very pleased that he 

agreed to my request and that we could come together on a bipartisan basis today to convene the hearing. 

Again, I also thank the Ranking Member, Mr. Thompson, and his 

staff for their cooperation with the Majority on this hearing. 

I also appreciate my other colleagues for joining us, and I welcome them to my Congressional—— 

[Audio disruption.] 

Ms. JACKSON LEE [continuing]. For this particular committee 

being broadcast on the Homeland Security website, and it will become a part of the committee’s record for the 113th Congress. 

To understand why I believe so strongly that the Committee on 

Homeland Security should hold this hearing in Houston, you just 

have to turn on the news yesterday or pick up today’s paper. Yesterday morning, law enforcement officials raided a stash house in 

southeast Houston and found more than 100 people, in fact, 115 

people. Nineteen of them are juveniles, all presumed to be in the 

United States without documentation, being kept inside in squalid 

conditions. Although the investigation is not complete and there is 

not a suggestion yet of human trafficking, we note that there are 

19 juveniles, and we do not know the destinations of any of those 

who have been smuggled. What were they here for? What were 

they intending to do? Among the group were a number of women, 

including at least one of whom was pregnant, but we do know a 

number of children. 

While all the circumstances surrounding this situation are not 

yet known, it is obvious that criminal organizations are trafficking 

or smuggling large groups of people through our community, putting their victims’ welfare at risk. We see these tragic news stories 

all too frequently in our community. For example, a story from 

January of this year about a notorious Port of Houston area cantina that functioned for years as a center for human trafficking and 

prostitution. Or another story from earlier this year where a Houston area trafficking ring had been bringing people into the country 

illegally from Mexico and Central America and sending them to 

work at restaurants for 12 hours a day, 6 hours a day for very little 

money. Or a story from last fall where Federal agents arrested suspects in connection with an alleged sex trafficking ring in Houston 

that prostituted underage, undocumented girls from Mexico who 

were locked up and beaten by their traffickers. 

As a large city strategically located near the border, a major port 

and a critical transportation corridor, Houston is an attractive target for human trafficking organizations. The statistics support this 

unfortunate fact. For example, approximately 25 percent of human 

trafficking cases in the United States are located in Texas and 

most of those occur in Houston. One of our witnesses today will tell 

of her prostitution and how it led her to the introduction to human 

trafficking. 

In recent years, 30 percent of calls received from the National 

Human Trafficking Hotline were out of Texas. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has identified the I–10 corridor 

as the No. 1 trafficking route in the United States. 

One of every three runaways in Texas is lured into sex trafficking within 48 hours of leaving home. 
6 

Nationally the Federal Government estimates as many as 17,500 

people are trafficked to this country each year, for reliable estimates are hard to come by due to the covert nature of the crime 

and under-reporting of victims, which can lead to the scourge of 

modern-day slavery where people are held against their will to perform a service. There are likely far more individuals being exploited by traffickers in places where they cannot be readily identified or counted. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that many 

trafficked victims come from the most vulnerable populations, children, women, and the undocumented. 

Understanding the scope and seriousness of the human trafficking problem in Houston and across Texas and throughout the 

country, the important question remains: How can we fix this? 

Clearly it will take cooperation from all stakeholders to address the 

complex issues involved. Legislators, law enforcement officers, 

health care professionals, victims assistance organizations, and advocacy groups all have a vital role to play. We have brought together these stakeholders today to testify about their current efforts, as well as what more needs to be done, to address the 

scourge of human trafficking. And as a senior Member of the 

Homeland Security Committee, I am particularly interested in 

hearing from the witness from the U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement, ICE, on his agency’s efforts to combat human trafficking and what Congress can do more. 

I believe Homeland Security should be front and center on the 

front lines of this crucial scourge to eliminate it. 

I thank the Chairman for coming to offer us a frank discussion, 

and as we support and recognize my colleague on the Judiciary 

Committee, Mr. Poe, we work together on this issue and his legislation dealing with the criminality of it—I believe it is also important 

to have the Homeland Security Committee have its stake and be 

a stakeholder as well. We are drafting, as we speak, an omnibus 

bill dealing with a number of issues to reinforce those front-liners 

to stop human trafficking once and for all in its tracks because as 

Americans, we simply cannot allow human trafficking, a form of 

modern-day slavery, to exist in our country. 

Again, I thank the Chairman for holding today’s hearing. It is 

my pleasure to join you and my colleagues. I especially thank you 

for your presence here today. 

I yield back my time. 

Chairman MCCAUL. I thank the Ranking Member. 

Before I introduce the witnesses, I ask unanimous consent that 

a statement from the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue 

Campaign and a statement from the Department of Justice be included in the record. Without objection, so ordered. 

[The information follows:] 

STATEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

MARCH 20, 2014 

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) welcomes and appreciates the opportunity to submit this testimony for the record. The men and women of DHS are 

dedicated to combating the heinous crime of human trafficking using the programs 
7 

and authorities provided to us by Congress and the President. The Department’s 

Blue Campaign coordinates and unites this work. 

DHS recognizes that fighting the hidden crime of human trafficking is a collaborative effort. DHS depends on strong partnerships with other Federal agencies, foreign governments, international organizations, law enforcement, first responders, 

the faith-based community, non-profit organizations, the private sector, as well as 

our State, local, and Tribal counterparts. The President’s Interagency Task Force to 

Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) and the Senior Policy Operating 

Group (SPOG) bring together Federal departments and agencies, including DHS, to 

ensure a whole-of-Government approach that addresses all aspects of human trafficking. DHS also co-chairs the SPOG victim services working group along with the 

Department of Justice and Health and Human Services, which is responsible for 

leading development of the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of 

Human Trafficking in the United States. We forged additional partnerships that 

unite and amplify our joint efforts. DHS greatly appreciates the collaboration and 

commitment of its partners. 

BLUE CAMPAIGN

DHS is one of the lead Federal law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating and preventing human trafficking. Our investigative authority, screening 

authority, and most of our assistance programs are authorized under the Trafficking 

Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and the subsequent reauthorizations. 

DHS and its components work to combat human trafficking every day. U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigates both international and domestic 

human trafficking cases. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and 

ICE provide immigration relief to trafficking victims. The Federal Law Enforcement 

Training Center (FLETC) provides training to law enforcement professionals on how 

to identify indicators of human trafficking and how to conduct human trafficking investigations. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) facilitates training and 

webinars to State and major urban area fusion centers on the signs and indicators 

of human trafficking and the April 18, 2013 Fusion Center protocol for reporting. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is in a unique position to detect trafficking on our borders, as are the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) on the high seas, the 

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at airports and mass transit facilities, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in disaster areas. 

DHS unites these missions under the Blue Campaign to combat human trafficking. Blue is the international color of human trafficking awareness, and the Blue 

Campaign name references the global anti-human trafficking symbols of the Blue 

Heart and the Blue Blindfold, as well as the ‘‘thin blue line’’ of law enforcement. 

To increase awareness of this crime domestically and internationally, in June 2010, 

then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano launched the Blue Campaign. 

Before we talk about the Blue Campaign, we would like to share a story that demonstrates why DHS cares so deeply about human trafficking. When Shyima Hall 

was 8 years old, her parents sold her into slavery. She was smuggled into the 

United States when she was 10 years old. She worked as a domestic servant in Orange County, California, 16 hour days, scrubbing floors, cooking meals and cleaning 

house. She was rarely allowed outside. She never went to school. She never visited 

a doctor or dentist and did not speak English. When she was 13, a concerned neighbor called in a tip to law enforcement and ICE opened an investigation. Her captors 

were prosecuted, imprisoned, and then deported. In 2012, Shyima became a U.S. citizen. She is now 23 years old and has said that her dream is to become an ICE 

Special Agent, in order to help others in similar situations. Shyima’s story helps us 

understand the important role the Government can play in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting human trafficking. However, we only found out about 

Shyima because a neighbor called in a tip. Human trafficking is a hidden crime— 

and every one of us needs to know the indicators to look for. 

TRAINING AND OUTREACH

The Blue Campaign was begun, and continues, with no direct appropriations, reflecting a belief that we are all more effective when we work collaboratively with 

our internal and external partners. Early in the campaign, we developed training 

to ensure that those in our workforce who encounter potential victims of human 

trafficking understood the indicators of trafficking. We also created specialized 

training for the Federal contractor workforce. Federal regulations create a zero tolerance for Government contractors who traffic persons. In response, DHS launched 

specialized training for acquisition officers about human trafficking that provides in-
8 

formation about penalties for traffickers who execute business contracts with the 

U.S. Government. 

We brought all of our components together to make sure our efforts increased 

identification of and assistance to victims of trafficking. As part of their efforts 

through the Blue Campaign, DHS components conduct trainings and webinars, 

produce informational videos, develop informational materials, provide victim assistance, conduct investigative efforts, and conduct outreach. 

The Blue Campaign utilizes academic research to shape the focus of the campaign. A recent Northeastern University study noted that few municipal and county 

agencies had human trafficking training or investigated human trafficking cases. An 

Urban Institute study found a significant lack of awareness among law enforcement 

and a lack of prioritization which resulted in many cases being passed over by State 

and county legal systems. 

State and Local Outreach 

We created a specialized training to educate law enforcement officers at all levels 

on the indicators of human trafficking, how they can assist victims, and the resources available to them when investigating such cases. In addition, we developed 

training videos for State, local, county, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement to 

create awareness that immigration relief options are potentially available to foreign 

victims of human trafficking and how these benefits aid law enforcement in achieving successful investigations. 

The Blue Campaign also works with our Federal Government colleagues, foreign 

governments, international organizations, law enforcement at all levels, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the faith-based community, the private sector, and 

the general public to share ideas and resources and build a force-multiplying network of diverse but complementary parts. Partnerships augment our efforts by 

bringing together diverse experiences, amplifying messages, and leveraging resources. Together we can effectively combat human trafficking, by making sure that 

people understand the crime, recognize its indicators, and know how to seek help 

and report tips. 

Federal Outreach 

DHS, along with the Departments of Justice and Labor, partnered to create an 

advanced human trafficking training course that brings together agents and prosecutors to work on investigating and prosecuting these crimes. This interactive 

course focuses on complex issues of human trafficking: Search warrants, witness 

interviewing techniques, immigration relief, evidence gathering, and discovery 

issues. 

International Outreach 

We also took new steps to expand our international law enforcement engagement. 

On October 8, 2012, Secretary Napolitano signed an agreement with INTERPOL 

Secretary General Ron Noble to allow INTERPOL to place its logo on Blue Campaign materials and distribute them to all 190 member countries. DHS and 

INTERPOL will work together to share training and awareness materials and best 

practices, strengthen support for victims, increase regional partnerships, and enhance cooperation on combating human trafficking. 

The Blue Campaign also utilizes the expertise and feedback from its community 

stakeholders and partners to shape the focus of the campaign’s efforts. The Blue 

Campaign meets bi-annually with Federal, State, local, Tribal, non-governmental 

and community organizations, emergency management and medical professionals, 

and private-sector partners to receive feedback and guide future initiatives. 

Awareness Products 

Many stakeholders emphasized that misconceptions about the nature of trafficking exist widely. A common misconception about human trafficking is that it 

only occurs outside the United States, or if it does occur domestically the victims 

are all noncitizens. In order to educate the public that human trafficking exists in 

every country, including the United States, the Blue Campaign developed a series 

of posters that depict different forms of human trafficking and produced a Public 

Service Announcement (PSA) titled, ‘‘Out of the Shadows.’’ These posters and PSA 

emphasize that victims can be many types of people, such as young children, 

women, men, U.S. citizens, new immigrants, and that they come from all socioeconomic groups. 

To address the lack of general awareness and training available for non-law enforcement communities and individuals, the Blue Campaign collaborated with the 

Department of State and other Federal agencies to create a 15-minute general 

awareness training to educate the public on the indicators of human trafficking and 
9 

how to report it. DHS also developed cards, posters, and pamphlets that list the indicators of human trafficking and provide a hotline number to those who need help 

or want to report a suspected trafficking case. These materials are available in 17 

languages to meet the language access needs identified by stakeholders and victim 

assistance information. 

The stakeholders also identified the need for more specific information tailored for 

their communities that listed the tools and resources applicable to their role in 

fighting human trafficking. The Blue Campaign developed hand-out materials with 

tailored messages for NGOs, faith-based organizations, law enforcement, judges and 

lawyers, first responders, and health care professionals to educate about victim 

identification and crime reporting, the case investigation process, and available resources for victim support. 

We also recognize that first responders and health care professionals are in a 

unique position to identify victims. We produced an informational video to help first 

responders—including firefighters and emergency medical technicians—identify possible victims of human trafficking, and created indicator cards and posters geared 

to those professionals. We continue to conduct briefings and webinars at the request 

of local and National medical first responder groups and associations. 

PARTNERSHIPS

Over the past 3 years, the Blue Campaign developed a variety of trainings and 

materials, and through our partnerships we have been able to expand them to new 

audiences and support the efforts of our Government and private-sector partners. 

Most recently, on September 17, 2013, the Blue Campaign announced a partnership with Western Union. Western Union agents are in a unique position to recognize human trafficking and other illicit activity of criminal organizations and businesses that utilize alternative financing mechanisms to move and store money. 

Through this alliance, Western Union will provide the Blue Campaign’s multilingual 

training and awareness materials to select agent locations in the Southwest Border 

region of the United States and certain other high-risk locations. These materials 

highlight the signs of human trafficking and how to accurately report them. Participating agents will also receive additional training from Western Union on how to 

detect a potential human trafficking victim and how to involve law enforcement. 

Engaging with all levels of government is a priority for the Blue Campaign. The 

Blue Campaign is pursuing partnerships with National associations representing 

State, local, Tribal and territorial elected and appointed officials. In July 2013, DHS 

entered into a partnership agreement with the National Association of Counties 

(NACo) to promote awareness of human trafficking through the Blue Campaign. 

NACo is the only National organization that represents county governments in the 

United States and provides essential services to the Nation’s 3,069 counties. 

Through this partnership, DHS will deliver webinar training, share resources to 

bring awareness about human trafficking and co-brand public awareness materials 

with both Blue Campaign and NACo logos. 

We partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to enhance 

awareness and victim identification to the transportation industry. DOT adapted 

the Blue Campaign’s awareness training to their workforce and in 2012, nearly all 

55,000 of its employees have taken the course. 

In 2012, DHS, DOT, and Amtrak entered a partnership to train all 20,000 Amtrak 

employees and Amtrak Police Department officers to identify and recognize indicators of human trafficking, as well as how to report suspected cases of human trafficking. We also work with the airline industry to think strategically about how it 

can assist in victim identification. CBP, together with DOT launched the Blue 

Lightning Initiative, a training program to educate airline employees how to identify 

human trafficking in airports or during flights and how to notify law enforcement. 

Since the Blue Lightning Initiative rollout, five airlines have committed to use the 

Blue Lightning Initiative: Delta, JetBlue, Allegiant, Silver Airways, and North 

American. 

The initial partnership with DOT led to further collaborations and joint partnerships with transportation industries. DHS and DOT provided the training to approximately 6,000 State and local law enforcement, including investigators at the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on the best ways to detect human 

trafficking on trucks and buses, and these trainings will continue. 

These partnerships and outreach are leading directly to more tips, more investigations, and improved services for victims, and will help us achieve our ultimate goal 

of supporting successful prosecutions and deterrence. 
10 

INVESTIGATIONS AND VICTIM SUPPORT

In fiscal year 2012, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tip Line (1–866– 

347–2423) received more human trafficking tips than ever before, receiving 588 

tips—up from 384 in fiscal year 2011 and 231 in fiscal year 2010. 

We investigate hundreds of human trafficking cases each year and work with the 

Department of Justice to ensure cases are successfully prosecuted. In fiscal year 

2012, ICE HSI investigated more cases with a nexus to human trafficking than ever 

before, resulting in 894 initiated cases, 381 convictions, and seized assets of more 

than $1,000,000. We take a victim-centered approach in our investigations and have 

Victim Assistance Specialists across the ICE offices all over the United States. In 

recognition of the needs and unique challenges of interviewing trafficked minors and 

other child and special needs victims, DHS expanded its Forensic Interviewing Program to five full-time Forensic Interview Specialists. 

We have observed an increase in the correlation between human trafficking and 

gang activity. We know that some gang members work directly with non-gang trafficking organizations. For example, gang members provide ‘‘security’’ enforcements 

at certain brothels. 

Gangs have now added human trafficking to their existing crimes of drugs and 

firearm trafficking. Gangs recruit young girls and compel them to commit acts of 

commercial sex. This has occurred right here in Washington, DC. ICE in collaboration with the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force and our Federal 

partners recently investigated and successfully prosecuted cases where MS–13 gang 

members in Washington, DC, Prince George’s County, MD, and Alexandria, VA, recruited girls as young as 12 near schools, on the street, at house parties, and 

through social media into sex trafficking. 

These joint efforts resulted in a life sentence of a MS–13 gang member that sex 

trafficked a 12-year-old runaway whom he met at a party in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The 12-year-old runaway asked for his help in finding a place to stay, 

and the very next day he was selling her for sex acts in Washington, DC and surrounding counties. For 3 months the MS–13 member sexually exploited the victim 

for money every day of the week. The trafficker also admitted to having sex with 

the victim and allowed MS–13 gang members to have sex with her free of charge. 

DHS also provides immigration relief to eligible foreign trafficking victims, a critical component to ensuring victim participation for the successful investigation and 

prosecution of human trafficking cases. There are three forms of immigration relief 

available for victims of human trafficking—Continued Presence, T visas, and U 

visas. DHS has streamlined its training about immigration relief for victims to increase awareness among law enforcement agencies. These short- and long-term relief options assist law enforcement in stabilizing victims so that the victim can begin 

to recover and rebuild his or her life. 

We are proud of what DHS has accomplished, but there is much to do still. We 

are working more every day to expand our partnerships, and we interact regularly 

with our stakeholders for new ideas and new innovative ways to combat this crime. 

In closing, we will continue to work hard to develop our initiatives to meet the 

needs of victims, law enforcement, and service providers. We are committed to providing quality information, trainings, and products that give communities the information they need to fight human trafficking. 

We appreciate the opportunity to represent the Blue Campaign and DHS before 

the committee. 

STATEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

MARCH 20, 2014 

Thank you for the opportunity to present an overview of the work of the Department of Justice (the Department) and its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to 

combat the scourge of human trafficking. As evidenced by the broad spectrum of investigative, prosecutorial, training, outreach, victim services, and research efforts by 

a wide array of components, outlined below, the Department is fully committed to 

fighting human trafficking. 

Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons or modern-day slavery, 

is a crime that strikes at the very heart of the American promise: Freedom. Today, 

in this country, people are bought, sold, and exploited like slaves each and every 

day. They are trapped in lives of misery—often beaten, starved, and forced to engage in prostitution or to take grueling jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay. 
11 

The most vulnerable among us, including our children, are being exploited both 

on-line and in person. Often targeted because of individual vulnerabilities, many 

have already experienced abusive or troubled families, have disabilities, or come 

from families with very limited resources. In the hands of their traffickers, these 

individuals will be subjected to numerous sexual assaults and continued abuse. 

The Department and its partners are working hard to identify and support victims and bring their abusers to justice. We provide significant resources, training, 

and technical assistance to our Federal, State, local, and Tribal partners. 

ENFORCEMENT: INVESTIGATION

The FBI’s efforts to investigate human trafficking are coordinated by the Civil 

Rights Unit (CRU) and the Violent Crimes Against Children Section (VCACS). The 

CRU investigates forced labor, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and the 

sexual exploitation of foreign minors while the VCACS focuses on the commercial 

sexual exploitation of domestic children under the age of 18. Sex trafficking prosecutions involving children do not require proof of the use of force, fraud, or coercion. 

Innocence Lost National Initiative 

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the FBI’s most prominent initiative to 

combat the growing problem of sex trafficking of children within the United States. 

In June 2003, the FBI and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) joined the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 

(NCMEC) to launch the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI). While it is difficult to imagine, the average age of a child targeted for prostitution in the United 

States is between 11 and 14 years old. Once under the control of a pimp, the proceeds of the commercial sexual exploitation of the child are controlled by the captor, 

and attempted escapes often result in brutal beatings or even death. 

The FBI and its ILNI partners execute Operation Cross Country—a 3-day Nationwide enforcement action focusing on underage victims of prostitution. Our most recent operation in July 2013—our seventh and largest such operation—concluded 

with the recovery of 105 commercially sexually-exploited children and the arrests 

of 150 pimps and other individuals. 

This most recent sweep took place in 76 cities and was carried out by the FBI 

in partnership with local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies and 

NCMEC. Over 1,300 law enforcement officers across the country have been trained 

through the Protecting Victims of Child Prostitution Course at NCMEC, which supports the ILNI. 

Task force operations can begin as local actions, targeting such places as truck 

stops, casinos, street ‘‘tracks,’’ and internet websites, based on intelligence gathered 

by officers working in their respective jurisdictions. The FBI has developed special 

teams and protocols for prevention and enforcement actions surrounding large-scale 

sporting events and other events of National interest. By utilizing information obtained through these operations, and by building a strong rapport with victims, the 

FBI often uncovers organized efforts to prostitute women and children across many 

States. These investigations can lead to local, State, or Federal charges. 

To date, the ILNI task forces have rescued more than 2,800 children. Investigations have led to the conviction of more than 1,400 pimps, madams, and their associates who commercially exploit children through prostitution. These convictions have 

resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple life sentences and the seizure of 

real property, vehicles, and monetary assets. 

In addition to the ILNI, the FBI also coordinates the Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force—a select cadre of international law enforcement experts working together to formulate and deliver a dynamic global response to crimes 

against children through the establishment and furtherance of strategic partnerships, the aggressive engagement of relevant law enforcement, and the extensive 

use of liaison, operational support, and coordination. 

Through this task force we are working closely with our partners to: Reduce the 

vulnerability of children to acts of sexual exploitation and abuse which are facilitated through the use of computers; identify and rescue child victims; investigate 

and prosecute sexual predators who use the internet and other on-line services to 

sexually exploit children for personal or financial gain; and strengthen the capabilities of Federal, State, local, and international law enforcement through training programs and investigative assistance. 

Trafficking Exploiting Foreign Nationals 

Our CRU investigates trafficking involving foreign nationals, which is often aimed 

at recent migrants and other economically disadvantaged individuals, particularly 

women and children. Preying on the vulnerabilities of people seeking a better life, 
12 

traffickers force migrants without documentation or with precarious immigration 

status to work in poor, unsafe conditions where they are exploited for prostitution, 

domestic servitude, migrant farm labor, or toil in restaurants and service industry 

jobs. Compounding the problem, the number of migrants subjected to these types 

of crimes is underreported, as many fear deportation or are afraid of retaliation 

against themselves or their families. 

Together with our law enforcement partners at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as the Department of Labor and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, we are working hard to combat trafficking in any form—not 

only because of the physical and psychological toll it takes on individual victims and 

their families, but also the profit generated by this exploitation fuels further unlawful migration and organized criminal activity. 

Through our efforts, we work with other local, State, Tribal, and Federal law enforcement agencies and National victim-based advocacy groups in joint task forces 

that combine resources and expertise on the issue. Today, the FBI participates in 

over 100 human trafficking task forces and working groups around the Nation who 

work shoulder-to-shoulder in an effort to combat the exploitation of individuals who 

work in industries, such as agriculture and domestic service, and who are forced 

into prostitution and/or slave labor. 

The FBI’s many field offices produce threat assessments to determine the nature 

and extent of human trafficking in their areas of jurisdiction. They also aggressively 

pursue human trafficking investigations and develop actionable intelligence. This 

valuable information aids us with future potential cases, and helps us to better understand the nature and scope of the problem. And finally, these offices are charged 

with building relationships with civic and community groups and non-Governmental 

organizations that can refer cases and provide valuable insights and information. 

FBI CRU’s pending human trafficking investigations have increased from 167 in 

2009 to 459 by the end of fiscal year 2012. Since 2009, our investigations in this 

area have resulted in 480 arrests, 336 informations and indictments, and 258 convictions. 

ENFORCEMENT: PROSECUTION

The Department’s prosecution efforts are led by two specialized Units, the Civil 

Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and the Criminal Division’s 

Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, which provide subject-matter expertise 

and partner with our 94 United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) on prosecutions 

Nation-wide. 

The Civil Rights Division, through its Criminal Section Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU), in collaboration with USAOs Nation-wide, has principal responsibility for prosecuting forced labor and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, 

and coercion, while CEOS provides expertise in child exploitation crimes, including 

child sex trafficking, and works in collaboration with USAOs to investigate and 

prosecute cases arising under Federal statutes prohibiting the commercial sexual 

exploitation of children and the extraterritorial sexual abuse of children. 

Taken together, USAOs, HTPU, and CEOS initiated a total of 128 Federal human 

trafficking prosecutions in fiscal year 2012, charging 200 defendants. Of these, 162 

defendants engaged predominately in sex trafficking and 38 engaged predominantly 

in labor trafficking, although several defendants engaged in both. In fiscal year 

2012, the Civil Rights Division, in coordination with USAOs, initiated 55 prosecutions involving forced labor and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. 

Of these, 34 were predominantly sex trafficking and 21 were predominantly labor 

trafficking; several cases involved both. In fiscal year 2012, CEOS, in coordination 

with USAOs, initiated 18 prosecutions involving the sex trafficking of children and 

child sex tourism. 

During fiscal year 2012, DOJ convicted a total of 138 traffickers in cases involving 

forced labor, sex trafficking of adults, and sex trafficking of children. Of these, 105 

predominantly involved sex trafficking and 33 predominantly involved labor trafficking, although some cases involved both. 

The average prison sentence imposed for Federal trafficking crimes during fiscal 

year 2012 was 9 years, and terms imposed ranged from probation to life imprisonment. During the reporting period, Federal prosecutors secured life sentences 

against both sex and labor traffickers in four cases, including a sentence of life plus 

20 years, the longest sentence ever imposed in a labor trafficking case. 

Civil Rights Division 

Since the Department created the HTPU within the Criminal Section of the Civil 

Rights Division in January 2007, HTPU has played a significant role in coordinating 

the Department’s human trafficking prosecution programs. HTPU’s mission is to 
13 

focus the Civil Rights Division’s human trafficking expertise and expand its antitrafficking enforcement program to increase human trafficking investigations and 

prosecutions throughout the Nation. HTPU works to enhance DOJ investigation and 

prosecution of significant human trafficking cases, particularly novel, complex, 

multi-jurisdictional, and multi-agency cases and those involving transnational organized crime and financial crimes. 

Consistent with increases in trafficking caseloads across the Department, in the 

past 4 fiscal years, from 2009 through 2012, the Civil Rights Division and USAOs 

have brought 94 labor trafficking cases, compared to 43 such cases over the previous 

4 years, an increase of over 118%. This is in addition to the substantial increase 

in the number of adult sex trafficking cases prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division 

and USAOs. 

The HTPU, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) and multiple USAOs 

have continued to lead the six anti-trafficking coordination teams (ACTeams) in collaboration with the FBI, DHS, and the Department of Labor. Following a competitive, Nation-wide selection process, six pilot ACTeams were launched in July 2011 

in Los Angeles, California; El Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Atlanta, Georgia; 

Miami, Florida; and Memphis, Tennessee. Since that time, the ACTeams, through 

enhanced coordination among Federal prosecutors and multiple Federal investigative agencies, have developed significant human trafficking investigations and prosecutions, including the first multi-district, multi-defendant combined sex trafficking 

and forced labor case in the Western District of Texas, the first domestic servitude 

prosecution in the Western District of Missouri, and the first Eastern European 

forced labor case initiated in the Northern District of Georgia, in addition to numerous other significant investigations and prosecutions. 

Of particular interest to this committee, the Department and DHS have collaborated with Mexican law enforcement counterparts on the U.S./Mexico Human Trafficking Bilateral Enforcement Initiative, which has contributed significantly to restoring the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims through outreach, interagency coordination, international collaboration, and capacity building. Through the 

Initiative, the United States and Mexico have worked as partners to bring high-impact prosecutions under both U.S. and Mexican law to more effectively dismantle 

human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border, prosecute 

human traffickers, rescue human trafficking victims, and reunite victims with their 

families. Significant bilateral cases have been prosecuted in Atlanta, Georgia; 

Miami, Florida; and New York, New York. To advance the interdisciplinary Initiative, the Department and DHS have participated in meetings in both the United 

States and Mexico to ensure that simultaneous investigations and prosecutions enhance, rather than impede, each other. These efforts have already resulted in three 

cross-border collaborative prosecutions, involving defendants who have been sentenced in Mexico and the United States to terms of imprisonment of up to 37.5 

years, and resulting in the vindication of the rights of dozens of sex trafficking victims. 

Outreach and training continue to be a large part of the Department’s efforts to 

combat human trafficking. HTPU attorneys presented numerous in-person trainings 

as part of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center State and Local Law Enforcement Training Symposiums. CRT, FBI, and other Department components 

joined with the Department of State to create an Advanced Human Trafficking Investigator course at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia, for Central 

American law enforcement officers. The program has trained investigators from El 

Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. DOJ, DHS, and DOL collaborated 

to develop and deliver the Advanced Human Trafficking Training Program to the 

ACTeams, bringing Federal agents and Federal prosecutors together for an intensive skill-building and strategic planning to enhance their anti-trafficking enforcement efforts. 

Criminal Division 

The CEOS’ mission is to protect children from sexual exploitation by investigating 

and prosecuting not only child sex trafficking, but also child pornography, and 

extraterritorial exploitation of children. CEOS conducts and participates in training 

for Federal, State, local, and international prosecutors and investigators engaged in 

efforts to enforce Federal child exploitation laws. 

For example, in 2013, CEOS’s section chief presented on best practices for investigating and prosecuting child sex trafficking cases at a human trafficking seminar 

in Riverside, California, and participated in crimes against children training conference hosted by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in 

Vietnam. Also within the past year, CEOS attorneys presented at international conferences in Taiwan, Mexico, Belgium, and Washington, DC, providing training to 
14 

law enforcement, prosecutors, State officials, judges, and subject-matter experts 

from various disciplines in the areas of child sex tourism and trafficking in minors. 

In March 2013, Weylin Rodriguez was sentenced to life plus 5 years in prison following his conviction for forcing multiple minor and adult victims to engage in prostitution and for various firearms offenses in the recruitment of three minor females 

and two young adults to work in prostitution. Rodriguez kidnapped some of his victims, and lured others through false pretenses followed by violence. After luring his 

victims, he and two co-conspirators (aka his ‘‘bottom girls’’), advertised the victims 

for prostitution on-line, and forced the victims to solicit for prostitution on the 

streets. Rodriguez kept all the money received by the victims for the commercial sex 

acts. To prevent the victims from leaving his prostitution ring, Rodriguez inflicted 

severe physical beatings to create an atmosphere of fear. He also threatened the victims with guns on numerous occasions, and shot at a customer in front of a victim. 

Rodriguez has several prior convictions involving drugs, firearm, as well as a sexual 

offense against a minor. The case was prosecuted jointly by CEOS and the Middle 

District of Florida. 

In May 2012, James Mozie was sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction in a jury trial of eight counts of child sex trafficking, one count of conspiracy 

to commit the same, and one count of production of child pornography. At trial, several juvenile victims testified that they either worked or were recruited to work as 

prostitutes for Mozie and his girlfriend, Laschell Harris, from their residence in 

Oakland Park, Florida. When customers arrived at the home, they paid a cover 

charge to the security guard working the front door. The females, many of them minors, worked in the house dancing for tips and engaging in sexual activity with 

male customers for money. The seven victims, all minors when the offenses occurred, testified that Mozie required them to have sex with him as part of their ‘‘orientation,’’ which he explained was his way of ‘‘testing the merchandise.’’ They also 

testified that Mozie would take sexually explicit pictures of them, which he attached 

to text messages advertising the brothel. Also in 2012, Harris was sentenced to 156 

months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of sex trafficking, and coconspirator Willie Rice, who acted as a security guard for Mozie, was sentenced to 

48 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to possessing a handgun while a 

felon. The case was prosecuted jointly by CEOS and the Southern District of Florida. 

Executive Office for United States Attorneys 

Consistent with the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 

2012, all USAOs established or participate in human trafficking task forces (HTTF), 

and collaborate with private partners in several ways. Eighty percent of the HTTFs 

in which USAOs are involved include members from NGOs. Participating private organizations include community groups, faith-based organizations, victim advocacy 

groups, academic organizations, medical professionals, and legal aid offices. These 

private organizations provide various forms of assistance to the HTTFs, including 

tips on women and girls who were being trafficked, social services for victims, and 

training in conjunction with USAOs. 

PUBLIC AWARENESS, VICTIM SERVICES, AND RESEARCH

Federal Bureau of Investigation 

The Department does more than investigate and prosecute those who exploit victims of trafficking. For example, the FBI’s Office for Victim Assistance, along with 

victims specialists from the USAOs and/or other non-Government victim assistance 

service providers, work with human trafficking victims to advise them of their 

rights and to ensure they get the help they need to address their short-term and 

long-term needs—such as legal and repatriation services, immigration relief, housing, employment, education, job training, and child care. Nearly 400 victims have 

been provided services as a result of Operation Cross Country. With the launch of 

the Innocence Lost National Initiative, the FBI task forces have encountered significant challenges in identifying and providing services for these victims. Often with 

histories of poverty, homelessness, and/or exposure to violence and abuse, victims 

may have difficulties reaching out for help or determining who they can trust. Juveniles who become involved in sexual trafficking face myriad obstacles and enormous 

needs—including very basic needs such as safe housing, subsistence, and schooling—if they are able to leave that life. In addition, they may need substance abuse 

treatment, medical treatment for conditions like HIV/AIDS, and mental health services. Many face impediments to reuniting with their family of origin, so they need 

help to prepare for independent living. 
15 

Executive Office for United States Attorneys 

In order to prevent and increase the reporting of human trafficking, the Department’s Executive Office for United States Attorneys developed a public awareness 

campaign with the cooperation of Polaris Project, a non-Governmental organization 

dedicated to combating human trafficking. The campaign’s advertisements targeted 

ethnic groups from countries associated with human trafficking in the United 

States. An advertisement was developed, translated, and placed in selected newspapers in 18 cities for a period of 2 to 3 months during the fall of 2012. The advertisements defined human trafficking, explained that trafficking violates State and 

Federal laws, and encouraged readers who considered themselves to be victims of, 

or witnesses to, human trafficking to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 

which is operated by Polaris with a grant from the Federal Government. Polaris 

provided statistics that showed a significant increase in calls to the hotline from cities where the ads were placed during the periods of time that the ads were running 

in those cities. 

Office of Justice Programs 

In fiscal year 2012, the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) jointly made awards to seven task force sites to execute a comprehensive approach to combating all forms of trafficking, including sex 

and labor trafficking of foreign nationals and U.S. citizens (male and female, adults 

and minors). BJA made seven awards of up to $500,000 for 24 months to support 

law enforcement agencies (one in each task force site) to coordinate the goals, objectives, and activities of the entire task force in close collaboration with the local 

USAO and the task force partner victim service organization (one in each task force 

site) to coordinate the provision of a comprehensive array of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to all trafficking victims identified within the geographic 

area affected by the task force. OVC made seven awards to victim service provider 

partners who participate on the task forces. In total, $6,609,586 was awarded by 

BJA and OVC. 

In addition to providing direct services, OVC trafficking victim-service grantees 

across each grant program work to enhance the community’s capacity to identify 

and respond appropriately to victims of trafficking. From July 1, 2011 to June 30, 

2012, grantees trained 28,462 professionals, representing schools and educational 

institutions, faith-based organizations and religious institutions, victim service providers, civic and business community organizations, and State, Tribal, and local law 

enforcement. The top five topics covered by grantees were: The definition of human 

trafficking; identification of human trafficking victims; procedures for reporting 

human trafficking; services available to victims; and legal assistance for victims of 

human trafficking. 

During fiscal year 2012–2013, OVC represented DOJ by serving as a co-chair 

along with DHS and the Department of Health and Human Services in the development of the first-ever Federal strategic action plan to strengthen services for trafficking victims. After extensive interagency collaboration, the co-chairs drafted the 

plan and released it for public comment. Over 300 comments were received and 

OVC is working to incorporate the public’s input. The plan is scheduled for release 

in January 2014. 

In order to ascertain the scope and primary methods of perpetration of human 

trafficking, identify effective means of prevention, and maximize the impact of available victim services, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has maintained the most 

active research portfolio on trafficking in the United States, making dozens of research awards over the past decade. Recent NIJ awards are tackling the toughest 

questions asked about human trafficking, including measuring the prevalence of 

labor trafficking, exploring the perpetration of trafficking and evaluating best practices in service provision. For example, an on-going NIJ-funded project focuses specifically on one of the most under-studied aspects of human trafficking: The relationship between gangs and human trafficking. This project will measure the nature 

and extent of gang involvement in human trafficking by gathering data from four 

sources: Victims who are assisted by social service agencies in San Diego County, 

non-public law enforcement incidence and arrest records, persons identified as trafficking victims and perpetrators at San Diego middle and high schools, and the traffickers themselves. 

For fiscal year 2013, NIJ is funding a study focusing on the Somali-American diaspora and its involvement in two transnational crimes: Radicalization to violent extremism and trafficking in persons. This study will build scientific knowledge on 

these crimes with an emphasis on how transnational issues converge in a context 

of profound community vulnerability and active criminal networks. The co-occurrence of radicalization and trafficking in disadvantaged refugee and immigrant com-
16 

munities warrants an examination to better understand the transnational and convergence issues involved, and how they can inform evidence-based community practices. 

EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING EXPLOITING TRIBAL MEMBERS

The challenges the Federal Government faces in developing and sustaining effective child welfare and juvenile justice systems and providing effective services to juveniles have been studied and documented at the Department and in other Federal 

agencies for decades. In April 2013, the Attorney General, acting on a recommendation from the Defending Childhood Task Force, called for the formation of the American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Task Force (Task 

Force). In recognition of the unique role the Federal Government plays in Indian 

Country issues, a working group of Federal agencies was established as part of the 

Task Force. The working group will complement the objectives of the advisory committee of the Task Force, which will consist of non-Federal experts in children’s exposure to violence. The initial focus of the working group will be actions to improve 

the Federal response to the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native children 

exposed to violence. This vulnerable population has been identified as being particularly susceptible to being lured by traffickers. 

From July 8, 2013 through July 12, 2013, the Department’s Office on Violence 

Against Women (OVW) conducted a site visit to western North Dakota meeting with 

local law enforcement, Tribal leaders, victim advocates, the U.S. Attorney for North 

Dakota, State and Tribal coalition leaders, and service providers from both North 

Dakota and Montana. OVW is exploring providing funds to law enforcement and victim service providers in western North Dakota and eastern Montana to address domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking. 

In fiscal year 2012, BJA solicited proposals to address the issue of human trafficking on Tribal lands by developing and providing training to build awareness of 

the existence of human trafficking in Indian Country, and providing law enforcement and community stakeholders with the tools necessary to begin the process of 

victim identification, rescue and restoration, while providing appropriate consequences for perpetrators in a consistently applied manner. BJA received four applications through a competitive process and awarded $305,000 to the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute (UMCPI) to develop and pilot the training. 

BJA will design and plan the delivery of Human Trafficking Training to Tribal 

Law Enforcement which will begin a pilot phase of training by the end of 2013. BJA 

is planning to seek additional funding to expand the number of sites which can be 

trained moving forward. 

In response to law enforcement concerns about possible human trafficking on the 

Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 

the District of North Dakota (USAO–ND), the FBI, and multiple Tribal organizations created a Human Trafficking Working Group to address the abuse of women 

and children through prostitution on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The work of 

this group resulted in the April 2012 conviction of a New Town, North Dakota man 

on 16 counts of sex trafficking, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and witness tampering. The facts revealed at trial established that the defendant had conspired to 

distribute marijuana around the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. As part of this 

conspiracy, the defendant recruited minors and young adults to be part of a gang. 

According to testimony at trial, the defendant also used physical force and coercion 

to cause an adult female he had recruited for the gang to engage in commercial sex 

acts on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and in Williston and Minot. USAO– 

ND believes that innovative, cooperative efforts, like the investigation that led to 

this conviction, are essential to battling organized criminal activity on the reservations. 

CONCLUSION

The Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking present a multi-faceted approach to a multi-faceted problem. As a result, our efforts span from investigation 

to prosecution, and are supplemented by an array of investigative, training, outreach, and victim services carried out by a wide range of components. Simply put, 

we are proud of the work we do in this area, and look forward to continuing to have 

a leading role in the Government-wide fight against human trafficking. 

We thank you again for the opportunity to submit this statement. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Members are reminded that additional statements may be submitted for the record. 

[The statement of Hon. Gene Green of Texas follows:] 
17 

STATEMENT OF HONORABLE GENE GREEN

MARCH 20, 2014 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing today and I would like to welcome our panelists for being here. 

Every year, according to the State Department and the Department of Justice, between 14- and 17,000 people are trafficked in the United States. 

Due to our status as a border State and our extensive infrastructure, Texas is a 

major crossroads in the United States for human trafficking and forced labor. 

Men, women, and children are subjected to labor trades and sexual violence. 

These human beings live in fear; fear of extreme poverty, fear of abuse, and fear 

of law enforcement. 

Many are those without legal status and are terrified to seek help from local, 

State, and National organizations. 

We must work to protect at-risk individuals and create safer neighborhoods and 

communities in Texas and across the United States. 

Living a shadowy existence between violence and deportation is the result of 

abuse and exploitation by traffickers and a dysfunctional immigration system by the 

U.S. Government. 

Every year, the number of individuals applying for U and T visas increases, therefore we must expand self-petitions and access to visas in an effort to reduce crime 

and trafficking and offer people a way out of this vicious cycle. 

A broken immigration system is the best tool available to a would-be trafficker. 

A trafficker can promise jobs, educational opportunities, in short a better life, 

without fear of reprisal. 

Under the threat of harm and punishment, the victims have no recourse. 

It has been stated that our system must include prosecution, protection, and prevention. 

We, in Congress, must work to shine a light on these criminal practices and enterprises and offer trapped individuals a path towards freedom and salvation. 

I thank you for the opportunity to speak and look forward to hearing from our 

witnesses. 

Chairman MCCAUL. We are pleased to have two panels of very 

distinguished witnesses before us today on this important topic. 

Our first witness is Brian Moskowitz, the special agent in charge 

of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston, Texas, a position 

he has held since November 2012. In this capacity, Mr. Moskowitz 

is responsible for investigating efforts under the jurisdiction of the 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in southeast Texas. 

Mr. Steven McCraw is the director of the Texas Department of 

Public Safety, a position he assumed in August 2009. Prior to his 

service, he served over 20 years in the Federal Bureau of Investigations, at which time I was honored to serve with him in the U.S. 

Attorney’s Office. It is great to have you here today, sir. 

Sheriff Adrian Garcia, elected sheriff of Harris County, Texas, in 

2008, became an officer with the Houston Police Department in 

1980. During his 23-year career with HPD, he investigated violent 

crimes, developed community policing initiatives, and worked to 

strengthen the relationship between residents and law enforcement. Thank you, sir, for being here. 

Ms. Ann Johnson, prosecutor with the Harris County DA’s Office, 

where she specializes in human trafficking, protecting victims, and 

prosecuting traffickers. During her time in private practice, she 

represented citizens with civil, criminal, and juvenile matters, appealed cases to the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals and the 

Texas Supreme Court, including the landmark case of In re: B.W., 

which created a framework for protecting child victims of exploitations and human trafficking. Thank you for being here today as 

well. 
18 

Last but not least, Chief Charles McClelland was sworn in as 

chief of the Houston Police Department on April 14, 2010. He 

served over 35 years at the Houston Police Department, joining the 

department as a patrol officer in 1977 and rising through the ranks 

to his current position as chief of police. His management experience has touched virtually every aspect of law enforcement 

throughout his career with the Houston Police Department. We are 

very proud to have you here today, sir, as well. 

The witnesses’ full written statements will appear in the record. 

The Chairman now recognizes Mr. Moskowitz for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF BRIAN M. MOSKOWITZ, HOUSTON SPECIAL 

AGENT IN CHARGE, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Good morning, Chairman McCaul, Ranking 

Member Jackson Lee, and distinguished Members of the Texas delegation. Good morning. It is an honor to be able to represent the 

Houston office at HSI, which is the investigative arm of ICE, and 

to do so alongside some of our closest law enforcement partners. 

The subject of today’s hearing is ‘‘Combating Human Trafficking 

in our Major Cities,’’ and I thank the committee for holding it here 

in Houston to help shine a light on a problem that thrives in the 

shadows but is often hidden in plain sight. The reality is that hiding in plain sight is much easier in the midst of a bustling major 

metropolitan area, especially one that is an international transportation hub with a large and diverse population, only a few hundred 

miles from the border. 

Now, this hearing is about the crime of human trafficking, but 

I think it is important to note the distinction between this crime 

and another similar-sounding but very different one, human smuggling. This is especially relevant in light of the news from yesterday. Unfortunately, the public, the media, and even law enforcement often use the terms as synonyms, but under Federal law they 

are not interchangeable. They are separate Federal crimes with 

very different elements. 

At its core, human trafficking is a crime against a person. It is 

about the exploitation of that person by another, usually through 

force, fraud, or coercion in either the commercial sex trade or as 

some form of labor. True human trafficking cases are often difficult 

to uncover and even more difficult to prosecute for a variety of reasons. 

The crime of human smuggling is a crime against the United 

States, and it generally involves the illegal movement of people 

across our borders and/or through the interior of our country. It is 

one of the most prevalent crimes HSI deals with in our part of 

Texas, and we have no lack of cases. 

HSI has developed a comprehensive investigative strategy to attack human trafficking that involves outreach coordination and coalition building. We conduct outreach and provide training to Federal, State, local, and international partners, as well as to NGO’s 

in the private sector, regarding the identification and investigation 

of human trafficking. For example, here in Houston, HSI provided 

human trafficking training to over 2,100 State and local law enforcement officers in order to help them meet the training require-
19 

ments of the State’s trafficking law. We also trained front-line 

USCIS officers so they could help identify potential trafficking victims in the course of their day-to-day duties. 

While human trafficking is a global problem, most incidents that 

occur in the United States are strictly domestic in nature. However, there still is a large number of cases that involve foreign nationals, and in our area of the country, many of those have a nexus 

to Mexico. 

That is why just 2 weeks ago, I went to Mexico City for a series 

of meetings with officials from the Mexican Federal Police, the 

Mexican Attorney General’s Office, and a leading Mexican NGO. I 

called for these meetings to see what more our two countries could 

do against traffickers exploiting our shared border. These meetings 

were facilitated by the HSI Attache’s Office in Mexico and HSI’s 

global footprint is a huge asset not only in our ability to combat 

human trafficking, but also in our efforts in fighting the hundreds 

of other Federal crimes that HSI enforces. There have already been 

benefits from these meetings, including the sharing of intelligence 

and suspect information, and I expect to host some of these officials 

up here in Houston in the future. 

Given the scope of the problem, no one country, let alone no one 

agency, can adequately address this issue on its own. It requires 

partnerships and coordinated efforts both inside and outside of 

Government to develop, lead, share information, work jointly on investigations, and provide assistance to victims of all ages. 

Last year, I created a dedicated human trafficking group to focus 

on this issue. Our group is one of the primary law enforcement 

agency partners in a multi-agency effort coordinated by the U.S. 

Attorney’s Office called the Houston Trafficking and Rescue Alliance, or HTRA. The HTRA consists of over 40 participating agencies and community organizations with investigative training, outreach, and victim service components. Within the HTRA model, 

HSI special agents primarily focus on trafficking investigations 

with an international nexus. We also work outside the HTRA with 

other partner agencies, but we always de-conflict our cases to ensure that we are not duplicating efforts. 

Our Houston-based human trafficking group, which currently 

has 19 open trafficking investigations in the metropolitan area, is 

focusing its efforts on entities or areas susceptible to exploitation 

by traffickers, including ethnic massage parlors, cantinas, and domestic workers. We refer cases to either the U.S. Attorney or to the 

appropriate district attorney’s office depending on the facts of the 

case. For instance, we work many of our spa-related cases with the 

Harris County District Attorney’s Office and ADA Johnson. 

While not unique to human trafficking groups, we have over 40 

State and local officers, including those from DPS, the Harris 

County Sheriff’s Office, and the Houston Police Department that 

have cross-designated as Customs Officers under Federal law and 

embedded within our various investigative groups. These valued 

task force officers have full access to our resources and information, 

and their collocation helps facilitate interagency sharing and cooperation and leverages expertise, authorities, and resources. 

In addition to the direct efforts of our human trafficking group, 

I believe that we also impact the trafficking problem by doing the 
20 

things we normally do in the course of our other investigations. For 

example, there is little doubt that the significant volume of alien 

smuggling cases that we investigate has disrupted those who smuggle people for trafficking purposes. The same goes for our worksite 

enforcement, money laundering, and document and immigration 

benefit fraud cases. Unfortunately, due to the hidden nature of the 

crime, we simply may never know or be able to prove the extent 

of the impact that we have had. 

Our approach to human trafficking crimes, as well as others like 

child exploitation crimes, is victim-centric, and HSI’s National Victim Assistance Program is crucial to this effort. Locally our trained 

victim assistance specialists not only assist victims after the fact, 

but she is also involved with our agents in pre-operational planning 

to help anticipate and address the needs of potential victims in advance of their discovery. 

Sadly, human trafficking in one form or another has been around 

for ages. It is a crime about power over others. It is driven by greed 

and the dark side of the human condition. While I think it is naive 

to think we can eliminate it, we absolutely can lessen its impact 

and its reach. We can help educate those who may fall prey to its 

grasp and bring the full weight of the law down on those who pursue it. We can help rescue those victims we find and encourage others to come forward out of the shadows. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

I would be pleased to answer any questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Moskowitz follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BRIAN M. MOSKOWITZ

MARCH 20, 2014 

INTRODUCTION

Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson, and distinguished Members of 

the committee: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) comprehensive efforts to combat human traffickers who exploit men, women, and children, and to share with you 

our efforts in this fight against a form of modern-day slavery. I am proud to lead 

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office here in Houston, which has a 

significant role in investigating human trafficking crimes and bringing perpetrators 

of these human rights abuses to justice. 

DHS is one of the lead Federal law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating and preventing human trafficking. Our investigative authority, screening 

authority, and most of our assistance programs are authorized under the Trafficking 

Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and the subsequent reauthorizations. The men and 

women of DHS are dedicated to combating the heinous crime of human trafficking 

using the programs and authorities provided to us by Congress and the President. 

The Blue Campaign coordinates and unites this work. 

The Blue Campaign works with our Federal Government colleagues, foreign governments, international organizations, law enforcement at all levels, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the faith-based community, the private sector, and 

the general public to share ideas and resources and build a force-multiplying network of diverse but complementary parts. Partnerships augment our efforts by 

bringing together diverse experiences, amplifying messages, and leveraging resources. Together, we can effectively combat human trafficking by making sure that 

people understand the crime, recognize its indicators, and know how to seek help 

and report tips. 

THE GLOBAL SCOPE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Human trafficking takes on countless hidden forms of exploitation. Trafficking is 

not limited to urban high-crime areas, but is also found in rural agricultural sectors 
21 

as well as in private homes in affluent neighborhoods. We know that adult men and 

women are victimized, along with children, and that U.S. citizens are not immune 

to the actions of traffickers. Traffickers prey on vulnerable populations who have little or no safety net. Men, women, and children are trafficked into forced labor, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation in the United States and 

throughout the world. Many of these victims are lured from their homes with false 

promises of legitimate employment, and then forced or coerced into involuntary servitude, migrant farming, sweatshops, and other exploitative labor in addition to the 

commercial sex industry. 

ICE makes every effort to not only find and rescue victims, but to target and cripple the financial infrastructure and illicit proceeds that allow human trafficking organizations to perpetuate their exploitation. ICE utilizes all of its authorities and 

resources in a cohesive global enforcement response in order to dismantle the global 

criminal infrastructure engaged in human trafficking. ICE has developed a comprehensive strategy to combat these criminal organizations through coordination 

with NGOs and law enforcement, both domestically and abroad, to identify and provide services to trafficking victims and coordinate investigations. 

Given the international scope of human trafficking, ICE utilizes its strong international relationships through over 75 offices overseas located in 48 countries to 

identify and pursue criminal organizations. In order to fully address the 

transnational scope of these organizations, ICE investigations begin in the source 

countries where trafficking begins, continues into transit countries, and concludes 

in the destination countries. 

STRATEGIC APPROACH TO COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

To enhance our investigative capability, target human traffickers globally, and 

rescue victims, HSI has developed a comprehensive strategy, known as the ICE 

Trafficking in Persons Strategy (ICE TIPS), which embraces a victim-centered approach. The primary components of this strategy are outreach, coordination, and coalition-building. • Outreach—HSI domestic and attache ́ offices conduct outreach and provide training to Federal, State, local, and foreign partners, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) regarding: (1) Victim services, including short-term immigration 

relief for victims of trafficking; (2) HSI’s expertise and role in human trafficking 

investigations; and (3) ICE’s leading role in combating human trafficking. International outreach efforts focus on building awareness and increasing host governments’ efforts to combat human trafficking at source and transit countries. • Coordination—No one entity alone can adequately address the problems presented by human trafficking. ICE recognizes that the most effective approach 

to combating human trafficking involves a collaborative partnership and coordination with law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and private industry. ICE proudly 

partners with these organizations to develop leads, share information, and work 

jointly on human trafficking investigations. • Coalition Building—HSI develops and builds on existing partnerships with foreign governments, law enforcement, and NGOs to form long-term strategic relationships that foster collaboration in human trafficking investigations. ICE participates in the Department of Justice (DOJ)-funded Human Trafficking Task 

Forces (HTTFs) throughout the United States to help unite the investigative 

abilities of law enforcement with victim services agencies in order to provide a 

coordinated response during trafficking investigations and victim rescues. The 

HTTFs ensure that the requirements of law enforcement are balanced against 

the needs of the victims discovered during the course of investigations. 

ADDING TO THESE EFFORTS

HSI helped form a new Federal human trafficking initiative in 2011 called AntiTrafficking Coordination Teams (ACTeams) as part of a Nation-wide Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative designed to streamline Federal criminal investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking offenses. ACTeams bring together Federal law enforcement personnel from ICE, the DOJ’s Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI), the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division, and 

DOL’s Office of the Inspector General, with Federal prosecutors from United States 

Attorney’s Offices and DOJ to develop significant Federal human trafficking investigations and prosecutions. 

THE VICTIMS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

ICE is fully committed to victim-centered investigations and believes victims can 

be effective, reliable witnesses for successful prosecutions. The victim’s testimony 
22 

provides strong evidence in a criminal prosecution, and victims must be treated with 

respect and dignity. HSI’s Victim Assistance Program (VAP) provides a critical resource to HSI investigations and the ensuing criminal prosecutions by safeguarding 

victims’ rights and ensuring access to the services to which they are entitled by law, 

as well as providing the assistance they need so that they can participate actively 

and fully in the criminal justice system process. 

The VAP Victim Assistance Specialists support HSI’s approximately 6,500 special 

agents and train them on victims’ rights, immigration relief for foreign national victims, human trafficking, child exploitation, forensic interviewing, and other victim 

issues. Victim Assistance Specialists also assist victims with resources and service 

referrals for Federal, State, and local crime victim services, as well as referrals to 

non-governmental and community-based victim service providers. In addition, these 

specialists support requests and disbursements of funding for urgent, short-term victim needs. They provide on-site victim assistance and operational planning in complex cases involving large numbers of rescued victims, as well as coordination and 

assistance in cases in which foreign victims are brought to the United States to testify. In addition to assistance for victims, another service provided by HSI’s VAP 

is the Victim Notification Program and hotline, which provides for those prior victims who register notifications of the release from incarceration or removal of criminal alien offenders. 

Along with the Victim Assistance Specialists, VAP has four Forensic Interview 

Specialists (FIS) to conduct legally defensible, victim-sensitive, fact-finding, forensic 

interviews, which are developmentally appropriate and take into account the victim’s age, language skills, mental health, and learning capacity. The VAP FISs also 

assist with case coordination, operational planning, and case review both domestically and abroad. 

MAKING AN IMPACT

Over the past 5 years, ICE has more than doubled the number of human trafficking investigations initiated world-wide. In fiscal year 2013, ICE opened over 

1,000 investigations with a nexus to human trafficking that resulted in over 1,800 

criminal arrests, the largest numbers of human trafficking cases and criminal arrests ever recorded. 

For example, on February 15, 2011, HSI Detroit initiated an investigation after 

receiving information from local law enforcement and school authorities indicating 

that a suspect was trafficking four minor children from Togo for forced labor. The 

investigation revealed that the suspect had petitioned under his asylum application 

claiming the children were his own, however, investigators discovered that he was 

not the true father of the children and that he had supplied fraudulent birth certificates in support of their immigration petition. The children stated that they were 

forced to work in the house, complete all household duties, and care for the suspect’s 

daily needs; and if these duties were not completed, food was withheld or the children were beaten and punished in various ways. HSI Detroit worked with Child 

Protective Services to ensure that all of the victims’ needs were being met. The children were also referred to the University of Michigan Human Trafficking Clinic, 

which provided them with legal services and assistance with receiving their T-visas. 

HSI arrested the suspect on May 3, 2011, for five violations including human trafficking. The suspect later pleaded guilty to the visa fraud, mail fraud, and harboring 

aliens and was found guilty on four counts of forced labor following a Federal jury 

trial in the Eastern District of Michigan. On March 25, 2013, he was sentenced to 

135 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $134,000 in restitution to the victims. 

In January 2012, HSI Sioux Falls, South Dakota, conducted an investigation into 

the sex trafficking of minor females in the Sioux Falls metro area. HSI agents 

worked jointly with Federal and local law enforcement partners to identify several 

individuals with gang ties who were prostituting numerous women, including minors. The investigation revealed that these individuals were involved in other criminal activities including money laundering, narcotics, and weapons smuggling. The 

investigation identified two minor female victims and one adult female victim who 

traffickers lured into their control and exploited for commercial sex acts. A successful sting operation led to the rescue of the girls and the arrest of their traffickers. 

One victim was assaulted repeatedly over the course of 8 months and forced to perform commercial sex acts in South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. As a result 

of this investigation, four suspects were arrested and charged with Sex Trafficking 

of Children or by Force, Fraud, or Coercion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591. The 

main suspect was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to three life sentences for 

Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion, and Sex Trafficking of a Child. He was 

also sentenced to 20 years for Interstate Transportation for Prostitution. Two of the 
23 

remaining suspects were found guilty and also sentenced; one to 30 years, and one 

to 331⁄2 years. The final suspect is still awaiting sentencing. 

IMMIGRATION RELIEF FOR FOREIGN VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

DHS has streamlined its training about immigration relief for victims to increase 

awareness among law enforcement agencies. These short- and long-term relief options assist law enforcement in stabilizing victims so that the victim can begin to 

recover and rebuild his or her life. Victims of trafficking who are non-U.S. citizens 

can receive immigration relief from ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). ICE can provide a short-term immigration relief known as ‘‘Continued 

Presence,’’ which assists certified victims of trafficking to remain in the United 

States temporarily, and USCIS can provide immigration relief through the T (Victims of Human Trafficking) and U (Victims of Criminal Activity) visas. USCIS adjudicates applications for non-immigrant status related to an individual’s certification 

as a victim of a severe form of trafficking. This non-immigrant status provides 

longer-term forms of relief for trafficking victims. 

CONCLUSION

ICE remains committed to utilizing its authorities and resources to combat 

human trafficking and identify and rescue the victims of this horrific crime. We will 

build upon the successes of our outreach and victim-centered approach, and share 

our lessons learned and expertise to expand the global fight against this horrific 

crime. We will continue to dismantle and disrupt the criminal organizations engaged in human trafficking until we end the threat that human trafficking poses. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today and for your continued support of ICE and its law enforcement mission. I would be pleased to answer any questions. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Brian. 

The Chairman now recognizes Mr. McCraw for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF STEVEN C. MC CRAW, DIRECTOR, TEXAS 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

Mr. MCCRAW. Mr. Chairman, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, since 

I am going to submit my written testimony, I am just going to ignore it and talk a little bit about what my friend over here said. 

First of all, ICE does a great job. HSI does a very good job, an 

outstanding job in terms of working, collaborating. We have people 

assigned to their task force. The same thing with the sheriff. The 

same thing with the chief. In Houston, we are very proud of the 

way that the law enforcement community works together 

seamlessly whether it is attacking gangs or cartels and certainly 

human trafficking. 

I would like to say this, just to start, the point about trafficking 

versus smuggling. It is increasingly more difficult to tell the difference between the two. When the business model for the smuggler/trafficker is to ransom and rape its victims and hold them hostage for 3 days, for a clear purpose, to get more money out of them, 

it is hard to say that they are not victims or they are not being 

exploited. Yet, they came under the guise of being smuggled across, 

and certainly that was the first leg of it. We are seeing it. Six 

months ago, we had a trooper come across a house that was full 

of individuals. One escaped. By the time he went there, they had 

been kept for 3 days without food and water. There had been two 

females that had been molested and sexually assaulted. Several 

had been ransomed back to family members. This happens all the 

time. So from our standpoint, we consider that a serious crime in 

the vein of human trafficking. 
24 

As it relates to the smuggling piece, just to look in terms of what 

SAC Moskowitz has talked about is that what we are seeing in 

Texas right now over the last year—in fact, since 2011—we have 

seen an increase of 94 percent of illegal aliens coming in that have 

been arrested. That is a substantial amount. In fact, the number 

is over 243,000. Disturbingly is that the unaccompanied children— 

and some of them were rescued yesterday or rescued by ICE this 

week. There were over 28,000, about a 221 percent increase in unaccompanied children coming into that have been detained, detected in the State of Texas. That is problematic because they are 

also the most likely to be victimized. We know there is a demand 

for child sex, one of the most despicable crimes that you can imagine. In fact, the proof that the depravity of man has no limits is 

the sexual exploitation of children. 

We have investigations with ICE. We have it with the FBI and 

others, with the sheriff’s department, with the police department. 

We can demonstrate that they are illegal aliens being recruited, 

being lured into our major cities, but not just our major cities, and 

then converted and forced into, beaten into sex trafficking. 

At the same point in time, we are mindful that there is also a 

constituency out there that is being preyed upon, and the Congresswoman made a good point of that, and that happens to be 

missing and exploited children. In Texas, that is over 440,000 missing children that are minors, up to 17 years old. In the Nation, it 

is over 440,000 right now that are missing and exploited children. 

We have seen it in some of the prostitution cases. We have talked 

to them. We have worked with other agencies—is that they do lure. 

As soon as they are gone, the Congresswoman talked about within 

48 hours they are targets. They do have a way, and they are using 

social media to attract them. Once they do get them, they are beaten, starved, raped, tortured into this life. 

Crime has changed so much. In fact, it is more transitory. It is 

transnational. It is certainly more organized, and it is more covert 

than we have had to deal with in the past. So it is that veil of secrecy that it operates in that was mentioned earlier. 

Of course, how do you detect this? How do you do it? I agree that 

the approach that ICE has taken and HSI has taken and certainly 

the district attorney’s office here has taken, the enterprise approach, going after the command and control of sex traffickers is 

an excellent way of doing it. We certainly participate in their task 

forces. 

But you also have to have an opportunity. We have recognized 

that sometimes the only hope for a child to be rescued from sex 

trafficking is by an informed and educated patrol officer on the 

street that comes in contact and through a series of questions is 

able to detect them and rescue them. For years, we were unable 

to use the patrol technique in interdiction to identify them. 

But we started an interdiction and protection of children’s program and we have trained over 7,000 police officers and troopers 

State-wide and Nationally. The whole point is that in 2012 we were 

able to rescue 29 females that were forced into prostitution, and in 

2013, 39. The point is it is not just DPS State troopers doing that, 

but it is the patrol officers. Every patrol officer needs to be involved 

in the business of human trafficking and recognizing these things. 
25 

So it is one of the things that we are doing with our counterparts 

in terms of looking at it. 

But I can tell you this: It is going to take a multidisciplinary approach. It is going to have to be aggressive. Because it is hidden, 

because you do not see it on statistical accomplishments, you do 

not see it in the uniform crime reports, this is not an index crime. 

Human trafficking is not there. It is always under-reported by victims. They do not come forward. They are afraid whether they are 

here as undocumented aliens or whether they are here and otherwise have been wrapped up in this industry. So it is important that 

we aggressively pursue this. We are committed to working with our 

Federal partners and certainly our local professionals in doing so. 

With that, I will entertain any questions or pass the mic off to 

the high sheriff. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. McCraw follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF STEVEN C. MCCRAW

MARCH 20, 2014 

Chairman McCaul and Members of this committee: Thank you for the opportunity 

to testify before you today on a matter of utmost importance to the State of Texas 

and the Nation. Human trafficking is not only a crime; it is evil. And the pervasive 

sex trafficking of children is proof that the depravity of man has no limits. 

Every day sex traffickers entice, deceive, threaten, beat, imprison, rape, and force 

children and adults into the commercial sex industry, which is the most prevalent 

form of human trafficking in Texas and the Nation. These despicable criminals use 

a variety of ways to recruit their victims, including social media. We have discovered that the younger the child is, the greater the profit in this industry, and according to one academic study, on average, female sex trafficking victims are first 

victimized between 12 to 14 years of age. 

Labor trafficking is even more difficult to detect than sex trafficking and exists 

primarily in our immigrant communities. Its victims include both legal and illegal 

immigrants, who are often isolated, threatened, beaten, and forced to pay off 

unending debt. 

Human trafficking is hidden under a veil of underreporting. I can tell you how 

many vehicles were stolen in the cites of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio; but no 

one can tell you how many times children were prostituted on the streets of these 

cities. Under severe duress, these victims seldom report, and when they do, it is not 

reflected in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) index crime statistics. 

As you know well, Mr. Chairman, the citizens of Texas have great compassion for 

human trafficking victims and great disdain for those who prey upon them. The 

State Legislature and leadership of Texas have been on the forefront in combatting 

human trafficking. In 2003, Texas became one of the first States to pass human 

trafficking legislation. In subsequent sessions, legislation has been passed to assist 

victims of trafficking and to increase penalties for those who traffic in people, particularly children. In 2013, the Texas Legislature passed legislation that increased 

penalties for trafficking, increased victim identification and services, and provided 

resources to better detect and interdict human trafficking in Texas. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently collaborated with local, 

State, and Federal agencies to produce the 2014 Texas Human Trafficking Assessment using the collective information and perspectives of several agencies across the 

State, including the Houston Police Department, Austin Police Department, Texas 

Office of Attorney General, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Federal Bureau 

of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of 

Justice, U.S. Department of State, Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, and 

the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This law enforcement-sensitive assessment was provided to the Texas Legislature oversight committees and 

the State leadership this week, and we have also provided copies to your committee 

staff. We are currently working to produce an unclassified version of this assessment that can be shared with the public. 
26 

In Texas, human trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transporting, or 

procurement of a person for labor or services for the purpose of involuntary servitude, slavery, or forced commercial sex acts. 

Developing a comprehensive understanding of human trafficking requires the consideration of multiple related offenses, such as compelling and promotion of prostitution, sexual exploitation, forced labor, human smuggling, and other crimes. The victims are males and females of different ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic classes. I would like to share with you some of the findings in the 2014 Texas Human 

Trafficking Assessment: • Sex traffickers in Texas target juvenile runaways, illegal aliens, and other vulnerable victims, using force, fraud, or coercion to compel them into the sex 

trade. Under Texas and Federal law, force, fraud, and coercion are not necessary elements of sex trafficking when minors are involved. Victims are often 

manipulated by traffickers to remain with them due to their emotional or financial dependency on the trafficker for food, housing, and other needs. Sex trafficking is conducted by single individuals, small groups, organized networks and 

gangs; and the younger the child victim is, the more profitable. • Members and associates of multiple gangs have been reported to be involved in 

sex trafficking operations in Texas. These gangs include Barrio Azteca, Black 

Gangster Disciples, Bloods, Crips, Mara Salvatrucha, Suren ̃ os, and Tango Blast. 

Gangs and gang members are attracted to the lucrative nature of this activity 

due to the potential for large and renewable profits while the risk of detection 

is perceived to be lower than traditional crimes. • Labor traffickers often recruit, transport, and employ the legal and illegal immigrants they bring into the United States for the purpose of forced labor and indentured servitude. These immigrants originate from various countries around 

the world. Labor trafficking victims can be exploited in both rural and urban 

areas in a variety of industries. There is limited reporting regarding labor trafficking in Texas. • Human smuggling is distinct from human trafficking; however, there is substantial overlap in many cases. In some instances, human smugglers have been 

hired specifically to transport sex trafficking victims. In many other cases, 

crimes that initially begin as human smuggling evolve into human trafficking 

or a related crime; for instance, illegal aliens may voluntarily enter into an 

agreement with an alien smuggling organization, but are ultimately kidnapped, 

ransomed, assaulted, or otherwise exploited. • Mexican cartels facilitate, control, or benefit from nearly all human smuggling 

activity along the Texas-Mexico border. Alien smuggling organizations are increasingly active in Texas, as reflected in the increasing number of illegal alien 

apprehensions. In fiscal year 2013, 243,550 illegal alien apprehensions were reported in Texas sectors, a 94 percent increase since fiscal year 2011. This figure 

includes 28,352 apprehensions of unaccompanied alien children (UAC), a 221 

percent increase from fiscal year 2011. UACs are often brought to the United 

States to be reunited with family members, and they are particularly vulnerable 

to exploitation. 

Human trafficking is multidimensional, and to effectively combat it in our major 

cities and elsewhere requires a three-pronged approach: First is the collection, centralization, and analysis of timely data; second, is the seamless coordination of efforts across jurisdictions and disciplines; and finally, it requires the execution of 

proven strategies that are mutually reinforcing. 

In 2009, the Texas Legislature established and directed the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, chaired by the Texas Attorney General, to make legislative recommendations to address human trafficking prior to each session. As a 

result, the 82nd and 83rd Texas Legislatures acted upon the task force’s recommendations. 

In 2013 the task force and the Texas Office of Attorney General produced a 

human trafficking prevention manual for criminal justice professionals to educate 

law enforcement officers, prosecutors, parole officers, social workers, and others who 

may come in contact with victims of trafficking. 

In 2009, DPS—working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral 

Analysis Unit and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children—developed the Interdiction for the Protection of Children program (IPC) to train patrol 

officers on the detection, interdiction, and rescue of child victims of sex trafficking 

and exploitation, and the proper handling of such cases. We have provided IPC 

training to more than 3,030 officers in Texas and approximately 4,080 officers outside of Texas. We are working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police 

to expand this training across the country because children are being traded and 
27 

transported throughout the Nation on a regular basis to meet the high demand for 

child sex—some at ages too young to imagine. For most of these children, a skilled 

and well-informed patrol officer is their only hope of being rescued. 

Texas State troopers rescued 39 children in 2013, and 29 children in 2012. And 

remarkably, since 2010, DPS can account for more than 100 IPC-related child recoveries by troopers and police officers. 

One of these rescues occurred in 2013, when a Texas State Trooper conducted a 

traffic stop and identified a child who was reported as missing and disclosed that 

she had been compelled into prostitution. She provided information about another 

child victim, which led to the identification and recovery of the second child from 

the sex industry as well as the arrest of the subjects. 

Importantly, IPC training enables Texas State troopers and officers to identify 

members of child sex associations, such as ‘‘Child-Lovers,’’ ‘‘Girl-Love,’’ ‘‘Boy-Love’’ 

and ‘‘Online-Pedophile Activism,’’ who support the sexual exploitation of children. 

The training has resulted in the arrest of suspects carrying child lures, duct tape, 

lubricants, condoms, and child pornography before they could prey upon a child and 

then share the horrific video images of their crimes among this vile and deviant 

subculture. 

For example, in one of these cases, a trooper conducted a traffic stop of a van driven by a registered sex offender with a previous conviction of indecency with a child. 

The driver was in possession of a puppy, several large knives, Hello Kitty shirts, 

girls’ underwear, hairbands, lubricants, rope, duct tape, and child pornography. 

Although, the possession and sharing of child pornography does not meet the legal 

definition of human trafficking, the high demand for these images results in child 

victims of commercial sex trafficking here and around the world. Texas currently 

has 80,173 registered sex offenders, of which 60,704—or 72 percent—involve at least 

one offense with a child victim. There are several ways in which children are recruited into the commercial sex industry—one of which is through the internet. In 

Texas, the Office of the Attorney General works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a wider 

network to identify, arrest, and prosecute adults seeking to entice children into sexual relationships and/or into engaging in commercial sex over the internet. Since 

this initiative began in 2008, this effort has resulted in 351 arrests and 414 convictions related to sex crimes against children. 

In Texas, the local, State, and Federal law enforcement community work closely 

together in each of our major cities to conduct criminal enterprise investigations and 

prosecutions to target networks, organizations, and gangs engaged in human trafficking, primarily commercial sex. 

For example, agents and officers from eight different agencies assigned to the 

Houston Human Trafficking Task Force investigated an international sex trafficking 

group that resulted in the arrest and indictment of 14 people operating bars/brothels in the Houston area. In this case, young undocumented Mexican women and 

girls were forced to perform commercial sex acts through a combination of means, 

including the use of locked rooms, threats, and beatings. 

Local law enforcement agencies in Texas routinely target sex trafficking at sexually-oriented businesses and other locations being used for this purpose. Frequently 

these initiatives uncover larger conspiracies involving the sex trafficking of children 

in other cities. 

A significant factor of human trafficking in Texas and elsewhere is a porous international border with Mexico, which places hundreds of thousands of people destined 

for the United States in the hands of ruthless criminal organizations who exploit 

them on both sides of the Texas/Mexico border. The women and children are particularly vulnerable to being sexually assaulted by members and operatives of these 

organizations, and by criminal aliens already in the United States. ICE recently announced that they deported 860 criminal alien sex offenders from Texas in fiscal 

year 2014, of which 27 percent of these foreign sex offenders were convicted of sex 

crimes against children. ICE deports more than 2,000 of these sex offenders from 

Texas a year, and we will continue to assist them in any way we can. 

We are not able to discern what percentage of the crimes committed by criminal 

aliens in Texas is related to human trafficking; however, we do know they seek out 

and commit crimes in our immigrant communities. Between October 2008 and January 2014, 172,157 criminal aliens were arrested and booked into Texas jails for committing 591,500 different non-immigration crimes, including 2,939 homicides, 7,470 

sexual assaults, 6,940 robberies, 1,026 kidnappings, 71,527 assaults and 4,044 terroristic threats. 

Texas-based gangs’ involvement in the transportation of drugs and people provides them access to illegal aliens, who they extort, rape, and compel into prostitution. Just as gangs have learned that prostitution is highly profitable with per-
28 

ceivably low risk, so have other criminal organizations, many now exclusively focused on commercial sex and frequently leveraging social media to minimize detection and maximize profits. 

As long as the border with Mexico remains unsecure and the Nation’s demand for 

the sexual exploitation and indentured servitude of people remains high, Texas will 

suffer the consequences of being a transshipment and destination center for drug 

and human trafficking. Those consequences include increases in the deaths of illegal 

aliens in remote areas, increases in felony vehicle pursuits, pseudo police stops, corruption, and home invasions. 

The State of Texas has committed substantial resources to assist our Federal law 

enforcement partners with its vital mission of securing our border with Mexico. This 

effort is essential to public safety, homeland security, and combatting human trafficking in our major cities and elsewhere. We will continue to proactively address 

significant threats to the people of Texas with our local and Federal partners rather 

than react to them. In Texas, there is no greater priority than protecting our children, so we recently established the Texas Crimes Against Children Center 

(TCACC) in Austin within the Texas Ranger Division at DPS as part of a multidisciplinary approach to identify and rescue child victims of sex trafficking and sexual 

assault along our highways and in our cities. The TCACC also provides information 

and resources related to these crimes that result in the incarceration of the vilest 

criminals in our State who seek to rob the innocence of children—our most precious 

resource. 

Lastly, I would like to say that what you measure matters. Today’s Index Crime 

Rate categories do not reflect many serious crimes, such as the sex trafficking of 

a child, kidnapping, and extortion which gives the public a distorted view of the 

crime environment in which they live. Until the sex trafficking of a child and other 

related crimes are reflected in the Index Crime Rate or until the National Incident 

Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is fully adopted, these horrific crimes will not receive the visibility and prioritization they warrant. Nevertheless, I can assure you 

that in Texas, we will continue to work together with our many partners to address 

these deplorable crimes, pursue the suspects and protect the victims. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Steve, I thank you for that. 

The Chairman now recognizes Sheriff Garcia for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF SHERIFF ADRIAN GARCIA, SHERIFF’S OFFICE, 

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS 

Mr. GARCIA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I welcome this distinguished panel and thank you for your kind attention here. 

I am also honored to be allowed to provide some testimony this 

morning on a subject that I place in the forefront of my crime-fighting efforts. I give special thanks to the Chairman, to the gentlelady 

from Texas from our community, and all the distinguished panel 

for your efforts in working with me and others over the years to 

serve Harris County well. 

But I specifically want to work with you to bring a brighter spotlight on human trafficking. I look forward to working with you and 

others to develop an effective and strategic plan that should include legislative action, Federal resources, public/private partnerships, public education and awareness, and law enforcement. I believe that a comprehensive approach with these elements is what 

we need in our metropolis to bring this horrible industry, if possible, to an end. 

Here in Harris County, I know that our cooperative efforts will 

serve you as a model for others to follow. 

As a long-lived Houstonian, I am grateful for today’s discussion 

on human trafficking because it has been in our midst here in the 

Houston-Harris County area in some form or another for many 

years, just as it has been in other parts of the country and in our 

State. 
29 

However, it is hearings such as this that create the opportunity 

to work on a united front to save victims from slavery regardless 

of whether the victim is a female or male, regardless if it is 

internationally- or domestically-driven, regardless of whether the 

victims are in this country without the proper permission, regardless if the victims are cleaning, repairing, or building our homes 

and businesses, regardless if the victims are giving manicures or 

washing dishes at some local establishment, or regardless if they 

have been forced into sex slavery. This hearing will afford us the 

opportunity to have a clear discussion on how prevalent human 

trafficking is affecting our community and what needs to be done 

to address it. 

For example, Harris County’s economic capacity attracts newcomers from across the Nation and from around the world. So new 

faces are not unusual here, but sometimes people who look like 

willing visitors are really here under duress and in places that we 

may naturally suspect, as well as in places that we may have never 

thought to suspect. 

Harris County’s profile is much different today than it was in 

1959 when my parents left Mexico City to make Houston our home. 

Today we are proud of the title of being considered one of the most 

internationally diverse cities in America. It is important that a 

global economy be part of our business profile. Unfortunately, there 

are enterprising persons who want to exploit our diversity at the 

cost of human tragedy and use our diversity to hide their evil activities. 

With a culture of tolerance and diversity, our airports and Port 

of Houston provide gateways to and from around the globe. So in 

Harris County, we speak over 100 languages every day and we 

come in all colors. We will continue to welcome those who want to 

make a contribution to our community or visit lawfully, but we 

most also remember that there are victims amongst us who are 

here illegally because of lure or force. In either case, they are victims. Because of the sheer size of our population and land mass, 

young runaways from down the road or three States away may not 

raise eyebrows when they arrive here looking to blend into our 

communities. As a result, it is important to recognize that we not 

only have international victims of human trafficking, but we have 

victims of human trafficking that are born right here in the USA. 

This is why I have said many times that human trafficking can 

hide in plain sight, as it has been said by the other guests. If the 

eyes of law enforcement were ever closed to this, they are certainly 

not now and at least not in Harris County and especially not within the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Through the saturation of our 

mobile phone app, I watch Harris County. We want people to know 

that we are watching for human trafficking and other crimes, and 

we need them to do so as well. 

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office takes a multi-pronged approach to fighting along this crucial battlefront. 

First, we work as an integral part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance, in which our partners, the Houston Police Department, the FBI, and others, work on cases that involve traffickers 

whose operations cross State and National and international borders. As a former prosecutor, you are well aware of how long and 
30 

complicated these investigations are, and this is why, in spite of 

our efforts, the Trafficking Alliance has only been able to prosecute 

75 people on charges of human trafficking and related crimes since 

2006. 

As the sheriff of Harris County, I must state that if we believe 

that there are more victims and traffickers amongst us, then we 

must commit more resources and broaden our strategy and not be 

happy with what we are able to do with what we have available. 

If there is a victim listening to our testimony, I want them to know 

that we are trying to find them, help them, and put their pimps 

in State or Federal prisons. But this does require more resources. 

Second, we work in the unincorporated areas of Harris County 

on the streets, at the hotsheet motels, through websites, working 

in an undercover capacity to bust prostitutes or customers and 

their pimps. Prior to my administration in 2008, the Harris County 

Sheriff’s Office only had six deputies dealing with vice issues. All 

these deputies were males. Today, we have increased that number 

to 12 to address game rooms and prostitution activities. Of these 

deputies, 7 are females. 

I point this out because for too many years we have been effective at arresting mainly female prostitutes, women who I do not believe grew up with the dream of becoming a prostitute on the 

streets of Harris County. Rather, they are women or in many cases 

children who have been exploited for someone else’s gain. For that 

reason, I empowered these female deputies to go after those men 

who want to buy women like cheap property. I have charged these 

female deputies with giving those men the taste of the shackles 

that these women have endured for so many years. 

Third, on behalf of those who work with the victims of human 

trafficking, the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance has rescued 

more than 230 victims since its inception, and those victims need 

resources and support. That is why I applaud groups like Children 

at Risk led by the hard-hitting Dr. Sanborn; Free the Captives led 

by a powerful Julie Waters; the Tahirih Justice Center led by dynamic Anne Chandler; Force for Compassion led by the dynamic 

duo of Jana Rankin and Jackelyn Iloff, and Redeemed Ministries 

led by the fearless Dennis Mark. These groups are just a few who 

are stepping up to help and do what they can in this fight. However, these groups are overwhelmed and the victims need shelters, 

legal counsel, and other resources to help them in their recovery. 

Also, I have leveraged technology like our Been Missing website 

and its mobile app to our efforts to recover runaways and missing 

persons who have disappeared from our community and who may 

be under the control of pimps and drug dealers. 

I have also increased the knowledge of our staff and our deputies, our professional detention officers on the elements of human 

trafficking so they can do better at recognizing it. 

Although we have made progress, I ask for your help in creating 

greater awareness of this terrible industry. Whenever the Harris 

County Sheriff’s Office announces the results of an undercover 

sting operation, there are some people in the community who say 

that we ought to use our resources more to go after violent criminals. The reality is that this is not a victimless crime, and a lot 

of people are adversely affected by it. 
31 

I got the rest of the testimony, but at the end of the day, there 

are two things that I need your help with, Members of this distinguished panel. 

One, let us support legislation like what Congressman Poe has 

proposed for justice, for helping the victims of human trafficking. 

Second, we got to understand that comprehensive immigration 

reform is a part of the solution. You know, when my parents decided to come here, they could have turned to a smuggler, but instead, they had an immigration system that worked back in 1959. 

If not for that system that worked at that time, my fate could have 

been very different. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Garcia follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ADRIAN GARCIA

MARCH 20, 2014 

Thank you, Members of Congress, for inviting me to testify today about a subject 

that I have placed at the forefront of my crime-fighting efforts. I give special thanks 

to you, Chairman McCaul, for working with me over the years—not only to serve 

Harris County well, but specifically to put a spotlight on human trafficking. I look 

forward to working with you and others to develop an effective strategic plan that 

should include legislative action, Federal resources, Public-Private-Partnerships, 

public education and awareness, and law enforcement. I believe that a comprehensive approach with these elements is what we need in our metropolis to bring this 

horrible industry to an end. Here in Harris County, I know that our cooperative efforts will serve as a model for others to follow. 

As a life-long Houstonian, I am grateful for today’s discussion on human trafficking because it has been in our midst here in the Houston/Harris County area 

in some form or another for many years, just as it has been in other parts of our 

State and country. However, it is hearings such as this that create the opportunity 

to work on a united front to save victims from slavery; regardless of whether the 

victim is a female or male; regardless of it is internationally or domestically driven; 

regardless of whether the victims are in this country without the proper permission; 

regardless if the victims are cleaning, repairing, or building our homes or businesses; regardless if the victims are giving manicures or washing dishes at some 

local establishment; or regardless if they have been forced into sex slavery. 

This hearing will afford us the opportunity to have a clear discussion as to how 

prevalent human trafficking is affecting our community, and what needs to be done 

to address it. 

For example: 

• Harris County’s economic capacity attracts newcomers from across the Nation 

and from around the world. So, new faces are not unusual here but sometimes 

people who look like willing visitors are really here under duress and in places 

that we may naturally suspect, as well as in places that we have never thought 

to suspect. 

• Harris County’s profile is much different today than it was in 1959 when my 

parents left Mexico City to make Houston our home. Today, we are proud of 

the title of being considered one of the most internationally diverse cities in 

America! It is important that a global economy be a part of our business profile, 

unfortunately there are enterprising persons want to exploit our diversity at the 

cost of human tragedy, and use our diversity to hide their evil activities. 

• With a culture of tolerance and diversity, our airports and the Port of Houston 

provide gateways to and from around the globe, so in Harris County we speak 

over a 100 languages every day and we come in all colors. We will continue to 

welcome those who want to make a contribution to our community or visit lawfully, but we must also remember that there are victims amongst us who are 

here illegally because of lure or force, in either case, they are victims. 

• Because of the sheer size of our population and land mass, young runaways 

from down the road or three States away may not raise eyebrows when they 

arrive here looking to blend into our communities. As a result, it is important 

to recognize that we not only have international victims of human trafficking 

but we have victims of human trafficking that are born right here in the United 

States of America. 
32 

This is why I have said many times, that human trafficking can hide in plain 

sight in Harris County. If the eyes of local law enforcement were ever closed to this, 

they certainly are not now, at least not within the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. 

Through the saturation of our mobile phone app ‘‘I Watch Harris County’’, we want 

people to know that we are watching for human trafficking and other crimes and 

we need them to do so as well! 

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office takes a multi-pronged approach to fighting 

along this crucial battlefront: • First, we work as integral part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance, in 

which our partners are the Houston Police Department and the FBI, and the 

cases often involve traffickers whose operations cross State or National borders. 

As a former Federal prosecutor, you are aware how long and complicated these 

investigations are and that is why, in spite of our efforts, the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance has only been able to prosecute 75 people on charges 

of human trafficking and related crimes since 2006. 

As the Sheriff of Harris County I must state that if we believe there are more 

victims and traffickers amongst us, then we must commit more resources and 

broaden our strategy, and not be happy with what we are able to do with what 

we have available. If there is a victim listening to our testimony, I want them 

to know that we are trying to find them, help them, and put their pimps in 

State or Federal prison. But this does require more resources. • Secondly, we work in the unincorporated area of Harris County, in the streets, 

in the hotsheet motels and through websites, sometimes undercover, to bust 

prostitutes, their customers, and their pimps. Prior to my administration in 

2008, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office only had 6 deputies dealing with vice 

issues; all of these deputies were males. Today, we have increased that number 

to 12 deputies to address game rooms and prostitution and of these deputies, 

7 are females. I point this out because for too many years we have been effective at arresting mainly female prostitutes. Women, who I do not believe grew 

up with the dream of becoming a prostitute on the streets of Harris County, 

rather they are women, or in many cases children who have been exploited for 

someone else’s gain. For that reason, I empowered these female deputies to go 

after those men, who want to buy women like cheap property. I have charged 

these female deputies with giving those men a feel of the shackles that these 

women have endured for so many years. • Thirdly, I advocate on behalf of those who work with the victims of human trafficking. The Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance has rescued more than 230 

local victims since its inception, and those victims need resources and support, 

and that is why I applaud groups like: 

• ‘‘Free the Captives’’ led by powerhouse Julie Waters; • ‘‘Tahirih (Ta-ha-ray) Justice Center’’ led by the dynamic, Anne Chandler; 

• ‘‘Force for Compassion’’ led by the dynamic duo of Jana Rankin and Jackelyn 

Iloff; 

• ‘‘Redeemed Ministries’’ led by the fearless, Dennis Mark. 

• These groups are just a few who are stepping up to help and do what they 

can in this fight. However, these groups are overwhelmed and the victims 

need shelters, legal counsel, and other resources to help them in their recovery. 

• Also, I have leveraged technology like our ‘‘Been Missing’’ website and its mobile app to our efforts to recover runaways and missing persons who have disappeared from our community, and who may be under the control of pimps or 

drug dealers. 

• I have also increased the knowledge of all my staff, our deputies, and our professional detention officers, on the elements of human trafficking so that we can 

do better at recognizing it. 

Although we have made progress, I ask for your help in creating a greater awareness to this terrible industry. Whenever the Harris County Sheriff’s Office announces the results of an undercover ‘‘sting’’ operation against prostitution, some 

members of the community consider prostitution a victimless crime and urge us to 

use our resources to stamp out violent crimes, drug trafficking, and thefts. I need 

your help to remind the public that the there is a common thread that runs through 

all of these crimes, because rarely does any one of these criminal enterprises stand 

alone. Each fuels the other and anytime we can disrupt one criminal enterprise, it 

affects the others. 

To those who think prostitution is a victimless crime: Help remind them that it’s 

a greedy industry that thrives on forced labor, drug addiction, and sometimes even 

illegal imprisonment. Many who have come through the Harris County Jail, arrested as prostitutes, tell us they were turned onto illegal drugs and were then 
33 

forced into prostitution to finance their addictions. Still others tell us they were 

trapped in servitude, unable to access food and medicine, or even their choice of 

clothing. 

So we need to remind folks that stopping prostitution stops other crimes, emancipates victims, and fights against human trafficking. This also explains why we give 

the news media the mug shots of the men and women we arrest. We are trying to 

deter the next set of customers and suppliers. We are attacking human trafficking 

at its roots. 

In addition, I want to thank the Texas Legislature and Harris County Commissioners Court, because last year we got new regulations against wayward Sexually 

Oriented Business. Although, SOBs are legal, we can now take them down if they 

fail to comply with county licensing requirements. Some SOBs engender prostitution, which engenders human trafficking. So the regulations are an important tool 

for us in this battle. 

We even attack human trafficking from inside the Harris County Jail. I have 

worked hard to empower inmates to share information about crimes they are aware 

of in the free-world. Sometimes this information leads to the identification or arrest 

of pimps and smugglers. I have also started an inmate rehabilitation program, 

called ‘‘Been There Done That’’, in which a team, led by certified recovery coach who 

knows first-hand the struggles of prostitutes and drug addicts. She provides valuable counseling to inmates serving time for prostitution or related crimes. In group 

sessions, some of the inmates speak out about having been trafficked and/or sold 

for the production of child pornography. 

This compelling rehab program has received National publicity, and deservedly so. 

The recidivism rate for graduates of the program is very low. 

At the same time, Harris County’s juvenile justice system has become more sophisticated in responding to juvenile victims of human trafficking. I have shared a 

significant amount of Asset Forfeiture dollars with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department to help their efforts with juveniles they identify as victims of 

human trafficking within their system. 

You would be right to assume that sex slavery is not the only form of human trafficking in Houston. Several times a year in the unincorporated area of Harris County, where 1.7 million people now live, my deputies encounter ‘‘stash houses’’ where 

people smuggled across the border are held captive by the smugglers, forced to work 

in hard labor with scant food and bad living conditions, supposedly to pay off smuggling fees. 

And so I ask you to carry my message to your colleagues in Congress on at least 

these two concrete actions that can be taken: • First, bi-partisan legislation on the framework of the ‘‘Justice for Victims of 

Trafficking Act’’ proposed by Sen. Cornyn and Congressman Poe, would provide 

funding for domestic trafficking deterrence and victims’ support programs at the 

Federal level. Among other things, it would also create a new grant program 

helping States and local governments to develop and implement comprehensive 

programs to rescue victims and prosecute human traffickers. 

We welcome other categories of grant funding for technology and equipment. 

But the real need is funding for more ‘‘boots on the ground,’’ meaning personnel 

so that we can have the necessary investigative team for the actual problem 

that we believe exists. I am confident in saying more officers dedicated to fighting human trafficking in Harris County would mean more arrests of traffickers. 

Obviously, I believe that major cities with international airports and a port, in 

a border State, should get special consideration. 

• Secondly, I urge Congress to move on passing sensible immigration reform that 

would give us even more ammunition against sex slavery and human trafficking. Proposed legislation would include more resources to secure our borders. We need an immigration system that supports those who simply want 

earn an honest living to support their family back home, an effective Guest 

Worker Program that meets the demand of our economy could be a key element 

in putting smugglers out of business. 

In fact, it was the ‘‘Bracero’’ Program of the 40’s that provided the pathway for 

me to be here before you, as a proud American, and as your sheriff. My father 

helped to build the rail lines and worked in the fields of California because he 

wanted to get married and start a family back home. Because he played by the 

rules but more importantly, because the entry process was something he could 

depend on, was why he was able to drive across the International Bridge in 

Brownsville, and not have to swim across the Rio Grande. 

So grateful was he of the ‘‘permission’’ to be allowed to enter the United States 

that the first thing he could think to do as he crossed the bridge was to stop 

and get everyone out of the station wagon. When my older brother asked what 
34 

was wrong, he instructed everyone to kneel on the side of the road as he led 

them in prayer, saying in Spanish ‘‘Thank you God for the opportunity to come 

to this great country! We will be good citizens, we will obey the laws, and we 

will work hard to give back everything that this country will give us! Amen.’’ 

Mr. Chairman, please tell your colleagues that if not for an immigration system 

that worked back then, my father may have turned to a human trafficker and our 

fate, my fate could have been a very different one. Thank you. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Sheriff. 

The Chairman now recognizes Ms. Johnson for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF ANN JOHNSON, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, HARRIS COUNTY, 

TEXAS 

Ms. JOHNSON. Thank you, Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member 

Sheila Jackson Lee, this distinguished panel, our local Texas delegation. Thank you very much for being here to visit with us and 

to hear about our local efforts. I am honored to be here today on 

behalf of Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson and to 

share with you the efforts our office is making in combating human 

trafficking, to support victims, and to prosecute those exploiters. 

My work in human trafficking began, as the Chairman said, in 

representing B.W., a 13-year-old child CPS runaway who was being 

prosecuted for prostitution. When the Texas Supreme Court ruled 

in that child’s favor, it created a landmark decision and put us on 

a path of affirming that Texas law will protect child victims of 

prostitution and treat them as a victim and not as an offender. 

Since, the Texas legislature has given us the affirmative defense 

for adults who are prosecuted for prostitution but are victims of 

human trafficking. We do not want to prosecute victims. We want 

to identify and recover those that need our help. 

Implementing these changes is like turning a large ship, and we 

need your support. A recent juvenile case highlights the type of 

challenges that we face. Recently a young child was recovered off 

of the truck agreeing to sex for a fee. She is 15 years old. She is 

4 months pregnant with her second child. She is in and out, having 

prior CPS and abuse history. She has a runaway history. She has 

a below-average IQ operating in the third- to fourth-grade level. 

She is also dealing with a significant drug dependency. The challenge for us what to do to help her. The additional challenge is we 

have identified this child, but the State Department tells us that 

we identify .4 percent. So for every one of her, there are 200 more 

that we need your help in recovering. 

Once we find them, often they are brought to the juvenile justice 

system which cannot be the only answer. These children often are 

in need of a placement that can treat not only the juvenile and 

child protective type services, and there are few facilities that are 

equipped to handle these issues. We are in a constant state of 

searching for appropriate beds for these children in appropriate 

treatment facilities and need your help. 

Today, alternative courts such as the juvenile GIRLS Court and 

the adult STAR Court represent a new model in using the justice 

system to do justice, healing wounds, establishing strength and 

independence, and to ultimately reduce the rate of recidivism and 

the cost to the public. State statutes create the establishment of 
35 

these courts, but unfortunately insufficient grants keep limitations 

on getting them put into place. 

In addition to victim recovery, we are doing everything that we 

can to prosecute pimps and johns. Simply removing the child from 

the streets without a consequence for the pimp or the john will 

merely create a vacuum in which they will go out and find another 

to fill the void. Children do not have to be forced. They may even 

be willing because they believe this individual loves them, that it 

is a boyfriend, and they often do not know that the sexual abuse 

that is happening to them is against the law. 

Human trafficking is a rapid-growing industry, a reported $32 

billion industry worldwide. Prostitution, while it is the oldest profession—we are not talking about consensual sex. We are talking 

about human trafficking. This sexual industry of supply and demand where pimps or business owners provide workers, adult or 

children, for johns for a fee. A recent articled noted that a pimp in 

a small market makes $31,000 a week, largely cash. Law enforcement must have the resources to ‘‘follow the money’’ which most 

often is funneled in subverted ways to avoid detection and make 

things more difficult. Exploiters widely avoid legal traps, but they 

will brag and advertise on-line. They may not have been hiding because past statistics show we have not been successful in prosecuting. 

However, the district attorney’s new approach in providing a 

human trafficking specialist provides 24-hour support for law enforcement, communication among the agencies that you see here, 

and since this shift in focus, there have been some 230 cases that 

have been brought together for review, investigation, and prosecution. 

We are in a constant need for being able to bring witnesses to 

appear in court because often these manipulators and exploiters believe that the amount of manipulation, both mental, financial, and 

physical, the way that they have groomed their stable to keep them 

in pocket means that they will not show up and testify against 

them. Sometimes they may be right. If we do not provide support 

for victims, both children and adults, and to strengthen our court 

system through that method, then these exploiters do win. 

With each successful prosecution, we also hand over rightfully 

and legally through offense reports and discovery the information 

about how we are tracking them, and we see, following so, that on 

the streets, they then become warnings to exploiters about what to 

avoid to keep detection from law enforcement. That is why as this 

industry evolves, as we continue to look and to discover and prosecute, the more they look to evade and evolve. Law enforcement 

must have the tools not only to remain with them but to pass up 

and to stay ahead. 

Human trafficking enterprises are culturally and operationally 

different. Houston is littered with sexually-oriented businesses, 

massage parlors, spas that often house an international population, 

which is even more complex. Laws provide protection to international victims but conveying these concepts at raid scenes 

against language barriers and years of cultural programming is a 

significant challenge. 
36 

1 In re B.W., 313 S.W.3d 818 (Tex. 2010). 

The open line of communication among the people that you see 

here is helping, and while systematic protocols need to be put in 

place, the reality is these cases are complex, require urgent responses, and the ability to think within the framework of the law 

but outside the box to stay ahead. 

We need your help and we are grateful for your support. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Johnson follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ANN JOHNSON

MARCH 20, 2014 

Chairman McCaul, Members of the committee—on behalf of Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson and myself, thank you for the opportunity to appear 

before you with Special Agent in Charge Moskowitz, Director McCraw, and Sheriff 

Garcia to discuss what we are doing in Harris County to combat the epidemic of 

human trafficking. The people you see here today represent the commitment and 

cooperation of State and Federal law enforcement agencies to not only identify and 

bring to justice predators who enslave their fellow human beings, but also to implement a new sensitivity to the victims of human trafficking who are often coerced 

into committing criminal acts and become dependent on their captors. 

MY WORK

In February 2013, Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson hired me to 

be a human trafficking specialist with an emphasis on working to help victims and 

prosecute exploiters. 

My legal background prepared me for this work. After serving as a briefing attorney for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, I served as an assistant district attorney 

with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. When I later went into private 

practice, local juvenile judges appointed me to represent children charged with 

criminal offenses. 

One of the cases to which I was appointed resulted in a landmark decision from 

the Texas Supreme Court. In 2007, I was appointed to represent on appeal a 13- 

year-old child—B.W.—who had been adjudicated delinquent for prostitution. Working with attorney Michael Choyke, we appealed B.W.’s case to the Texas Supreme 

Court and the Court not only reversed B.W.’s adjudication, but also expressly affirmed that all children under the age of 14 years are unable to legally consent to 

sex. In short, they are victims of child prostitution, not offenders.1

After B.W. was decided, I made many presentations regarding the decision and 

the practical and legal challenges we face in attempting to assist children like B.W. 

Juvenile court judges continued to appoint me to represent children in specialty 

dockets like the Mental Health Court and the Growing Independence and Restoring 

Lives (GIRLS) Court. 

Since returning to the District Attorney’s Office in 2013, our office has pursued 

investigations and prosecutions of more than 200 cases related to human trafficking. 

We have also worked with law enforcement officers at human trafficking crime 

scenes and spoken with children and adults charged with (or rescued from) engaging 

in prostitution. What follows is an overview of what I have learned about human 

trafficking. 

THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM—OVERVIEW

Human trafficking is the exploitation of another human being by labor or sex. It 

is a modern-day form of slavery, impacting the most vulnerable among us and affecting every social group, all genders, and all ages. 

Human trafficking is the second-fastest growing criminal enterprise and, unfortunately, Houston is a primary hub. Most of the cases filed involve sexual exploitation. 

The victims are hidden in plain sight along our streets, concealed in massage parlors, spas, cantinas, strip clubs, and other enterprises in our community, or marketed on internet sites. 

Human trafficking is not limited to international victims. A majority of the victims are American children who often have mental deficiencies and end up on the 

streets on the run from abusive homes or unwanted placements. For survival, they 
37 

2 Bill Analysis, Tex. C.S.H.B. 4009, 81st Leg. (2009). 3 Eva J. Klain, J.D., Prostitution of Children and Child Sex Tourism: An Analysis of Domestic 

and International Responses, N.C.M.E.C. (April 1999). 

allow themselves to be recruited by pimps who take advantage of the kind of money 

that can be made by a child in what is known as the ‘‘Game.’’ 

THE GAME

The Game is prostitution, a cruel lifestyle in which people are manipulated, controlled by drugs and violence, and ultimately trapped in a life of providing sex to 

anyone for a fee. 

The pimp’s prostitutes are his or her resources. The pimp may refer to the prostitutes as ‘‘hoes,’’ ‘‘girls,’’ ‘‘workers,’’ and the group as a ‘‘stable.’’ 

A hierarchy exist in the stable in which the ‘‘bottom’’ girl, who is closest to and 

ironically has been with the pimp the longest, helps run the Game by setting up 

dates and teaching the girls how to act. The bottom girl may beat the other girls 

for the pimp if they get out of line, or she may take the beating from the pimp, 

which also sends a message to the other girls in the stable. 

Prostitutes may come and go in and out of jail, or be traded among pimps. It 

takes work for a pimp to build up a stable. For example, a pimp may act as a trick 

in order to steal a girl from another pimp’s stable. Because of this danger, prostitutes are instructed to never look a trick in the eyes. In the Game, if you look 

another pimp in the eyes, you are choosing to go with them. If so, the pimps will 

work out an arrangement in which the new pimp pays off the old pimp. Of course, 

the new pimps do not pay from their own pocket; they have the girl work off the 

debt. 

Pimps demand that girls bring in a daily quota by selling themselves, performing 

various sex acts in exchange for money. The buyers are known as ‘‘tricks’’ or ‘‘johns.’’ 

Agreeing to sex, oral or straight, in exchange for money is a crime. Accordingly, code 

language fools no one but it seeks to avoid legal traps. A ‘‘date’’ or ‘‘trick’’ meets 

a ‘‘john’’ or ‘‘trick’’ because she is ‘‘working,’’ ‘‘is interested in having fun or getting 

freaky,’’ and is ready to give a ‘‘BJ’’ or ‘‘head’’ for a ‘‘donation’’ or ‘‘roses.’’ Because 

selling or having sex with a child is a greater crime, the child’s age is often given 

as one of legal consent, such as 18. 

The business of prostitution is set up on ‘‘the track,’’ the local streets where girls 

walk waiting to be picked up by a date in a car or taken to local hourly rental motels. Johns are also attracted by internet ads or locations of other sexually-oriented 

businesses. 

Women have described being beaten by their pimp to a degree they were barely 

able to perform, and still have johns go through with the sex act with them despite 

their obvious physical injuries. Child victims describe telling johns their real age in 

hopes the johns will not go through with the sex act and help rescue them. However, their hopes are almost always dashed as the johns, including returning johns, 

go through with the sex act, provide them money, and let them go back to their 

pimp. In one case, the john requested the ‘‘one with braces.’’ Child victims describe 

using drugs as a means of numbing the abuse. 

TEXAS AND NATIONAL RECOGNITION OF PROSTITUTED CHILDREN

Texas studies related to children and prostitution’s effect on them reveal some 

disturbing trends. For example, in 2009, the Texas House Committee on Human 

Services noted: 

‘‘Human trafficking is a modern day form of slavery... Texas has 20 percent of 

the market in the United States, and Houston is currently the world’s largest center 

for human trafficking... [T]he vast majority of domestic victims of human trafficking were minors; approximately 70 percent of the children fall into the sex 

trade... Unfortunately, most of these children are criminalized and placed with 

Child Protective Services with the result that the child does not receive the necessary services and often falls back under the thumb of traffickers.’’2

As early as 1999, publications produced by The National Center for Missing and 

Exploited Children and the United States Department of Justice pointed out that 

‘‘prostitution of children is closely tied to life on the streets,’’ that pimps ‘‘look for 

young girls who are lonely or rebellious, with low self-esteem,’’ and they ‘‘prey disproportionately on young runaways.’’3 Simply stated, once on the streets, children 

often engage in ‘‘survival sex.’’ 

In response to Texas’ challenges, the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task 

Force was created to study human trafficking. The Task Force found that identi-
38 

4See Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force Report, January 2011, at 12. 

5See In re B.W., 313 S.W.3d at 826. 6 Id. at 821–22. 

fying child victims is difficult due to a lack of general understanding about human 

trafficking among those that come in contact with children, the failure of child victims to self-identify, contradictory laws and lack of legislation.4 The Task Force 

found: 

• 11,942 juveniles were arrested as runaways in 2009. 

• Children are approached by traffickers within 48 hours of running away. 

• The number of victims identified reflects only .4% of the victims in existence. 

This means that, for every victim we recover, there are 200 more just like them 

that we have yet to identify. 

• The average age of entry into prostitution is 12 years old. 

These risk factors and statistics highlight the need for Texas to secure and protect 

children immediately upon recovery. 

THE CHALLENGES TO PROVIDING CARE FOR PROSTITUTED CHILDREN

Texas has two ways to provide services for and taking custody or possession of 

a child: The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (Children’s Protective Services, hereafter ‘‘CPS’’) may assist victims of abuse or neglect from birth 

until age 18; and the Juvenile Justice System may assist children engaged in delinquent (criminal) conduct and in conduct indicating a need for supervision for ages 

10 to 17. 

Although placement for offenders can be in physically restrictive and locked-down 

facilities, placement for victims of abuse or neglect or children who engage in conduct indicating a need for supervision, such as running away, generally cannot be 

placed in secure facilities. Thus, another challenging and recurring scenario confronted by State authorities is recovery of a problematic child in the early morning 

hours when the proper services are not equipped to handle the recovery and continued placement of the child. 

THE LIMITATIONS OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND THE SHIFT IN VIEWING

PROSTITUTED CHILDREN AS VICTIMS AND NOT OFFENDERS—IN RE B.W. 

The case of In re B.W. illustrates many of the commonalities of the population 

and typical challenges of attempting to provide them placement and services. 

B.W. was a 13-year-old runaway from the CPS who had been living on the streets 

for 14 months. On January 11, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, she was 

arrested by Houston Police Department officers for agreeing to oral sex for a fee of 

$20.00. Officers charged her originally as an adult because she lied about her age. 

Upon discovery that she was only 13 years old, her case was refiled in the juvenile 

system. At the time, she made an outcry that she had been living with her ‘‘32-yearold boyfriend’’ who was having sex with her. However, the record remains silent as 

to any investigation into the ‘‘32-year-old boyfriend’’ or any other person who put 

her in the position of selling herself. A psychological report indicated B.W. was an 

‘‘emotionally impoverished, discouraged and dependent adolescent’’ who ‘‘exhibited 

patterns of feeling sad, downhearted, unworthy.’’ [S]he ‘‘yearns for acceptance from 

others, although her hopes appear to be waning rapidly.’’ Reports also indicated that 

she carried sexually transmitted diseases and was mentally deficient. 

B.W.’s case contained some of the common challenges we see with child victims 

of prostitution. They do not self-identify as victims and may not know what is happening to them is against the law. They often identify or see their pimps as a boyfriend or love interest and will lie in an attempt to avoid recovery by law enforcement. 

In deciding B.W.’s case, the Texas Supreme Court recognized for the first time 

that children do not freely choose a life of prostitution, but instead are manipulated 

and controlled by their exploiters.5 Further noting, the Court wrote: 

‘‘It is difficult to reconcile the Legislature’s recognition of the special vulnerability 

of children, and its passage of laws for their protection, with an intent to find that 

children under 14 understand the nature and consequences of their conduct when 

they agree to commit a sex act for money, or to consider children quasi-criminal offenders guilty of an act that necessarily involves their own sexual exploitation.’’6

The age limitation on juvenile justice prevents it from being the answer. The case 

of Shaniya Davis, a 5-year-old child in North Carolina, illustrates the impact this 

offense can have on children of any age. Media reports show haunting surveillance 
39 

video of that child being carried by a man through a hotel hallway prior to her killing. The man and Shaniya’s mother were prosecuted for human trafficking. 

THE PRACTICAL LIMITATIONS OF CHILDREN’S PROTECTIVE SERVICES IN PROVIDING CARE

FOR PROSTITUTED CHILDREN

In recognizing these children as victims, CPS is the appropriate vehicle to provide 

care for these children. However, the practical and legal limitations of existing CPS 

facilities and services make CPS a problematic and unrealistic resource. 

Many prostituted children come from abusive homes or have already been taken 

into custody or care by the State as a victim of another form of abuse. In this respect, they appear to be a population CPS has already been unable to supervise or 

help. These children are ‘‘runners’’ and take advantage of the inability of CPS to 

provide secure lock-down placement. 

Officers express extreme frustration with recovering a prostituted child from the 

streets and returning them to a proper CPS placement facility only to have the child 

leave because agency representatives have no ability to restrain or stop them. 

Worse, some children do as instructed by their exploiters: They not only run, they 

encourage additional girls to run with them. 

This does not happen in all facilities. Some secure and therapeutic placement facilities are licensed to serve both CPS dependant and Juvenile Justice’s delinquent 

populations. However, a constant need exists for ‘‘beds’’ in these appropriate facilities. 

This challenge raises the need for more proper placement facilities with the capacity to triage a child’s initial recovery and treat the child’s acute medical, mental 

health, and drug conditions. 

IDENTIFYING CHILDREN

Once a child is on the run, it is difficult to ascertain their true identity. Many 

times, children give a false date of birth and without the ability to verify the information they are released or processed through adult jail systems undetected. 

Strategies exist to help mitigate this problem, however. For example, many States 

do not report CPS runaways to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Adding children to this database could assist recovery. 

Existing law enforcement protocols allow for the identification of persons by fingerprints out on the streets. If a child is under the jurisdiction of CPS, however, 

the State does not obtain the child’s fingerprints. This policy should change. Collection of these fingerprints would aid recovery of these vulnerable children. If there 

are concerns about the child’s privacy from such a policy, they can be resolved by 

adopting a policy of purging fingerprint records upon the child’s emancipation or 

18th birthday. 

JUVENILE JUSTICE RESPONSE TO PROVIDING CARE FOR PROSTITUTED CHILDREN— GROWING INDEPENDENCE AND RESTORING LIVES (GIRLS) COURT

As a result of CPS deficiencies and placement challenges, law enforcement officials tend to use any appropriate delinquency charge to place the child in the secure 

lock-down facilities of juvenile justice. 

In July 2011, the 315th Juvenile District Court had before it a child victim of 

human trafficking, but the child was also a probationer being lawfully prosecuted 

for an offense of delinquent conduct. Recognizing the need to provide a victim-centered approach for child victims of human trafficking lawfully brought into the Juvenile Justice System, State District Judge Michael Schneider and Associate Judge 

Angela Ellis created the GIRLS Court. 

Everyone had the desire to handle these cases differently, but the team effort necessary to actually make it happen under then-existing circumstances was remarkable. The GIRLS Court would not have been created without the leadership of the 

judges and the willingness of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department to 

consider the issue a priority in the face of budget constraints. 

The GIRLS court was created as a collaborative approach drawing upon the support of the judges, probation officials, other Government agencies, non-profit partners, the Public Defender’s Office, private practice attorneys, and the District Attorney’s Office. Many professionals began giving their time for weekly staffing and 

monthly review hearings with the participants and staff members, who make themselves available at all hours. In partnership with organizations such as the YMCA 

International, local community emergency shelters, and the Children’s Assessment 

Center, existing services and specialized programs were created. 

Most of the children in GIRLS Court identified as human trafficking victims have 

been charged with other offenses, such as failure to identify themselves or posses-
40 

7See Texas Penal Code § 43.02. 8See 83(R) Texas Legislative Session, Texas Senate Bill 484, Bill Analysis, 2013. 

sion of marijuana. This program diverts them from standard probation into the 

GIRLS Court, which targets their individualized needs, and places them in facilities 

for medical, mental health, or drug treatment. 

Examples of some of these children are: 

• B, a 13-year-old girl recruited out of a local mental health facility by an older 

teen who had been trafficked and beaten with a wrench and thrown from a car. 

B recalled heavy drug use and vague memories of men having sex with her. • L, who was offered a ride home by a male her friend knew. He drove her home 

for a couple of weeks and flashed money. He then asked her to make money 

for him and threatened her mother, having looked up where her mother worked 

to make the threat seem credible, if she refused. He took L to various cities, 

branded her with his tattoo, and began working her in strip clubs to engage in 

prostitution. • P was taken to another country and left with relatives who began prostituting 

her in cantinas around the age of 8. Once here, her mother and her mother’s 

boyfriend prostituted her in various motels. She was recovered at the age of 14, 

but her aunts pressured her not to testify against her mother. 

Upon successful completion of the program, GIRLS Court records are sealed to 

prevent the child from carrying the stigma of a criminal adjudication. When ageappropriate transition to adult and independent living is possible, the girls are 

transferred to other services. 

At its creation, the GIRLS Court founders confronted the one child, and questioned whether enough need existed to create an entire court and program for such 

victims. A shift in juvenile intake process provided the answer. At this time, 190 

referrals have been made for acceptance into GIRLS Court. This population breakdown is 57% African American, 26% Hispanic, 16% White, and 1% Asian. The court 

has only been able to accommodate 34 participants. Of those, 12 have successfully 

completed, 3 are on runaway status, and 19 remain on treatment schedule in the 

program. 

In addition to the youth participating in the GIRLS Court, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department has an assigned supervisor that monitors several of 

the human trafficking cases that present to the Department that are unable to participate in the GIRLS Court program. This supervisor assists these youth by making 

referrals to needed services like the YMCA International, group and individual 

counseling, and psycho-educational training about human trafficking. This supervisor currently has a caseload of 74 youth. 

GIRLS Court participants speak of wanting to become attorneys or probation officers in order to impact and rescue others like them. Success is when the girls perceive, voluntarily, that they are no longer controlled or supervised by the program 

but see themselves as part of the solution. GIRLS Court represents a common-sense 

solution and a collaborative approach with the vision of breaking the cycle of abuse 

and recidivism. 

THE REVOLVING DOOR OF PROSTITUTED ADULTS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The Texas Legislature has also taken important steps toward encouraging reform 

in the area of adult prostitution. 

Like many others, my thinking about prostitution shifted with understanding. As 

a proud native Houstonian, I did not know what human trafficking was, much less 

know (or want to believe) that our city was a hub for it. Yet, strip clubs, parlors, 

and gentleman’s clubs are commonplace in our city and there is little talk of the 

probable criminal activity occurring inside. 

Prostitution is glamorized with portrayals in movies like Pretty Woman. Unlike 

the appearance of Julia Roberts, these women are rarely ‘‘attractive’’; instead, they 

wear the scars of drug use and violent times on the streets. 

In response to our wanting to ensure they knew the activity was illegal, recommendations for repeat offenders were increased. State laws allow for the enhancement of misdemeanor charges to felony charges and incarceration in State jail 

and prison facilities.7

The Texas Legislature recently recognized that incarceration of such offenders is 

costly; the average annual cost to house an offender in ‘‘State jail is $15,500’’ and 

an annual cost of ‘‘$18,538 for State prison.’’8 In contrast, prostitution rehabilitation 

programs are ‘‘identified as a viable, cost-effective, rehabilitative alternative to incarceration, at a much lower cost to the taxpayer of only $4,300 per year.’’ The ‘‘high 

recidivism rate among this population signifies incarceration’’ has not been effective 
41 

9 Id. 

to break the cycle, which ‘‘often come from long histories of abuse, neglect, and addiction.’’9

Many examples exist of adult prostitution defendants trapped in the costly revolving door of criminal conduct: 

• V is a 58-year-old arrested 40 times, 32 for prostitution, 4 for pimping. 

• C is a 48-year-old woman arrested 59 times, 49 for prostitution, the others for 

drug-related offenses and endangering by ‘‘leaving her small infant children.’’ 

• M is a 39-year-old with 39 offenses throughout 4 States since the age of 18. 

Unfortunately, prior prostitution convictions may hinder these women from believing that they have any alternative. Some even understand that taking a conviction will result in a life-long criminal history for a crime of moral turpitude, yet they 

are willing to do it for their pimp, either out of fear or perceived love. 

Most of these women are stuck in a life they were brought into as children. For 

example, a 19-year-old described being in the Game since running from CPS at the 

age of 13. She described in matter-of-fact terms running naked to the door for the 

mailman at the age of 3, with her father running naked behind her, having sexually 

assaulted her. In and out of the CPS system and jail, and having been traded or 

moved from pimp to pimp, she is looking for something better. Today, she has no 

reliable place to turn to when she walks out of the Harris County Jail. 

A program illustrating the type of success possible is the Harris County STAR 

(Strength Through Addiction Recovery) Court. The collateral success is evident from 

the work of Kathy Griffin, a graduate of STAR Court and human trafficking survivor tirelessly dedicated to helping other prostituted people accomplish the same. 

She started Been There Done That, a program assisting prostituted people incarcerated in the Harris County Jail, with the support of Sheriff Adrian Garcia. Her ability to empathize speaks to them in a language they understand and opens doors to 

recovery. 

To that end, Texas passed legislation requiring all counties to adopt a program 

similar to GIRLS Court for juveniles and to create Prostitution Prevention Courts 

for adults. However, unfunded mandates or insufficient grants often result in either 

taking funds from another child or program in need or the failure to implement programs for lack of funds. The concern is that such policies will result in a disincentive to ‘‘discover’’ the population in order to avoid the budget problem. Federal assistance for such programs is needed. 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE

Human trafficking business enterprises are set up like layers of an onion. They 

are extremely organized and attempt to operate in the most untraceable form, on 

a cash basis. They separate and divide responsibilities and attempt to create distance and plausible deniability, not only within cities, but across the country. We 

see international girls brought across State lines and rotated among major cities. 

A multi-billion-dollar industry, human trafficking as a business enterprise is also 

hidden in plain view. Concealed larger prostitution operations are found in massage 

parlors and spas. A typical location might operate within a strip center. You cannot 

see inside. The windows are blacked out, but a sign flashes ‘‘open.’’ The workers, 

predominately women, are kept inside and surveillance cameras monitor the exterior and interior. Cameras may be monitored off-site allowing others to remotely 

wipe digital recording and equipment systems as they see raid teams approach. 

Workers often do not leave the facility: The business premises often include a 

kitchen, shower, and a room lined with beds where workers sleep. Workers provide 

sexual services to whoever walks in the door, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A storage area holds workers’ suitcases, some still marked with travel tags from recent 

flights and workers already hold a ticket for their next destination. They describe 

being recruited by one person on the phone, picked up by another at the airport, 

and being dropped off at the business. Others stop by to pick up the cash and they 

describe the management as very smart, warning: ‘‘You will not find them.’’ Ledgers 

and bank records show thousands of dollars in cash being deposited and funneled 

through multiple accounts throughout the United States or wired abroad. 

These women may have a debt to pay or may have been promised a legitimate 

job, but when they arrive, an outfit, such as suggestive lingerie, is provided and 

they are instructed that in order to make more money they have to give ‘‘extra’’ 

services. One woman let us know that she did not want to commit prostitution, but 

that she lost a legitimate job and a debt holder against her family, out of this country, connected her with the spa to make sure she could keep paying. 
42 

10See Texas Penal Code Chapters 20, 21, 22, and 43. 

These workers often may have lawfully entered the United States on a student 

or work visa. Some have false identification or no identification. Often they speak 

no or limited English. Prostitution enterprise raid operations uncovered internet advertisements listing: ‘‘4 young Asian Staff to pick from,’’ ‘‘all new Asian staff,’’ and 

‘‘we have NEW GIRLS every week!’’ 

The pressures of being in a criminal enterprise, coupled with cultural pressures, 

play a role in their not speaking out against their exploiters to law enforcement. 

LAW ENFORCEMENT’S CHALLENGES AND THE NEED FOR INCREASED COLLABORATION TO

PROSECUTE EXPLOITERS

The Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force recognized Texas must do 

more to reduce the supply and demand by prosecuting both the pimps and johns 

who exploit them. For example, in 2009, only 10 people were sitting in prison— 

State-wide—for having pimped children. 

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is answering that call. Today, Mike 

Anderson’s commitment continues with the leadership of Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson. District Attorney Anderson is in the unique position of 

being a former prosecutor, a former Judge presiding over the STAR Court, and one 

of the founding attorneys representing children on GIRLS Court. She has unique 

sensitivity to the complicated nature of the offenses and their victims, as well as 

first-hand experience with these Courts. 

While Houston is a hub, our problem is not entirely local. We see pimps from 

other cities bring their girls to Houston, especially for big venue events such as All 

Star and championship games. Human trafficking crosses State and international 

lines and increased communication among all governmental agencies is needed. 

Our dedicated position allows a central location where both local, State, and Federal prosecutors and law enforcement are able to reach out 24 hours a day with 

cases for review, investigation, and prosecution. Implementing such an approach is 

time-consuming and requires training and outreach and additional work by District 

Attorney Office prosecutors and investigators. 

The approach is leading to identification of co-defendants and victims who are 

passed among pimps or transported from other counties or States. We are also recovering additional evidence resulting in increased prosecutions of johns, pimps, and 

owners. 

While these connections are being made among individuals, systematic protocols 

are needed to enable better collaboration. An example of this need is the recovery 

of a 15-year-old child victim who was placed in a non-secure CPS facility and ran 

because law enforcement was unable to correctly identify the child and was unable 

to communicate with another county. If proper methods of identification and communication had been in place, officers would have been able to identify that child 

and know the child was lawfully under supervision by another juvenile justice system. That child would have been taken to a secure juvenile justice facility to hold 

until the proper county could pick up the child. 

Another example involves an international defendant/potential victim and witness 

in pending court proceedings in Harris County who was subject to a court subpoena 

to testify against a business owner. Despite communication with one Federal agency, she and another international defendant/potential victim and witness were allowed to leave the country, with one taken to the airport by Federal authorities 

after a bail bond was posted by a person connected to the prostitution enterprise. 

Increased communication and collaboration of the multiple interests of local, State, 

and Federal authorities is critical. 

When given an opportunity to prosecute at a State level, Texas has strict statutes 

against human trafficking, sexual assaults, compelling prostitution, and aggravated 

promotion of prostitution. High punishment ranges allow juries the flexibility to see 

that justice is done.10

Juries are responsive to these cases. For example, our office prosecuted Mark Anthony Kentish for pimping a 15-year-old child and a jury found him guilty and assessed his punishment at 45 years in prison. This case and investigation started 

with a routine traffic stop by a new patrol officer, but because he had been trained 

to spot signs of human trafficking, he handled the case appropriately and recovered 

the child. 

Resources are needed to train law enforcement to better identify whether a challenging suspect is actually a victim. Misidentifying victims as offenders affirms 

training by exploiters that society will see these girls and women as ‘‘nothing more 

than a whore’’ who ‘‘won’t be believed.’’ Removing the person being prostituted with-
43 

out any consequence to the pimp simply creates a vacuum in which the pimp will 

go out and find another human being to fill the void. 

We are making progress and using every tool available to send a message that 

Harris County will no longer tolerate being a hub of this modern-day form of slavery 

and to let exploiters know there is a significant cost of engaging in this business. 

However, typical evidentiary challenges exist similar to other criminal enterprises: 

Exploiters use false identification, burner phones, vanilla prepaid credit cards, or 

‘‘straw buyers’’ to subvert identification requirements. There are internet sites for 

johns in which they anonymously rate and discuss the sexual services. 

Training and resources for local, State, and Federal law enforcement officers is 

critical to identify operational methods and collect evidence for prosecution. 

RECOVERY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COLLABORATION OF ALL IN THE CRIMINAL

JUSTICE SYSTEM

Irrespective of their location, recovery of these victims by law enforcement means 

that many of the people we are trying to recover come to our attention as defendants. Criminal laws against prostitution and local and county ordinances against 

sexually-oriented businesses provide a vehicle for officers to make an arrest or recovery of victims. Last year, some 190 such cases against sexually-oriented businesses have been filed in Harris County. These ordinances and cases also help efforts by County Attorney Vince Ryan and the County Attorney’s Office to shut down 

business enterprises through civil nuisance lawsuits. 

The hope is the arrest gives the potential victim an opportunity to be physically 

removed from enslavement and an opportunity to reach out to law enforcement for 

help. However, the complicated nature of viewing those recovered as both offender 

and victim makes this work difficult. For example, a 17-year-old child in Texas legally may be prosecuted in misdemeanor court as an adult yet also be the child victim of a pimp who is compelling prostitution of one under the age of 18 years old. 

The difference between knowing if someone over 18 years of age is willingly breaking the law and committing prostitution or is being compelled by force or threat is 

dependent upon the strength and quality of the investigation and the victim’s willingness to self-disclose. 

Law enforcement knows as well that, upon arrest, pimps or owners attempt to 

bond out their girls to keep them working or ‘‘in pocket’’ while charges are pending. 

Additionally, once the right to counsel attaches, communication with the defendant/ 

potential victim is only accomplished with the assistance of counsel. At that point, 

communication with law enforcement is either aided or hindered. Some defense attorneys play a key role by understanding and advocating the significance of a criminal charge, availability of defenses, services, and certain legal status protections, 

such as U and T Visas, allowing cooperation. In other instances, however, counsel 

might be hired by the exploiter. 

Significant resources exist to assist victims. Trying to convince someone to cooperate and their not agreeing to do so is like watching a person drown while holding 

a life preserver. In one circumstance, a defendant was accompanied to court by a 

‘‘driver’’ and ‘‘translator’’ who advised the attorney that she wanted to plea guilty. 

However, when questioned by the judge and a court interpreter, that was not what 

she wanted. Yet, she remained unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement. The 

cultural, financial, and other pressures on these girls and women not to cooperate 

makes it critical that we have the evidence to make the cases without their cooperation, where possible. 

RAISING COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND ACTION

Some suggest that the increased awareness of human trafficking as a problem is 

actually an attempt to prohibit consensual sex. That argument falsely implies that 

both parties are consenting. The reality is that one party is not consenting when 

that party is a child, is mentally deficient, or is meeting a financial quota for another in fear of physical abuse or threat of harm to themselves or others. Identifying 

the distinction is the challenge we all have accepted. 

This issue is complex and addressing and combating it requires in-depth investigations and prosecution of exploiters, along with services for the victims. Accomplishing these tasks successfully requires the assistance and cooperation of multiple 

governmental agencies, non-profits, and our community at large. Increasing awareness of the damage that human trafficking is doing to communities is a key. 

Here in Houston, many organizations have joined this fight. Houston Rescue and 

Restore, Children at Risk, the Catholic Charities, Free the Captives, and YMCA 

International are among many local organizations that help us raise awareness of 

the problem, bring compassion to victims, and join us in seeking solutions. 
44 

With our continued work with local, State, and Federal law enforcement to protect 

victims and prosecute exploiters, we will bring these cases to local juries and give 

them the opportunity to set the standard for our community. We believe strongly 

that they will not want Houston, Harris County, Texas, to continue as the major 

hub for human trafficking and that these juries will see that justice is done. 

Our work is just beginning, Congressmen, and we need your help. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Ms. Johnson. You are truly 

doing the Lord’s work, and we appreciate that. 

The Chairman now recognizes Chief McClelland for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF CHARLES A. MC CLELLAND, JR., CHIEF, 

HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, HOUSTON, TEXAS 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. Thank you very much, Chairman McCaul. 

Certainly I want to thank the Ranking Member, Congresswoman 

Sheila Jackson Lee for this important panel and this important 

topic and allowing me the opportunity to represent the Houston Police Department and what we are doing here. 

I will submit my testimony, my written statement as my testimony. But I would like to touch on a few topics related to this issue 

that I think that are very, very important. 

No. 1: What is the size and scope of the problem here in Houston 

in Texas? 

No. 2: Why is Houston an attractive hub for human trafficking? 

No. 3: What are we doing here in the Houston Police Department 

in Houston to address this issue? 

A couple of success stories and how can the Federal Government 

help. 

According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, 

Texas is the No. 2 State, behind California, when it comes to reported cases and allegations of human trafficking. Houston is the 

No. 1 city for those reports. Houston is the largest city in Texas. 

It has close proximity to Mexico. It has a large airport, international airport, large seaport, international seaport. The I–10 corridor stretches from the West Coast of the United States to the 

East Coast. U.S. 59 stretches from Mexico to Canada. It has a large 

population of runaways. It is a diverse community. We have a robust economy that is attractive for labor and also a large sex industry. Those are some of the reasons why Houston is a hub and very, 

very attractive for human traffickers. 

What are we doing here in Houston? Well, several things. The 

Houston Police Department has dedicated an entire unit that started March 1. It is dedicated to human trafficking only. Now, the 

Vice Division has always addressed human trafficking and those 

that are being exploited in the sex industry. Every Houston police 

officer is being trained to recognize and investigate incidents of 

human trafficking here in this city. We have members of the Houston Police Department on Federal, State, and local task forces, liaisons to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, liaisons to the Harris County 

District Attorney’s Office. We have their cooperation and certainly 

we liaison with all of the nonprofit groups that assist us in rescuing these victims of human trafficking. 

To educate the public. The city of Houston started a website, 

Shine a Light on Houston, to educate just individuals in the community, signs and evidence of human trafficking and how to report 

that to law enforcement. 
45 

Now, a couple of success stories that I would like to talk about 

that tell you the depth of this problem and also like some of the 

challenges for law enforcement. 

There is a city about 100 miles south of Houston several months 

ago that needed some investigative work on massage parlors. They 

did not have the resources and they asked for assistance from the 

Houston Police Department. After an extensive investigation, we 

discovered that many of these massage parlors were located in 

small municipalities just south of Houston. It was young female 

Chinese nationals that were being exploited, being trafficked, and 

the proceeds were coming back to Houston to multiple banks here 

in this city. We were able to intervene, rescue those victims, and 

break up that operation. But my point to that story is it crosses 

all jurisdictional lines, boundaries, State lines, and internationally. 

The second case I would like to talk about is an 18-year-old that 

was rescued by the Vice Division. She was being exploited and trafficked in hotels around this city and came to the city from another 

city out of State. She was stabbed and raped by her john. Although 

her injuries were not life-threatening, but she certainly needed 

medical attention, but her pimp refused to get her medical attention until she had made her nightly quota of the money that he expected her to bring in. 

Now, what can the Federal Government do to help us here locally? 

No. 1, I think we need a National and regional database of suspects and individuals that are involved in human trafficking. Although we have collaboration and data sharing, we need something 

that is web-based like the law enforcement on-line system, and I 

think that the Federal Government should take the lead in that to 

make sure that individuals who are on these task forces and who 

are charged every single day to interdict and intervene in these 

cases have access to information across the country. 

No. 2, there are many resources that are available to juveniles 

that are being trafficked. The average victim starts their life and 

a victim of human trafficking at the age of 12. Many of the individuals that we rescue and come in contact with sometimes are 18 to 

21. There are very little resources to support adults in that age 

range. Most of the resources and nonprofits certainly have more resources geared toward juveniles. So that is something that is a gap 

in our system that needs to be tightened up. 

Last, I would urge all of you to support and pass legislation proposed by Senator Cornyn and Congressman Ted Poe, the Justice 

for Victims of Trafficking Act. It is very, very important that we 

do that so we can have seamless enforcement across the country. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. McClelland follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHARLES A. MCCLELLAND, JR. 

MARCH 20, 2014 

Chairman McCaul and Members of the committee, I would like to thank you for 

the opportunity to appear before you today and discuss this extremely important 

issue which challenges us all on every level—global, National, State and local. 

For several years now, statistics on human trafficking have consistently shown 

the State of Texas to rank at or near the top of reported incidents to the National 

Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC). Additionally, the city of Houston is 
46 

most commonly referred to as a ‘‘hub’’ for human trafficking with reports to the 

NHTRC Hotline in Houston far exceeding those of any other city in Texas. 

There are many factors here in Houston that come together to make this city a 

‘‘perfect storm’’ for human trafficking, including but not limited to: • Major international airport; • Major international shipping port; • Largest city in Texas and closest to the Mexican border; • I–10 corridor which stretches from the East to the West Coasts; • US–59 corridor which runs from Mexico to Canada; • Popular location for minors to runaway; • Large sex industry with limited regulations; • Constantly expanding population creating a constant need for labor. 

In order to help combat this scourge on our community, I recently authorized the 

formation of the Houston Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit (HTU) within the Vice Division. The formation of the HTU was intended to consolidate the Department’s resources into a single unit for better tracking, quicker response, and 

more thorough, focused investigations involving human trafficking. In addition to 

the HTU personnel working within the Vice Division, this new unit also consists of: • 2 officers assigned to the Houston Innocence Lost Task Force (HILTF) which 

investigates domestic human trafficking cases, and • 2 officers assigned to the Harris County Human Trafficking Task Force (HTTF) 

which investigates international human trafficking cases. 

Additionally, the HTU is currently in discussions with U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (ICE) Human Trafficking Unit to share resources and data. HPD’s 

efforts to combat human trafficking are NOT just limited to the formation of the 

new HTU. The entire Vice Division, which is made up of over 65 Classified and civilian personnel has been reorganized to focus on investigating and combatting 

human trafficking. On a broader scale, all HPD Classified officers throughout the 

Department have, or are currently being trained to identify and investigate human 

trafficking, both in the sex industry and the labor industry. Finally, the HPD is 

working diligently to establish and nurture relationships not only with area law enforcement agencies but with rescue and support organizations such as Polaris, the 

YMCA, Catholic Charities, and the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition. 

For years, the city of Houston has fought countless legal battles with various sexually-oriented businesses in an effort to regulate this industry. Late last year, 

Mayor Annise Parker, with the aid of the city’s legal department took a bold step 

and entered into a settlement agreement of multiple long-standing lawsuits with 

several area strip clubs. As part of that settlement agreement, these strip clubs can 

no longer operate ‘‘private’’ rooms which are well-known to be the locations where 

various criminal acts including prostitution and narcotics take place, and where 

under-aged girls are hidden away and victimized. This agreement is still in its infancy and considered controversial by some, but the efforts to force members of the 

sex industry to take responsibility for helping to eradicate human trafficking on 

their own properties has, so far, shown many positive results. 

The Houston Police Department’s dedication to combatting human trafficking can 

best be illustrated in two very recent cases. The first case involved a request for 

assistance by a local police agency about 100 miles south of Houston to aid in the 

investigation of a possible human trafficking ring operating a couple of massage parlors in two separate municipalities. The investigation resulted in the dismantling of 

an organized group that was trafficking female Chinese nationals for prostitution. 

The operations were being conducted in these two cities while the money was funneled through multiple banks accounts in Houston. This case serves as a great example of the need for law enforcement to work on a ‘‘regional’’ level to combat 

human trafficking in their jurisdictions. 

The second recent case involved an 18-year-old female victim of human trafficking 

who contacted the NHTRC hotline asking for help to escape her violent pimp. The 

young victim had been forced to have sex with a ‘‘john’’ who ended up stabbing her 

and leaving without paying her any money. While her injuries were not life-threatening, she did require medical attention for her injuries; however, the pimp refused 

to take her to get medical treatment until she earned him more money to make up 

for the money that the previous ‘‘john’’ did not pay. Vice HTU personnel received 

the information from NHTRC personnel, and were able to contact, locate, and rescue 

the young female, and also arrest the pimp and charge him with felony compelling 

prostitution. The young victim was reunited with family members that day by Vice 

HTU. This case serves as a great example of how law enforcement and non-governmental organizations can successfully work together to not only rescue the victims 

of human trafficking, but to also arrest the perpetrators of this crime and to get 

them off the street and away from the other victims we know are still out there. 
47 

I would like to close my testimony by responding to a question that was posed 

to me by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee—What can the Feds do to help? I have 

three responses to this very important question. 

First, one of the biggest limitations on the ability of area law enforcement agencies to successfully combat human trafficking in and around Houston is our lack of 

‘‘data sharing.’’ The persons and/or groups that are committing these crimes are not 

limited by our jurisdictional boundaries. We (local law enforcement) need the Feds 

to build a Human Trafficking Regional Database in LEO (Law Enforcement OnLine), accessible only to Vice/HT Task Force personnel to store, share, and search 

data on all aspects of Houston-area Human Trafficking investigations. LEO is a 

web-based program that is accessible to Federal, State, and local law enforcement 

officers and can be ‘‘silo-ed’’ or restricted to only certain law enforcement personnel. 

This would allow Human Trafficking investigators from all over the Houston area 

to have immediate access to not only their Department’s data, but the data from 

other area agencies to better coordinate their investigations with each other in a 

much more effective and efficient manner. The technology to accomplish this is already there, and I am asking for the Feds to take the lead in this matter. 

Second, most statistics indicate that the average age of a female when she is first 

victimized into Human Trafficking is 12 years old. For this fact alone, it is obvious 

why the majority of Federal investigations/prosecutions of human trafficking involve 

‘‘minors’’ (those under 18yoa). However, many of the females that my officers are 

encountering on the streets, in the massage parlors and strip clubs, and on the 

internet sites are typically age 18–21. We know from experience that while these 

young women may be adults now, they have in all likelihood been under the control 

of a pimp/trafficker for many years. We need to take definitive steps to ensure that 

this group of ‘‘victims’’ does not fall through the cracks because we are focusing on 

the minors by ensuring that the laws we pass and the support/assistance we establish is also available to these young women. 

Finally, there is proposed legislation in Washington being sponsored by Houston 

area Congressmen including Senator John Cornyn and Congressman Ted Poe, ‘‘Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.’’ This is very important legislation and is worthy 

of your consideration and support. 

Again, I would like to thank Chairman McCaul and each of the committee Members for coming to Houston to address this very important issue. I thank you for 

your time, for your efforts and most of all, for your leadership. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Chief, for that powerful testimony. 

The Chairman now recognizes himself for 5 minutes for questions. 

I want to first take this opportunity to commend the Houston Police Department, ICE, HSI, a great Federal/local law enforcement 

operation in shutting down a stash house that held over 100 people 

in that stash house hostage essentially under very, very horrific 

conditions. I just want to give this opportunity both to you, Mr. 

Moskowitz and Chief McClelland, to, if you can, tell us what you 

can about what happened yesterday. 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate 

your comments and I will be sure to pass on your appreciation to 

the probably 20 or 30 agents that responded and worked through 

the night, may still be working hopefully not until they wake up, 

though, and get some rest. 

But this is a case that started for us, for HSI, yesterday afternoon based on the long-standing relationship that our agency has 

with Chief McClelland’s agents and detectives. I will let him talk 

about what they were doing. 

But basically they came to us as part of their investigation after 

they entered a home that was filled with what they believed to be 

people unlawfully in the country. We responded and spent all night 

interviewing, processing the scene. We identified and recovered 115 

people from outside the United States, as well as five subjects that 

are going to be charged in Federal court for a variety of Federal 
48 

offenses, including hostage taking, unlawful possession of a firearm, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, and that is happening as 

we speak. So as I know you were a former assistant U.S. attorney, 

I would not want to get Mr. Magidson upset with me by talking 

about—— 

Chairman MCCAUL. Nor do I. 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ [continuing]. The criminal investigation that is 

on-going. So I know you all appreciate that. 

But needless to say, at this point, based on a preliminary assessment, this is what I talked about in my statement. This is an alien 

smuggling organization. This is human smuggling at this point. 

Now, does that mean that at some point in the future the people 

who were smuggled in could wind up as trafficking victims? Absolutely. That possibility always exist, although we may never know 

it. 

But in this case, we have rescued those folks. We are processing 

them. They are given an opportunity to seek guidance and help and 

assistance and legal counsel. They will be told about the options 

under Federal law for relief to potential victims. 

Now, again, they are not trafficking victims. They are not eligible 

at this stage for what we call continued presence, which is something that we give as ICE, or a T visa which is for severe victims 

of trafficking, but this U visa option will be explained to them. 

Now, I realize there are challenges with that. That is a process 

that is handled by USCIS, but that is all going on as we speak. 

So I am going to turn it over to the Chief. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Please relay our sincere thanks to your men 

and women. 

Chief. 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. Well, thank you very much. Certainly I am 

very, very proud of the men and women of the Houston Police Department who responded to this incident. 

Although this is an on-going investigation, the information did 

come to the Houston Police Department that someone’s life was in 

jeopardy and this was a kidnapping case. In instances such as this, 

we act immediately on tips or information involving kidnapping, 

which triggered a coordinated response from the Houston Police 

Department. Those cases are immediately investigated by the 

Homicide Division and they coordinate it with the Vice Division, 

our Criminal Intelligence Division, who do electronic surveillance 

and other things to support the Vice and Homicide Division. In this 

particular case, we received credible information and obtained a location where we believed that someone’s life was in jeopardy, and 

we entered a structure under exigent circumstances. 

This is the result of what we found, over 100 people stacked on 

top of each other literally, living in locked-in squalor. The individuals could not get outside of the structure. It had deadbolt locks 

that was locked from the outside. So they were just being captive 

as human hostages or slaves. 

Although I agree with Brian, this is certainly a smuggling case 

and many of these individuals could end up in a trafficking situation. But this is a typical smuggling case. There are many times 

and oftentimes that we get information and tips that lead to the 

results of finding someone that is being held hostage, normally not 
49 

100, but sometimes 2 to 3 to 4 to 5, but the MO is the same. The 

trafficker or smuggler is paid half the money up front to get the 

person into the country and the other half of the payment is to 

take place but the coyote or the smuggler always raises the price. 

Chairman MCCAUL. A job well done. 

Mr. McCraw, you and I have spent a lot of time at the border. 

I know last time the Rio Grande sector. Down there I saw the 

smuggling of illegals across the border, many children in very horrific conditions. Many of them actually do not make it. They are 

told Houston is that way, and they have no guidance and they die 

in the desert. 

I understand there is a difference between smuggling and trafficking, but I thought your testimony was powerful in terms of 

there is not always a clear-line distinction. Sometimes the lines are 

blurred and what may start out as smuggling, as the Chief mentioned, can evolve into a trafficking situation where they are exploited for labor and, unfortunately, for sex. Could you comment on 

that? 

Mr. MCCRAW. Yes. We do not really care. At the end of the day, 

they are victims. 

I will agree that there are some prearranged agreements, and 

the coyotes will follow through. It is a quid pro quo business. It is 

a clear smuggling event. The challenge you have, especially when 

you have unaccompanied children or children they are moving forward, they may be a part of an overt conspiracy to move them into 

sex slavery. So you do not know. When they are being smuggled, 

you do not know what the ultimate goal is in terms of them coming 

in. 

But I will say this. Any time when the business model of the 

smuggler is to hold them hostage—literally hostage, as the chief 

said—and ransom them back to family members, threaten them 

with cutting off parts and so forth and so on, and then either beating and, on many occasions, sexually assaulting the females that 

they are holding in place, is that smuggling or is that trafficking? 

Whatever it is is wrong, and certainly they are victims and they 

ought to have the same rights as any victims in those situations. 

It is important to prosecute to the fullest extent possible those individuals that were involved in that smuggling/trafficking aspect. 

Chairman MCCAUL. I could not agree with you more. I think part 

of the exercise here is to determine what can we at the Federal 

level do to help. Chief McClelland, you outlined a couple of excellent points. 

Agent Moskowitz, what can we do to help you in your efforts? 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. I mean, I think the most important aspect of 

this crime for us really centers around that victim and the education and awareness of this crime. I think the reason you are seeing a lot more attention to this is because our collective agencies 

and departments have done a good job of educating the public that 

this is a problem, and the more you look, the more you find. But 

working here to build awareness through public campaigns—that 

plays an important role or working overseas with countries where 

this crime originates in many places, developing awareness down 

there as to the crime, and than talking about what rights people 

have are important things. This is really again victim-centric. 
50 

I understand what Steve is saying about I do not care, but in our 

world and the laws that you passed, we are bound by those definitions. So as horrific as some of these things are, if you are chained 

to a wall and beaten, unless it meets the elements in the laws that 

you passed, it is not trafficking under the Federal level and our 

hands are tied. So we need to change the definition. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Maybe that is something we need to address. 

We will take a look at it. 

Last, I will just conclude. I know we have a lot of other Members 

here. The 2017 Super Bowl is coming up. I visited with the New 

Jersey police on the Super Bowl up there, security measures. Obviously, it attracts a lot of these trafficker types, and I would hope 

that, in working with you, we can prepare for that to minimize that 

from happening in the Houston area at that time. 

So with that, the Chairman now recognizes the Ranking Member, Ms. Jackson Lee. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and 

thank you to the witnesses for provocative testimony. 

I am not sure if I am between outrage and optimism, outrage because of the horridness of human trafficking. 

First, let me thank you, all of you, in your respective positions. 

But frankly, this was placed at our desks, and I believe that this 

is an important statement, that there is a journal that says ‘‘Slavery Today.’’ Frankly, if I might just share with you, according to 

the International Labor Organization, United Nations agency, almost 21 million people world-wide are victims of modern-day slavery in the form of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, 

with the majority of these victims being women and girls. 

With respect to the United States, the Federal Government believes there are 17,500 persons trafficked into the country, but the 

numbers are low because they do not know how to account for 

them. 

I think, Chief, if I was correct in hearing your point or Ms. Johnson, the point was that we get less than .4 percent. Is that correct? 

The State Department says that we get less than .4 percent. So the 

numbers exponentially are growing. 

My optimism is I do believe that we can find a way to end this, 

and it does include the fine work of ICE and all of you, but it does 

include resources and education. 

So let me try to pose. 

As I indicated, I thank the Chairman. I do believe that Homeland Security has a mark in this, and it looks as if we are gleaning 

some of the ways that we can collaborate on legislation already offered. 

So let me pose a question to ICE. Sometimes this multi-billion 

business is weapons, narcotics, and trafficking. Can you just say 

how this interweaves with—your responsibility obviously is the internal enforcement when individuals come to do harm here in the 

United States. How do you see that playing on each other and how 

should we be looking to separate and to have a concerted effort 

against breaking up these conglomerates that fund these kinds of 

illicit activities? 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. I think, first of all, I want to start off by saying 

that as part of our DNA, as part of our training, as part of what 
51 

we do every day, the welfare of the victim is paramount. So all our 

agents, regardless of whether they are investigating international 

drug smuggling organizations, international weapons smuggling, 

organized crime, money laundering, they have had exposure and 

awareness to the concept of victim first. So because ICE and HSI 

is an entity that enforces hundreds of various Federal laws in some 

of the areas I just mentioned and many others, by the things we 

do every day, we are dismantling the organizations that are responsible for these crimes. 

So whether an organization today is moving heroin into the 

United States or sending illicit technology overseas or trafficking in 

counterfeit parts, we know that criminal organizations are profitdriven and seek the path of least resistance. So an organization, especially in the drug and human smuggling area, could morph over 

to human trafficking endeavors. So our approach is going after organizations. So if we disrupt them and we make it too difficult in 

one area, we would expect a shift to an area that they feel is less 

of a threat to them. 

So we need to keep the pressure on, and that is why we work 

all these programs. We have investigations in all those areas I just 

mentioned with the hope that it will disrupt the networks and the 

organizations. The same routes that you use to smuggle people in 

who are just trying to get here for whatever reason are the same 

routes that drug couriers use. It is the same routes that traffickers 

use. It is the same routes that people may be using to bring money 

into the country or out of the country. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. So you see that they are interrelated. It is a 

conglomerate that generates and feeds on each other and it helps 

promote human trafficking if someone is dealing drugs or weapons, 

et cetera. They can use the monies and build their industry. 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. With respect to the part of human trafficking 

that is driven by money. We have not really touched on this, but 

there are aspects of human trafficking that have nothing to do with 

money. It is about those smaller individual cases of maybe power 

or control. That is not going to solve that part. But the part that 

is driven by organizations that are for profit, yes. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me go to Ms. Johnson and Chief. You saw 

me hold up a slavery journal. I think as I was listening to Mr. 

Moskowitz and my good friend, Mr. McCraw, there was a coming 

together. But I think there is some true accuracy that human trafficking, smuggling—they get interrelated. There may be definitions, 

but they get interrelated. 

So let me take it to the next level. We do not like to say that 

word in the United States, ‘‘slavery,’’ but as someone is held and 

held and held and can only do what their dictator tells them to do 

or Chinese young women in massage parlors—give me an assessment of that. I do not want to play with words, but we are almost 

at that category in some instances. The reason is we need to explain the horror of what is going on. Ms. Johnson. 

Ms. JOHNSON. I think one of the important things that we have 

seen in local Texas studies is that even people that were selling 

drugs, got out of selling drugs and started selling people because 

when you sell a drug, it is gone. When you sell a person, as long 

as you do not beat her to a point she cannot perform, she can keep 
52 

on performing and keep making you money. That is the kind of offenses that we see, whether they are children or adults. They are 

mentally and emotionally manipulated into a point of believing 

that they do not have an out. Often they are groomed to believe 

that when they see an officer, that they should run from them 

rather to him. 

That is the important type of shift that we are trying to have 

publicly, is to let these victims know that they are probably coming 

to the attention of these officers in part of a criminal offense, of 

which they might naturally be seen as a defendant. But they need 

to know that these officers are being trained to recognize them differently. The law locally and the prosecutors also desperately want 

to help them out, which is why we want them to reach out to us 

so that we can help protect them. 

These spas are set up so that there is a room with just beds, and 

they stay there—— 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. There is no end. 

Ms. JOHNSON [continuing].Twenty-four/seven. Whoever knocks on 

the door who has money, whatever they ask for is what is to be 

provided. They physically might be able to leave the door, but 

somehow there is some restriction against them that they cannot 

get away. Hopefully the officers being there and taking them out 

can start to be the light at the end of the tunnel if we can have 

that breakthrough of communicating with them to let them know 

that they are now in a safe place and that we are here to try to 

provide them some help. It is an awful big challenge, and we are 

grateful for your support in it. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Chief, if you would, let me just accept your 

challenge and indicate to you that we are going to be drafting that 

universal DNA—I have a DNA bill that is very important. I think 

we can also find collaborative effort on the U visa problem where 

it gets taken away the minute someone says no, and they might be 

a child and might not comprehend. 

I think Ms. Johnson just stated it. You are held. You cannot go. 

You are being used over and over again. It is almost like slavery. 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. Yes, ma’am. Even a more difficult form of 

human trafficking is individuals who were brought to this country 

with some type of legal status and they have a passport and they 

are in domestic servitude-type situations where their passports are 

taken, they are paid no money, and the people that exploited them 

and brought them to this country physically abuse them, sexually 

abuse them until somehow they finally escape, seek help. But that 

is a very, very difficult challenge for law enforcement because it is 

not visible. It is not as visible as those that may work in the sex 

trade or the adult entertainment industry, but it is still a form of 

slavery. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me get these last questions. I thank the 

Chairman very much. Thank you very much, Chief. 

Sheriff Garcia, you might want to expand just a little bit on the 

comprehensive immigration reform, how that would help contain 

human trafficking. 

Mr. McCraw, you have eloquently spoken about it is just a 

shame about children: 440,000 children, some of whom can be in 

human trafficking. If you would comment. 
53 

I thank both witnesses for their answers. 

Mr. GARCIA. Thank you, Congresswoman Lee for your leadership. 

In my opinion, there has been a lot of discussion from people who 

are very, very close to the ground, the activist communities who 

are speaking on behalf of DREAMers, on behalf of undocumented 

people in our community that we know exist here. 

One of the prevailing things that I continue to hear is that folks 

under-report crime precisely because there is a prevailing discussion that law enforcement wants to find you if you are undocumented, not because you are a victim, not because you are a witness to a crime, but because you are undocumented. That hurts our 

efforts. We are in the law enforcement business and our business 

is strictly dependent on good information and people who are willing to testify. 

As long as that debate continues out there, as long as there is 

a question as to what is or what is not the focus of law enforcement, there is, in my opinion, the probability that people will try 

to make a business decision as to whether or not they come forward and make themselves available to law enforcement and what 

Pandora’s box that could open up for them in their circumstance. 

So I think that comprehensive immigration reform, sensible immigration reform, whatever it may be, is imperative. The current 

proposals that are here I think speak to one of the challenges that 

we have and that is securing the border. There is revenue that 

would be allotted to help and secure that, but we’ve got to work 

many different facets towards the middle. 

Then last, I want to also just touch on one thing that I do not 

think has been said enough, and that is that we are speaking essentially the pressures that we are receiving into our homeland. 

But let us not forget that some of the folks that are victims to sex 

slavery and victims to—or runaways, as Director McCraw has 

talked about, that these folks do not necessarily stay victims within 

the boundaries of the United States. They could be exported to 

other parts of the world. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. McCraw. 

Mr. MCCRAW. Yes, ma’am. Well, obviously, you know, all victims 

are tragic, certainly in the sex industry in particular. Children, obviously, are easier to entice and lure, especially the missing children. Moreover, there is a demand for sex with children. The 

younger, the more expensive, the more they can charge. That is one 

of the reasons why they are targeted. That is one of the reasons 

why social media is being used because the traffickers can range 

from single actors, some individuals that focus just on sex trafficking, and the gangs have figured out that in the business of trafficking, just like was said by the assistant district attorney, is that 

this a commodity. It not like you steal a car, you sell some drugs. 

It repays itself daily. Yet the victim, if you can control that victim, 

you are at less risk in terms of being arrested. 

You know, all of it is a priority, but when you look at it in terms 

of—from the standpoint of prioritization of what we have to, it is 

to get to the extent possible—leverage all the resources. It cannot 

just be investigations. It cannot be just education. It cannot be just 

patrol. It has to be all the disciplines to be able to do some of these 

things. Coordination, obviously, and cooperation help in that. 
54 

I appreciate the opportunity to address this committee today. 

Thank you, ma’am. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman MCCAUL. The Chairman now recognizes my good 

friend, Ted Poe, who has introduced two bills on this issue, both 

of which I am proud to cosponsor. 

Mr. POE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to thank all of you all for being here today. We got the 

best of the best, as far as I am concerned. You know, there is no 

place better than being in Houston, Harris County, Texas, and I 

think our law enforcement does the best job Nation-wide. I believe 

that. I have seen other places, but I have seen you all too. So thank 

you. 

This is a massive issue. Let me try to narrow it down and then 

get some comments from you. We have three really participants. 

We have got the trafficker who is in it for the money. As you 

have said, Mr. McCraw, and as Ms. Johnson has said, there is 

more money in it now than ever before, better than drugs for them 

because the drugs are gone, and the consequences are greater of 

you selling drugs. The consequences are less if you are this trafficker, whether you are a national or international. We got that 

person. We want to deal with him. Ms. Johnson, you are taking 

care of those folks. 

Then you have on the other end the victim, and in the middle, 

you have the demand. I want to address the victim and the demand. 

We have a mind-set in this country that we treat prostitutes, especially child prostitutes, as criminals. They are put in the juvenile 

justice system when they are arrested. The reason? You all do not 

have any place to take them. There are no beds. I understand from 

Shared Hope there are 5,000 animal shelters in the Nation. That 

is great. Nothing wrong with animal shelters. I got one of my Dalmatians from the Dalmatian Rescue. But in their most recent report, they have less than 500 beds for child-trafficked victims in 

the whole country. So we got to treat these kids as victims of crime 

and not prostitutes. 

I am no psychiatrist, but I did spend a lot of time on the bench 

and prosecuting the crooks too. But you take that victim and you 

put them in jail, even though they are not a criminal and we know 

they are not a criminal, that does not help them down the road. 

They are already labeled. With all of our openness and records and 

all, that child is going to have a criminal record, and they are always going to have a criminal record. So we have to work on that 

end and rescue them first. So, hopefully, we can do that working 

with you all. 

I have seen the victims in Central America. I think in this latest 

raid, almost all of the people that were brought in yesterday were 

from Central America. They are not from Mexico. I have been to 

Peru, South America. In fact, I met a girl, 13, that was trafficked 

in Peru. Her name was Lily. She gave me this armband so I would 

not forget her. She was trafficked in her own country, then to Guatemala, Honduras. They have trafficking issues there. Many of 

those girls show up in the United States. Some of them do not, but 

many of them do. 
55 

Then we have the issue of girls in the United States who are 

runaways, throwaways, and stolen-away that we have to deal with. 

But they are all victims of crime, and we have to recognize them. 

They are hard victims to work with. These are very difficult people. God bless folks like Dr. Sanborn over there who is trying to 

help these kids. 

But that should be our National focus and mind-set with the 

community that these are victims of crime. I agree with you, Mr. 

McCraw. It does not make any difference where they are from. 

That should not be the first question we are asking them. We 

should ask what happened to them and try to rescue them. 

On the victims, we have to communicate this concept of the U 

visa, and if we have to fix it and make it better, Sheriff, because 

as you know, these traffickers and these slave owners will tell 

these young people I will get you deported if you call the police. 

They cannot get them deported. In fact, they are the ones who are 

going to get deported after they go to prison. But they believe it. 

They do not call. It is a cultural thing. We have to change that so 

they call the police and then law enforcement works with the Feds 

and we make sure that they are not going to get deported for reporting a crime of human slavery. 

So we need to work on that. Your advice on how we can do that 

is important to this committee. 

But last, I do want some comments from you. Talk about the demand. That is the issue I think. It is an economic issue for the trafficker, but there is a demand. I do not call them ‘‘johns.’’ I mean, 

John, you know, he was a good guy. He is from the Bible. Why do 

we call them ‘‘johns’’? We ought to call them child abusers because 

that is what they are. They are the child abuser. I think the weak 

link in the law is the child abuser, going after them. 

In many jurisdictions, we do not print their names. We just put 

their initials. Hey, it is time to expose them, and they need to go 

to prison and they need to be exposed. I think part of their sentence ought to be—talking about backpage. We ought to be putting 

their photographs on backpage after they are convicted so the 

world knows who these child abusers are. 

But the bill that the Chairman has been gracious to talk about 

that I have sponsored goes after the demand and gives them equal 

punishment to the trafficker, but also makes them pay the rent on 

the courthouse in the sense that these Federal judges can fine 

them fees that goes into a fund that helps the victims of the crime 

so they have services that they do not get at this time. 

So any input, Sheriff, on just the general dynamics of trying to 

focus on the demand and then after the trafficker as well? 

Mr. GARCIA. Congressman, thank you. You are on point. We 

would not have this conversation if there was not a demand for the 

commodity of human bodies in this horrible industry. 

You know, part of the strategy that we use is as soon as we do 

an operation, we post and we share with the media the mug shots 

of all the people that we are arresting, hoping to prevent the next 

set of horrific circumstances. 

This is why I have been concerned about the fact that when we— 

as a law enforcement agency, you talk about a runaway. You know, 

it is not going after a bank robber. It is not going after a drug deal-
56 

er. It is not going after a human trafficker. But we are dealing with 

sort of a peripheral issue. I think we have to elevate the severity 

of what a runaway is and the fact that a runaway gone longer than 

24 hours becomes exponentially more at risk of becoming a prostitute, boy or girl, and a drug addict. Either way, they are likely 

to end up in the same place, either in horrible hands or in a county 

jail. 

So I think we have to really reinvent the challenge that runaways—how they fit into this whole circumstance. I think this will 

help us address the issue of demand. The faster we can recover 

these folks that have disappeared out of our communities, the 

quicker we can take commodities off the streets and make it difficult for people who have that desire. 

But all your help in prosecuting them and getting these folks, the 

buyers, the pimps, the people who are making money off of someone else’s tragedy, anything we can do to get them off the streets 

and in shackles is all the better. 

Mr. POE. Lock them up. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you. That was very powerful. 

The Chairman recognizes Mr. Al Green of Texas. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you 

and the Ranking Member—and I say it sincerely—for hosting this 

hearing today. It is exceedingly important that the empirical evidence that has been shared by expert witnesses be made available 

to the public, and I am grateful that you have done this. 

I am also grateful that you have a history of working across 

lines, and while I would like to embellish, I will not because it may 

not help you for me to say a lot of kind things about you. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I do have to thank one other group of 

folk, the people from the news media. They are indispensable. They 

really are. We absolutely need the message to get to the masses. 

There is no better way. I think that we can use all of the other social methodologies by which we could communicate, but it really is 

good to see it on the evening news, codified in the newspaper. It 

really is. So I thank you as well. 

Sheriff, you talked about the young people who are runaways. I 

want to just add a human touch to this because the chief has mentioned the runaways as well. But we are talking about 12-year-old 

babies—12-year-old babies. We are not talking about some person 

who really understands the consequences of actions. I commend 

you, Ms. Johnson, Attorney Johnson, for what you have done to 

help these young babies. These are babies. If one-third of all runaways are lured into sex trafficking within 48 hours, we are talking 

about a lot of 12-year-old babies. 

Now, I want to join my friend Judge Poe. He and I practiced law 

together for many years. But I just believe that he is eminently 

correct about the punishment. People who traffic babies have got 

to go to jail, and they have got to stay there a while, a long time. 

We cannot allow this to become just another crime because the 

harm is irreparable. It does not end when you extricate, rescue 

that child. The scars are there for years and years to come. So we 

have got to do what we can to make sure that the proper level of 
57 

punishment is accorded these persons who engage in these dastardly deeds I might add. 

I want to mention the article that I read in ‘‘The Chronicle,’’ and 

I am going to mention it from ‘‘The Chronicle’’ so that I do not put 

Mr. Moskowitz or anybody else who may have briefed in anything 

other than good standing. But I mention this article because in the 

article there is this language. It says, ‘‘Dozens flooded out into the 

fresh air and sunlight.’’ This is what happened when they approached. This is what this hearing is all about. We want every 

person who is being trafficked, every person who is being 

ensnarled, every person who is in involuntary servitude to get out 

and into the sunlight. Let us give them that chance. 

Then it goes on to say that there is a ‘‘keep out’’ sign above the 

front door. You talk about hiding in plain sight. This is the supreme, superb, ultimate example of hiding in plain sight. The 

neighbors said they did not see anything going on, had no suspicions as to this type of activity occurring. 

But I want to say this. It was in my Congressional district. It 

was in my Congressional district. I want to go out there and see 

this. I want to see what this building looks like. I am going to see 

what hiding in plain sight looks like in a neighborhood. I take this 

personally. We have got to do something because these are my people. I do not care how they got here. They are my people now. I 

am responsible for them now. I am going to defend and protect 

them now. I want the law to protect them now. The Constitution 

of the United States of America protects anybody in this country. 

I want them protected. I am going to do all that I can to help them. 

Now to a quick question. As you can see, Judge Poe and I can 

get carried away here. I think he is the greater preacher, however, 

to be quite honest. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I want you to talk for just a moment, 

if you would. I know that my time is running out, but just about 

the T visa. Sheriff, if you would, you have had encounters and you 

can elaborate, but if there are others who want to chime in. The 

T visa because I think it is an important aspect of being able to 

prosecute a case, Ms. Johnson, an important aspect of being able 

to prosecute. So I will start with the sheriff and welcome anyone 

else who would like to comment. 

Mr. GARCIA. Thank you, Congressman. 

The visa issue that I mentioned earlier is a circumstance that is 

a great resource to help victims of human trafficking or victims 

who are here undocumented and are a victim of a crime. The challenge, though, is particularly in circumstances like what we saw 

yesterday. We are processing those folks today. We are talking to 

them. We are interviewing them, and we are asking the question, 

you know, will you testify, will you get a witness against your oppressors? 

Understanding all the things you have read in that news article 

about how horrific the circumstances were, 115 people, one toilet, 

incredible stench in that house, and then who knows, as it has 

been discussed and mentioned, how aggressive the oppressors are, 

threatening their lives, maybe have already physically abused 

them, maybe have already sexually assaulted them several times, 
58 

maybe have already threatened them by they are going to kill their 

families back home, they know where they live, cooperate or everybody dies. I mean, that is the real threat that these victims exist 

under. Then immediately after their rescue, we are asking them, 

will you testify, will you put this guy in jail? 

Knowing or not knowing what is ever between their ears and the 

experiences that they have lived, the answers oftentimes from 

these traumatized folks is not likely to be a quick yes, anything I 

can do, I am ready to testify, put me on the stand, I am there. It 

is not likely to be that. As a result, there is a high probability that 

the support of the visa process could be delayed. In some cases, it 

could be denied. There is a need to improve the process in the 

event that they say no today or do not answer in the affirmative 

today, that later on the question mark on whether that visa can 

be applicable to them can be turned over and facilitated for them. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you. 

Because of my time—I am over my time, Mr. Chairman—I will 

yield back and perhaps in some other way you will be able to respond. But thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman MCCAUL. The Chairman now recognizes Mr. 

Farenthold. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much, Chairman McCaul. 

I am going to avoid getting up on the soapbox because I think 

some of my colleagues have done a far better job than I could. 

But I do want to investigate some of these issues and some of 

the things that we can do about it, more with some questions. 

On this panel, you have actually got several Members of the two 

committees that probably have the most jurisdiction: Homeland Security and Judiciary. Judge Poe, Ms. Jackson Lee, and I serve on 

Judiciary. That gives us criminal jurisdiction and immigration jurisdiction. 

So, Brian, I want to follow up on what Mr. Green was talking 

about with the T and U visas. Do we have adequate training for 

our personnel in briefing the victims on that? Is the problem with 

these visas a legal problem or is it a training and application problem? 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. First of all, just to stress that both the T and 

the U visa are administered by DHS, but by USCIS, not my agency 

ICE. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. You guys are the ones that are bringing them 

the people that are going to want to take advantage of these. From 

a Federal level, you and the FBI are probably the big boys in bringing them. 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Yes, we are probably the primary users of it. 

So there is a difference in the T and the U visa. First of all, the 

T visa. It is for long-term immigration relief, and the victim selfpetitions. So it is the victim who comes forward. It does not require 

a law enforcement certification as opposed to the U visa where a 

chief or the sheriff has to say, yes, this person is a victim. They 

are not saying they should get the visa or not, just yes, they are 

a victim from our standpoint. The person has to comply with reasonable requests of law enforcement to help. If that is granted by 

USCIS, they get to stay here, a work permit, and access to benefits 

and such. 
59 

The U visa again is very similar. It is for a wider variety of 

crimes. 

The key with the T visa, as the law is written, is you must be 

a victim of a severe form of trafficking under the definition of the 

Trafficking Victim Protection Act. So that is the key. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. So we can potentially broaden that definition 

and it might be helpful. 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. It certainly would be within your discretion. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. All right. So under the U visas, we have heard 

that part of the problem is you are asked to make that decision 

whether or not you want to testify. For instance, in this stash 

house that you all got yesterday, they are probably asking that 

question today or tomorrow, and that has not given the folks time 

to get over the emotional scars, much less consult with an attorney 

or even their consulate officials. 

Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Now, if we are talking about people from out of 

the country, they are through the process, the entire process—I 

mean, you mentioned training. All of our folks are trained whether 

it is HSI or ERO. They are trained in this process. Throughout the 

detention facilities where these people are held are signs and access to free phones where they can—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. But you need some time to deal with it, I 

guess is the point I was talking about. 

I am going to try to stay reasonably within my time, and I have 

several other questions I want to ask. I will go to Chief McClelland. 

I will give the sheriff an opportunity to answer as well. 

While I was sitting up here, I went on-line to one of the more 

notorious on-line classified sites and went and looked at some of 

the adult services. I counted four listings in Corpus Christi in the 

last 24 hours or with today’s date on them and 99 in the Houston 

area. In finding these criminals and the victims, it does not look 

like you need to do much more than go on-line. I mean, why aren’t 

we just sending people out? I mean, you have advertised for these 

services that certainly hint at being illegal. Why can you not just 

go out, either send an undercover officer out there, or go say, hey, 

let us look around and find the bedroom full of people being held 

there? Do you not have the resources to do that? Or is there a legal 

impediment to doing that? 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. Well, yes, one is a resource issue. In other 

cases, it is an information issue. But certainly the social networking has made it much more challenging for law enforcement 

to interdict people that are being trafficked in the sex industry. No 

doubt about that. It is certainly more challenging. 

But also culturally as a society, it has been somewhat accepting, 

and the penalties for the individuals that exploit folks that are 

trafficking in the sex industry is relatively low because people have 

looked at it as a victimless crime and they do not understand the 

violence associated with it. If these were people that were on the 

news every day for murdering someone, yes, they would be getting 

felonies and they would be going to jail and prison for long periods 

of time. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. So who is making the choice of those allocation 

of resources? 
60 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. Well, it is a prioritization with myself, the 

sheriff—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Obviously, you want to go after a murderer 

first, but you hear the tragedies associated with these women and 

you wonder how many deaths you might be able to prevent. I do 

not mean to be criticizing your department. 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. No, no, no. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I am trying to find out what we can do to help. 

Mr. MCCLELLAND. Well, certainly resources, the database, and a 

more defined law. I mean, you can hear the confusion here and the 

close link that you have with smuggling, trafficking, and people 

going across jurisdictional lines. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I am already out of time, but if the Chairman 

will indulge me long enough to get the sheriff’s answer to that 

same question, I would appreciate it. 

Mr. GARCIA. Thank you. 

The chief is correct. The social media websites in particular and 

how those respective domains operate—one day the IP addresses 

are available. The next day they have been turned off. You know, 

it is challenging. We do need better laws to help address this. 

But it also brings me back to the issue of how runaways and 

missing persons play into that particular side of the equation. We 

have to do better at maybe making resources available for us to use 

facial recognition technology much more effectively because they 

are putting pictures up on the site. Maybe that could be a way to 

address this. 

But there is nothing more than I want to do everything I can to 

put these folks out of business. That is why I have increased specifically the number of female deputies in my vice operations. I 

made it a huge priority, looking to do more. I have given $300,000 

of my asset forfeitures to the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department so they can start a juvenile human trafficking unit. It is 

a priority. It is important. We got to step up. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. All right. Thank you very much. 

Chairman MCCAUL. I want to thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony and insight to the policymakers and lawmakers to, 

as you put it so well, put them out of business. 

So with that, this panel is dismissed, and the clerk will prepare 

the witness table for our second panel. 

We welcome our second panel to today’s hearing and thank you 

for your participation here today in this important matter. 

First, Dr. Robert Sanborn is president and CEO of Children at 

Risk. Under his leadership, Children at Risk expanded its influence 

in the realm of child welfare advocacy, including the launch of the 

Public Policy and Law Center, Children at Risk Institute, and the 

Center to End Trafficking and Exploitation of Children. 

Dr. Reena Isaac is an assistant professor of pediatrics with 

Baylor College of Medicine, and is a consulting physician at Texas 

Children’s Hospital, Child Protection Program. Dr. Isaac serves as 

a physician advisor for Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition, 

whose goal is to eliminate human trafficking by empowering the 

community to take action to rescue and restore victims. 

Ms. Cheryl Briggs is a restored survivor of domestic minor sex 

trafficking and is the founder of the Mission at Serenity Ranch. 
61 

Ms. Briggs also serves as a mentor for the Harris County Juvenile 

Probation Department, Human Trafficking Diversion Court. In 

January 2014, Ms. Briggs opened My Daughter’s House, a safe 

house that provides long-term transitional housing for young 

women who have been rescued from trafficking situations and/or 

forced participation in the commercialized sex industry. Thank you, 

Ms. Briggs, so much for being here today and telling your story. 

Last but not least, Ms. Kathryn Griffin-Townsend is the founder 

of We’ve Been There Done That, a reentry program established 

with the goal of rehabilitating women who have lived through sex 

trafficking, prostitution, and associated drug addiction. A former 

cocaine addict and prostitute, Ms. Griffin-Townsend credits rehabilitation programs with changing her life. 

The witnesses’ full statements will appear in the record. 

The Chairman now recognizes Dr. Sanborn for his testimony. 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT SANBORN, ED.D., PRESIDENT AND 

CEO, CHILDREN AT RISK 

Mr. SANBORN. Thank you, Chairman McCaul, and I want to 

thank all of the Members here for their support of this issue. 

I also want to recognize Congressman Poe for the End Sex Trafficking Act and the Justice for Victims Act. Both of them are so important for our fight against trafficking, and certainly, Mr. Chairman, your support for that act. 

You know, a lot of people have talked today about why Houston 

is such a hub for trafficking. I think one of the things that we are 

not talking about is that for all the reasons that people have talked 

about, the geographic location and a large city, all of those are 

true. There are a lot of reasons why I love Houston just like the 

rest of you. But one of the reasons that we do not talk—one of the 

things we do not talk about is that in Houston we tend to turn a 

blind eye towards sexually-oriented businesses. We have over 300 

sexually-oriented businesses here in Houston. Less than 20 of those 

are licensed. Yet, there are more here than in any other city in the 

Nation. We are turning a blind eye and we are saying boys will be 

boys in many ways. 

It gets back to demand, which you talked about, Congressman 

Poe. We are not doing the things necessary to make sure that those 

who engage in these services pay a high price for engaging. We 

make it very easy for men in our society and certainly men in 

Houston to be able to go on the internet, to go to backpage.com, 

which I challenge any of you to do, not on your Congressional computers, though—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. SANBORN [continuing]. And find out what is happening on 

backpage.com. You will see the real pictures of real girls that are 

being trafficked. 

Congressman Farenthold, you talked about seeing this morning 

99 in Houston, 3 in Corpus Christi. By the end of the evening, we 

will have up to 300 here in Houston of those posted, and you will 

see that many of those are children. 

When we talk about trafficking in Texas and across the Nation, 

many times we are talking about child sex trafficking. At Children 

at Risk, we work in many areas for children, education and hunger 
62 

and so forth, but the most heartbreaking area is certainly in the 

area of child trafficking. Over the last three legislative sessions, we 

have been able to pass and help in the passage of about 28 bills 

that have given law enforcement the tools necessary to go after 

traffickers—law enforcement and prosecutors—starting with allowing the Attorney General to create a State-wide task force. This 

awareness is very, very important. 

A couple years ago, a prominent person in town said, Bob, how 

are we going to sort of give a knockout punch to trafficking. The 

answer—I said there are really four steps. 

One is we need to create all the awareness that we can. People 

need to understand that trafficking is a problem. We are beginning 

to do that. I do not think we are where we need to be because a 

lot of the information—Hollywood has jumped on it. They really 

have done a lot, but not all of it is correct. There is more that we 

need to do around awareness. 

The second thing that we need to do is public policy. We need 

to pass more laws that allow prosecutors and law enforcement to 

go after traffickers. We are just at the tip of the iceberg on that. 

The third is we really need to treat our victims. Congressman 

Poe, you mentioned there are just too few beds. We have opened 

up a place recently in Houston. Ms. Briggs has a place that she has 

opened, and there is a couple that are opening up around the country. We did a lot of research at Children at Risk to create a blueprint for some of these safe houses, but we need to do a lot more 

to make sure that we have places for our victims. 

But then finally, it is going after that demand, which is the thing 

that we are doing the least about, going after those men that feel 

like it is perfectly fine to buy young women or young girls. These 

are the things that we can do. We actually have here—this is a 

crime against humanity, and this is a crime against humanity in 

our own town, perpetuated by our next-door neighbors. I think we 

forget to realize that, that this is something happening with the 

guy next door. We are not doing enough for these johns, these people purchasing these victims to pay the high price. 

The good news is that we are fighting in Texas. We are fighting 

to end trafficking. We are passing as much legislation as we can. 

The bad news is that this is a crime driven by this male population, and while there are lots of people lined up to work against 

trafficking, there are just too many others that are lined up to hurt 

us. 

When we look across the State of Texas, our Attorney General 

has identified 800 victims in the last 5 years. Half of those were 

children. Houston is the No. 1 source for calls to the Human Trafficking Hotline. We had the big Mondragon human trafficking ring 

where 120 women and children were rescued a number of years 

ago. In Dallas, a 12-year-old was found dancing at the all-nude 

Dallas Diamonds Cabaret. In Corpus Christi, a 14-year-old found 

dancing at the Club Cheetah. In Houston, at the Taboo Modeling 

Studio North, a human trafficking den, we found four 16-year-olds. 

We have visited some of these spots, unfortunately, and what we 

find is that we go into these places and we see women paraded in 

front of us, women lined along the walls, all with blank faces, all 

not knowing why they are there. This is something that all of us 
63 

1 22 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq. (2002). 2 Id. 

3 Id. 

need to work very, very hard to end because it is heartbreaking, 

and it is eminently solvable but we are not doing enough to solve 

it. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Sanborn follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ROBERT SANBORN

MARCH 20, 2014 

INTRODUCTION

Texas is both a hub for human trafficking and a leader in the fight against it. 

The Department of Justice estimates that 1 in 4 human trafficking victims will pass 

through Texas at some point during their ordeal. Indeed, some of the very factors 

that make Texas such an extraordinary State also make it a hotbed of human trafficking: A diverse population, numerous airports, interstate highways and international ports, prominent professional sports teams, a popular host site to many National conferences and conventions, and a bustling economy. These attributes, while 

points of pride, also bring demand for human trafficking to our State and allow traffickers to more easily hide and transport their victims and elude law enforcement. 

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines human trafficking as the ‘‘recruitment, harboring, transportation, providing or obtaining of a 

person by means of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of a commercial sex act 

or labor services.’’1 Force often takes the form of physical abduction, rapes, beatings, 

and torture, including the withholding of food, clothing, and other basic necessities. 

Fraud manifests through offers of a better life, the opportunity to work to make 

money to support their families, or the chance to obtain an education, which then 

prove false as victims are trapped and forced to work without pay. In the case of 

sex trafficking, it also often takes the form of psychological manipulation and the 

appearance of a romantic relationship. Victims, many of whom were abused prior 

in their homes before being trafficked, are led to believe that they are worthless and 

that no one else besides their trafficker will love them, and that they have no choice 

but to submit to sexual exploitation. Coercion can involve exploitation of an immigrant’s unfamiliarity with the language and laws of the United States, verbal and 

psychological abuse, threats of harm to the victim or the victim’s family and friends, 

threats of deportation, isolation, confiscation of travel and identification documents, 

and the imposition of debt through inflated fees to the sexually-oriented business 

or trafficking network.2 Force, fraud, and coercion are used together to keep a victim subjugated. However, according to the TVPA, force, fraud, or coercion need not 

be proven to convict a person of trafficking when the victim is a child.3

Human trafficking involves two kinds of victims: Domestic or international; and 

comes in two general forms: Labor or sex trafficking. Domestic victims are most 

commonly subject to sex trafficking, while labor trafficking is more prominent 

among international victims. However, there is overlap between these categories, 

with international victims also being subject to sex trafficking, and domestic victims 

sometimes involved in labor trafficking. Additionally, labor trafficking can become 

sex trafficking and vice versa. For instance, a young woman may be forced to work 

as a waitress or dancer at a strip club or cantina, and then be transitioned into sexual exploitation as well. 

In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General reports that between 2007 and 2012, 

it identified almost 700 human trafficking-related incidences, involving almost 800 

victims. About half the victims were not U.S. citizens, while the other half were 

Americans being trafficked domestically. Almost half of the victims were children. 

Vishalie’s story epitomizes the experience of many international victims of human 

trafficking. Vishalie was a young woman from India who came to the United States 

to work as a nanny to support her widowed mother and four younger siblings. She 

answered a newspaper advertisement in India offering a chance to work in the 

United States and make enough money to send home. She was offered a job but the 

terms changed without notice as soon as she arrived in the United States. Her passport was confiscated, and she was sent to work for another family in New Jersey. 

She was forced to work long hours as a nanny and domestic servant, but did not 

receive any pay and was not permitted to leave the home alone. 
64 

4Survivor Stories—Sarah, POLARIS PROJECT, http://www.polarisproject.org/what-we-do/ 

client-services/survivor-stories/465-sarah-domestic-minor-sex-trafficking (last visited Dec. 11, 

2012). 5 Id. 

6 Id. 

7 Id. 

8 Id. 

9Lise Olsen, Houston Sex-Trafficking Ringleader Gets 13 Years in Prison, Hous. Chron. (Apr. 

27, 2009), http://www.chron.com/news/article/Houston-sex-trafficking-ringleader-gets-13-years1735028.php (last visited Nov. 1, 2012). 10Lost Girl, Newsweek, Apr. 3, 2008, http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/04/03/ 

lost-girl.html (last visited Nov. 1, 2012). 11 Id. 12 Janine Reyes, Adult Club Sues Alleged Victim, Teen and Family Countersue in Court, KRISTV.COM, Feb. 29, 2012, http://www.kristv.com/news/adult-club-sues-alleged-victim-teenand-family-countersue-in-court/ (last visited Nov. 1, 2012). 13 Id. 14 Id. 

A typical situation for a domestic victim might sound like Sarah’s story. Sarah 

was a 17-year-old girl who ran away from home in rural Ohio because her mother 

and stepfather were alcoholics and she was neglected at home.4 She was approached 

by a 30-year-old man while walking to the store alone who asked her why she 

looked so upset, and offered to take her to get her nails done to cheer her up.5 She 

agreed, and over the next couple of months, he took her out to eat, gave her compliments, and acted like a caring boyfriend.6 He asked her to move in with him, but 

after a month of living together he said he could not afford the rent and asked her 

to engage in commercial sex with older men to pay the bills.7 Sarah was uncomfortable, but was adamantly against returning home and wanted to please him, so she 

allowed him to begin prostituting her.8

A number of prominent busts involving human trafficking illustrate the problem 

in Texas. The Maria Bonita Cantina in Houston, Texas, which was owned and operated by Gerardo Salazar Tecuapacho, was busted in 2005. Salazar earned the nickname ‘‘El Gallo’’ by branding his female victims with his trademark rooster. Salazar 

lured young women from Mexico to leave their homes to travel to Houston under 

false pretenses of love, marriage, and legitimate job opportunities. Upon arrival in 

Houston, the women were forced into a life of sexual slavery in the cantina. In 2005, 

one of Salazar’s teenage victims called a domestic violence hotline and told rescuers 

that she had been brutally beaten and sold in the cantina. Upon indictment, Salazar 

fled to Mexico where he was eventually arrested and remains while the United 

States seeks extradition. 

Also in 2005, Maximino Mondragon was convicted in the bust of one of the Nation’s largest sex trafficking rings. For over a decade, Mondragon ran a ring of 

cantinas in northwest Houston where he held women and girls lured to this country 

with the promise of legitimate employment, but quickly forced into prostitution 

upon their arrival. The women and girls were held captive by constant surveillance 

and threats of violence to themselves and their families back in Latin America if 

they attempted to escape. Mondragon controlled the women and girls’ money, their 

clothes, their movements, and even subjected the women to forced abortions. A total 

of 120 women were rescued from Mondragon’s cantinas by law enforcement. 

Mondragon was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.7 million in 

restitution to his victims.9

In 2007, Diamonds Cabaret, an all-nude strip club in Dallas, Texas, was allowed 

to stay open even after police found they had hired a 12-year-old girl as a stripper.10

The girl had run away from home and was picked up by a trafficker and a Diamonds Cabaret dancer. They offered her a place to stay, but told her she had to 

earn her keep, and drove her to the strip club. The club hired her even though she 

was unable to show valid identification. The girl eventually ran away from her trafficker as he slept, and he ultimately faced Federal charges for felony sexual performance of a child. However, Diamonds Cabaret remained open due to a loophole 

in the Dallas ordinances, which had no provision allowing officials to shut it down 

for employing a minor.11

In another domestic case involving a minor victim, Club Cheetah in Corpus Christi, Texas, which hired a 14-year-old trafficking victim as a nude dancer, sued the 

girl and her family after she was rescued from her trafficker.12 The girl was kidnapped from a San Antonio homeless shelter, sexually assaulted, and then sold for 

sex at Club Cheetah.13 Her trafficker pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated 

sexual assault in 2010, but Club Cheetah, rather than face criminal penalties, sued 

the girl and her family in civil court.14 The club claimed the girl caused damages 

including loss of revenue, a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission investigation, and 
65 

15 Id. 16 Id. 17 Id. 18 U.S. Attorney’s Office S. Dist. of Tex., Remaining Defendants Convicted in District’s Largest 

Sex Trafficking Case (Oct. 4, 2012) available at http://www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/ 

2012/remaining-defendants-convicted-in-districts-largest-domestic-sex-trafficking-case (last visited Nov. 1, 2012). 19 Houston Rescue & Restore Coalition, What is Human Trafficking?, http:// 

www.houstonrr.org/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking/ (last visited Nov. 1, 2012). 

loss of standing and reputation in the community, and asked for $25,000 in damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.15 The girl’s family countersued the club for 

negligence, seeking damages for her bodily injury and sickness including lost peace 

of mind, depression, neurosis, nervousness, weight loss, nightmares, irritability, 

upset stomach, sleep loss, and anxiety.16 Club Cheetah eventually withdrew their 

suit in response to the girl’s family’s countersuit.17

In a particularly large trafficking bust in Houston, Texas in 2009, an investigation 

by the Innocence Lost Task Force of the FBI and the Houston Police Department 

as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative resulted in the arrest and charging 

of five men and one woman with a number of crimes, including conspiracy to traffic 

women and children for the purposes of commercial sex; sex trafficking of children; 

and sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.18 The victims were brought to 

Houston from other States, including Florida, Kansas, Arizona, and Nevada in one 

of three business fronts owned and operated by the gang, which included a business 

operating under the name ‘‘Taboo Modeling Studio North.’’ Four 16-year-old minors 

were among the victims rescued from these operations, including one teenager abducted while walking down the street in Kansas. All of the victims were American 

citizens, and were beaten routinely and not permitted to keep the profits from their 

exploitation. 

In all situations of human trafficking, whether international or domestic, most 

victims do not know where to turn to for help. Even when law enforcement gets involved and they are removed from their traffickers, services for victims are severely 

lacking, and too-often victims are treated as criminals themselves. 

SEXUALLY-ORIENTED BUSINESSES

As the second-largest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, the singular purpose of trafficking in persons is to generate illicit profits for the traffickers.19 How do traffickers translate their control of the trafficking victim into 

profits? There are many different methods, but one of the most prevalent is through 

sexually-oriented businesses. These businesses dovetail perfectly with the trafficker’s intent to profit from the exploitation of victims, as they provide a readymade market. While some sexually-oriented businesses, such as strip clubs, are easily identifiable as sexually-oriented, others are established as ‘‘massage parlors,’’ 

‘‘modeling studios,’’ or other non-sexual business entities in an effort to disguise 

their true identities as brothels and venues for labor and sex trafficking. 

Traffickers sometimes directly own a sexually-oriented business, or simply make 

financial arrangements with the owners and managers as a way to facilitate the 

marketing and exploitation of their victims. Essentially, businesses provide the 

venue for the traffickers to market and sell their products, and traffickers then pay 

a portion of their profits to the business owners and operators. Also complicit in 

these illegal business ventures are the clients, or ‘‘johns,’’ who patronize the establishments for the purpose of commercial sex. Like any commercial enterprise, 

human trafficking is fueled by the law of supply and demand—but for the customers 

willing to pay for commercial sex, these illegal businesses would not be in existence. 

It is important to note that not all sexually-oriented businesses are illicit fronts 

for commercial sex and human trafficking. State and local laws expressly authorize 

the establishment of sexually-oriented businesses, and legitimate sexually-oriented 

businesses that are properly licensed and operating within the parameters of regulation exist throughout the country. The problems associated with human trafficking 

arise when sexually-oriented businesses operate beyond the scope of legal boundaries, serving as venues for prostitution and other illegal activities. The prevalence 

of these illegal sexually-oriented businesses varies from State to State, and even between localities within States. For instance, in Texas’ Greater Houston area, while 

there are over 300 sexually-oriented businesses, fewer than 20 are licensed as such. 

Not all of these 300-plus businesses are involved in the illegal commercial sex trade; 

some may not meet the requirements of the county or city ordinance and therefore 
66 

20 CHILDREN AT RISK, Study on Sexually Oriented Businesses in the Greater Houston Area, 

August 2012, http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/State-of-Human-Trafficking-in-Texas-FINAL.pdf (last visited Dec. 17, 2012). 21Polaris Project, Human Trafficking-Internet Based, http://www.polarisproject.org/humantrafficking/sex-trafficking-in-the-us/internet-based (last visited Nov. 1, 2012). 22 Id. 

do not seek licensure, while others are indeed illicit fronts for commercial sex.20 Several of these unlicensed businesses have been identified and shut down after multiple instances of prostitution, sexual assault, and human trafficking have occurred. 

However, many continue to operate unchecked. Treasures, one of the most wellknown and notorious strip clubs in Houston, is not licensed as a sexually-oriented 

business, and has been cited dozens of times for prostitution, drug use, and public 

lewdness. Despite efforts by the city to shut it down as a public nuisance, the club 

has avoided closure. 

Sexually-oriented businesses come in a wide variety of models and are continually 

mutating to avoid regulations and detection from law enforcement. Some of the most 

common forms of sexually-oriented businesses include: Cantinas, strip clubs, massage parlors, modeling studios, tea houses, and hostess lounges. Often, sexually-oriented businesses operate within racial or ethnic networks that share similar characteristics in terms of their operating structure and the trafficker and victim profiles. 

For instance, Asian sexually-oriented businesses such as massage parlors, hostess 

clubs, and tea rooms may be connected by a criminal organization that runs a variety of sexually-oriented businesses and rotates women between facilities. Latino sexually-oriented businesses take the form of residential brothels, escort services, and 

cantinas. Both Asian and Latino sex trafficking networks primarily exploit immigrant women and girls, capitalizing on their undocumented status, unfamiliarity 

with the country, and economic desperation. Notwithstanding the prevalence of racially exclusive trafficking networks, often domestic and international networks comingle. Strip clubs, for example, may provide an avenue for organized crime enterprises to funnel trafficking victims from Eastern Europe, while also serving as a 

venue for domestic trafficking. 

The internet provides an easy means for traffickers to directly prostitute their victims and to advertise their sexually-oriented businesses. Human trafficking also 

thrives on relatively unregulated internet sites such as Backpage.com, Eros.com, 

Rubmaps.com, and Craiglist.com, and the internet is the No. 1 platform where traffickers, pimps, and johns buy and sell women and girls for sex.21 Ads may appear 

to be posted by an individual who is operating independently but are often created 

by, or at the direction of, a trafficker.22 Sexually-oriented businesses, particularly 

massage parlors, heavily advertise on the internet. On any given day in Houston, 

just one internet site could feature over 300 ads for sex and almost 200 ads for sexually-oriented businesses. While impossible to confirm exact numbers, it is safe to say 

that a large proportion of these ads feature victims of human trafficking, and at 

least 3 dozen ads per day feature girls who appear to be under 18. 

THE FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

While Texas does face significant challenges regarding the prevalence of human 

trafficking within our borders, we are also in many ways leaders in the fight against 

human trafficking. The Texas Legislature has been resolute and effective in passing 

laws to combat trafficking, and since 2007, has enacted 28 anti-trafficking bills. 

Many of these laws strengthen the penalties for traffickers and johns in order to 

deter and punish those who would exploit victims. Recently, the State legislature 

has also focused on providing services for victims, to ensure that they have the resources available to them to recover and rebuild their lives. 

The training of law enforcement is crucial and has been very successful as a result of a 2009 bill that mandated training in human trafficking for all newly-licensed police officers and all officers wishing to advance in rank. The training ensures that law enforcement is better able to detect human trafficking and more adequately prepared to deal with victims. A bill passed just last year in the 83rd Session builds on this success by requiring that the Texas Education Agency, the Department of Family and Protective Services, and the Health and Human Services 

Commission create curriculum to train doctors, nurses, emergency medical services 

personnel, teachers, school counselors and administrators, and child welfare workers 

to identify and assist victims of human trafficking. It is critically important that 

these professionals receive education around human trafficking because they are 

often the first points of contact for victims to receive help. Without the proper training, we run the risk that these victims will fall through the cracks and not be identified and rescued. 
67 

As Texas focuses more on the needs of victims of human trafficking, it is apparent 

that not enough residential shelters exist to provide comprehensive services to these 

victims, not only in Texas but across the country. Funding is desperately needed to 

assist in the establishment of such shelters, which can be quite costly considering 

the wide range of medical, emotional, educational, and economic needs victims 

present. However, as more and more individuals and organizations become aware 

of the victims’ needs and seek to start shelters, it is imperative that standards are 

in place for facilities that provide services to victims. Texas addressed this need in 

2013 by passing a bill that mandates minimum standards to ensure that such shelters address the special needs of trafficking victims and provide adequate services. 

Such standards are needed across the country. 

Texas, like a number of other States including Washington and New Jersey, have 

attempted to regulate internet sites that provide a venue for human traffickers to 

exploit their victims, but have been severely limited in their ability to hold internet 

service providers liable by the Federal Communications Decency Act (‘‘CDA’’). While 

the purpose of the CDA is to preserve the dynamic nature of the internet and to 

protect internet service providers from liability for the content posted on their sites 

by users, it is proving to constitute a significant barrier to States seeking to regulate 

websites that profit from and promote human trafficking. We need Congressional action to amend the CDA to eliminate the loophole that allows trafficking to flourish 

on the internet, immune from State regulation by Federal law. 

CONCLUSION

Sadly, many of the reasons that Texas is a great place to live also make it vulnerable to the proliferation of human trafficking. International and domestic trafficking 

are both widespread in Texas, aided by the presence of many unregulated sexuallyoriented businesses and the ease the internet provides for traffickers to exploit their 

victims. However, the Texas Legislature has been aggressive and diligent in passing 

legislation aimed at eliminating trafficking from the State. More still needs to be 

done on a National level to address funding and standards for safe houses for victims, and to curb the use of the internet as a marketplace for trafficking. Yet we 

are confident as awareness grows of this horrible and widespread crime, our National leaders will be in the forefront of the fight against it. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for your passion on this issue. 

Dr. Isaac, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF REENA ISAAC, M.D., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR 

OF PEDIATRICS, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, CHILD ABUSE PEDIATRICS SECTION 

OF THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, TEXAS CHILDREN’S 

HOSPITAL 

Dr. ISAAC. Thank you, Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee, and committee Members. 

Health care providers are one of the few groups of professionals 

likely to interface with victims of human trafficking while they are 

still in the control of the criminals who profit from them. A study 

in 2005 found that 28 percent of the victims came into contact with 

the health care system at least one time during their captivity. 

This represents a critical opportunity for identification and intervention. Health care providers are in a unique position to screen 

for victims of trafficking and provide important medical and psychological care for victims, as well as introduce critical services and 

supports that may enable them rescue and reintegration back into 

society. 

It is estimated that 100,000 children are in the sex trade in the 

United States each year. Children at highest risk for victimization 

are the homeless youth, throwaway, and runaway children, children with low self-esteem, children who are neglected and abused, 

or any child that seeks love. Recognizing these children as high- 
68 

risk may serve as an important prevention strategy and an area 

where health care professionals may also be in a position to intervene and redirect. 

One of the challenges of the health care worker is identifying 

this vulnerable and silent population. Some of the recognized barriers to detecting victims include isolation from others, victim reluctance to disclose the abuse, continual surveillance by traffickers, 

lack of awareness of even being a victim, and basic distrust of 

adults and mistrust of authorities. Given this understanding, victims do not readily self-identify themselves as victims and training 

on recognizing the signs is crucial, and development of skills to facilitate identification is necessary. 

Given the scope and breadth of the problems faced by this 

marginalized population, it has become clear that the issue of 

human trafficking is not only a human rights issue but also a global health issue. Some of the issues that we see with these survivors 

are issues related to mental health, physical trauma, reproductive 

issues, substance abuse, and infectious diseases. 

Some of the mental health problems in children may including 

low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and poor academic achievement. 

Drug addiction and substance abuse may also manifest during 

their years of captivity. In one study involving trafficked women, 

it was revealed that 69 percent suffered from post-traumatic stress 

disorder. 

Physical trauma can result from forced manual labor or from the 

direct physical violence by the trafficker or clients in an effort to 

control and dominate the victim. 

Victims of the sex trafficking industry are at high risk for acquiring multiple sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection. 

Pregnancy, complications from unsafe termination procedures, and 

complicated infections of the genital tract may also present. 

Seeking to respond to the call for additional training of health 

care professionals, a local grassroots, nonprofit organization, The 

Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition, adopted a curriculum-planning project named Health Professionals and Human Trafficking: 

Look Beneath the Surface, H.E.A.R. Your Patient. This program 

known locally as the H.E.A.R. Project provides not only the knowledge and awareness of human trafficking to health care professionals, but also builds the skills for identification and referral of 

potential victims of human trafficking. This project, which began in 

2010, has been instrumental in successfully training hundreds of 

medical professionals in the Houston area and is in the process of 

evolving into a multimedia training program with the expectation 

for a much larger reach Nationally. 

In addition to the identification of victims, health care professionals can be instrumental in the criminal investigation and prosecution of traffickers and clients in the collection of the patient’s 

historical information required for diagnosis and treatment and forensic evidence. Medical professionals with particular expertise in 

child abuse and child sexual abuse may serve as expert witnesses 

in the courtroom. In these capacities, the profession can provide a 

voice to the voiceless. 

The victims of these crimes have experienced incredible physical, 

emotional, and psychological traumas. Instead of a childhood filled 
69 

with laughter and promise, child victims, many of whom have been 

forced across borders from their familiar homelands into our Nation, have been subjected to and experienced unimaginable horrors 

that strip them of their own identities and the very beauty of what 

it means to be human. 

I would propose to the committee to consider the allowance of 

funding to enhance collaborative training of health care professionals in our efforts to identify and intervene on behalf of these 

victims. 

I thank the committee for this opportunity to speak on behalf of 

the medical professionals involved in the care of these children. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Isaac follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF REENA ISAAC

MARCH 20, 2014 

Health care providers are one of the few groups of professionals likely to interface 

with victims of human trafficking while they are still under the control of the criminals who profit from them. A study in 2005 found that 28% of victims came into 

contact with the health care system at least one time during their captivity. This 

represents a critical opportunity for identification and intervention. Health care providers are in a unique position to screen for victims of trafficking and provide important medical and psychological care for victims, as well, as introduce critical services 

and supports that may enable them rescue and re-integration back into society. 

Front-line medical care centers such as emergency departments, primary care pediatric centers, family practice offices, reproductive health clinics, public health clinics, are most likely to interface with victims seeking acute and basic medical care. 

Efforts to optimize these opportunities for intervention require additional training 

for identification of victims by medical and nursing personnel, as well as, instruction 

on available community resources for support, services, and protection of the victim. 

Human trafficking encompasses many different aspects: International vs. domestic victims, adult vs. child victims, and labor vs. sex trafficking victims. It is estimated that 100,000 children are in the sex trade in the United States each year. 

Children at highest risk for victimization are the homeless youth, throwaway and 

runaway children, children with low self-esteem, children who are neglected and 

abused, or any child that seeks love. Recognizing these children as high risk may 

serve as an important prevention strategy and an area where health care professionals may also be in a position to intervene and redirect. 

One of the challenges for the health care worker is identifying this vulnerable, 

silent population. Some of the recognized barriers to detecting victims include: (1) 

Isolation from others, (2) victim reluctance to disclose abuse, (3) continual surveillance by traffickers, (4) lack of awareness of being a victim, and (5) basic distrust 

of adults and mistrust of authorities. Given this understanding, victims do not readily self-identify themselves as victims and training on recognizing the signs is crucial and development of skills to facilitate identification is necessary. 

The trafficking victim-patient carries a unique set of health care needs that, once 

identified, can be properly assessed and addressed. Given the scope and breadth of 

the problems faced by this marginalized population, it has become clear that the 

issue of human trafficking is not only a human rights issue but also a global public 

health issue. The role of the health care professional is an important one on many 

levels. 

The possible signs and symptoms in a trafficked victim’s presentation that may 

alert health professionals are vast: 

Mental health.—Children with exposure to trauma typically experience affective, 

behavioral, and cognitive problems. Increased incidences of acute anxiety and stress 

disorder, affective disorders, conduct disorders, and personality disorders have also 

been recognized. Other mental health problems may include low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, poor academic achievement, and poor interpersonal relationship quality. Drug addiction and substance abuse may also manifest during their years in 

captivity. Research of 130 trafficked women revealed that 69% suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. Sex trafficking and sexual exploitation appear to carry a 

greater increased risk for adverse health outcomes than with a homelessness or runaway status alone. 
70 

Physical trauma.—Physical trauma can result from forced manual labor or from 

direct physical violence by the trafficker or clients in an effort to control and dominate the victim. Any form of bodily injury may be a result of extreme physical 

stress. Traffickers may beat, kick, choke, burn, or cut victims, as a way to control 

and manipulate them. Cigarette burns, fractures, bruises, and burns are common 

injuries of physical violence. Tattoos found on the body may serve to identify the 

victim as property of a particular trafficker, in effect branding the victim as a mere 

product of commerce. 

Reproductive and genitourinary issues.—Children, adolescents, and adults who are 

victims of the sex trafficking industry are at high risk for acquiring multiple sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection. Sexually exploited adolescents 

are at greater risk of HIV infection than adults due, in part, to the greater levels 

of violence toward minor victims and the anatomic variances between the two. Pregnancy, complications from unsafe termination procedures, and complicated infections of the genital tract may also present. 

Substance abuse.—Traffickers may introduce drug use for their victims to keep 

them compliant or passive during their time of captivity. Children with pre-existing 

addictions may be recruited into exploitation in their attempt to obtain drugs. Other 

victims may use drugs and alcohol to help them cope with the stress of their lives. 

Infectious diseases.—In addition to being at risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections, human trafficking victims may be forced to live and work under 

unsanitary conditions, placing them at risk for various infections including tuberculosis. 

Seeking to respond to the call by both National and Houston-based community 

needs assessments for additional training of health care professionals in the identification and intervention of human trafficking victims, a local grassroots non-profit 

organization, The Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition (HRRC) adopted a curriculum-planning project that was constructed and organized by a graduate student 

researcher from the UT School of Public Health and guided in the medical approach 

and practical delivery by a Texas Children’s Hospital physician advisor and other 

professionals. This program, Health Professionals and Human Trafficking: Look Beneath the Surface, H.E.A.R. Your Patient, provides not only the knowledge and 

awareness of human trafficking to health professionals, but also builds the skills of 

identification and referral of a potential victim of human trafficking. 

The components of the program include: Section 1: Fundamental information on 

human trafficking (definition, types, prevalence, myths, challenges, importance of 

health professionals). Section 2: The building of the skill set required to approach 

and critically assess details of a case that may involve a potential victim of human 

trafficking is fostered. A case study introduces the challenges and potential indicators for a suspected victim. The introduction of the H.E.A.R. acronym is incorporated. The acronym outlines the steps of how to properly identify a victim and 

refer and report. 

H: Human Trafficking and Health Professionals 

E: Examine History, Examine Body, Examine Emotion 

A: Ask specific questions: 

‘‘Is anyone forcing you to do anything you do not want to do?’’ 

‘‘Can you leave your job or situation if you want?’’ 

‘‘Have you or your family been threatened if you try to leave?’’ 

R: Review options, Refer, Report. 

Section 3: Three case studies with different scenarios with various barriers in 

which the learners must appropriately identify, refer, and report their patients. Currently the project has evolved into having these case studies as video vignettes to 

further visually depict the challenges of these cases in a health care setting. Information regarding the available supports and services for the identified survivor’s 

basic needs and safety are provided. In the cases involving children, human trafficking is a form of child abuse for those victims under the age of 18 and any suspicion of its activity involves the mandated reporting to law enforcement and child 

protection agencies. 

This project which began in 2010 has been instrumental in successfully training 

hundreds of medical and nursing professionals in the Houston area and is in the 

process of evolving into a multi-media training program with the expectation for a 

much larger reach Nationally. The global community has become aware of the numerous challenges faced by human trafficking victims. Once contact is made between the victim and health care professionals, the opportunity then exists to identify, treat, and assist the victims. Once their medical and psychological needs are 

assessed and treatment offered, many of the other recognized immediate needs of 

these persons including the basics of housing, food, medical needs, safety, and legal 

services can addressed. 
71 

In addition to the identification of victims, health care professionals can be instrumental in the criminal investigation and prosecution of traffickers and clients in the 

collection of patient historical information (required for diagnosis and treatment) 

and forensic evidence. Meticulous documentation of findings and, in some cases, 

photo-documentation of injuries may assist in bolstering a case for criminal investigation and prosecution. Medical professionals may be asked to provide medical 

knowledge of the science, medical record review, or provide information of their personal evaluation of the child. Medical professionals with particular expertise in child 

abuse and child sexual abuse may serve as expert witnesses in the court room. In 

these capacities, the profession can provide a voice to the voiceless. 

The medical and nursing communities are important stakeholders in the role of 

identifying and victims of this hidden population. The front-line physicians and 

nurses, and specialized forensic physicians and nurses, and sexual assault nurse examiners are solid and available community resources throughout the country and 

may play a vital role in the prevention, protection, and prosecution of these cases 

by collaborating and communicating with the other dedicated professionals in a multidisciplinary manner and bringing these children back into the light. 

The victims of these crimes have experienced incredible physical, emotional, and 

psychological traumas. Instead of a childhood filled with laughter and promise, child 

victims, many of whom having been forced to cross borders from their familiar 

homelands into our Nation, have been subjected to and experienced unimaginable 

horrors that strip them of their own identities and the very beauty of what it means 

to be human. I would propose for the committee to consider the allowance of funding 

to enhance collaborative training of health care professionals in our efforts to identify and intervene on behalf of these victims. A small allocation of the monetary proceeds of seized assets of disrupted trafficking rings can perhaps be one area where 

such funding could assist in the continued development and delivery of needed 

training programs as I have described. I thank the committee for this opportunity 

to speak on behalf of the medical professionals involved in the care of these children. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Dr. Isaac. 

The Chairman now recognizes Ms. Briggs. 

STATEMENT OF CHERYL BRIGGS, FOUNDER AND CHIEF 

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MISSION AT SERENITY RANCH 

Ms. BRIGGS. I would like to thank the Chairman and the committee for the honor to speak here today, along with the distinguished panelists. 

In 2009, I was going to Sam Houston State University and I was 

trying to obtain my undergraduate degree. I had a sociology class. 

In that class, our assignment for that semester was to do a paper 

on a sociology issue in current news. So I was in the library researching, and about a couple hours into it, I found these words 

‘‘human trafficking.’’ Probably like everybody else in this room before they were educated more, I thought those poor people from 

other countries, those children in Thailand and Bangkok and Asia. 

That is what I thought of. 

When I began to read more, I thought—I was drawn to it. Then 

I thought, wait a minute. This ain’t new. This happened to me 

when I was a teenager in the 1970’s. So it may have looked a little 

bit different because we did not have the internet. We did not have 

craigslist, backpage. We did not have any of that kind of stuff in 

the 1970’s in the dinosaur age. 

So as a survivor, I believe that we offer a unique insight into the 

victimization and rehabilitation process that these children and 

these victims deserve. I feel like, in working with different agencies, that collaboration is absolutely vital. 

I must say this, Congressman Poe. The first time I heard you 

speak was at the Crime Stoppers conference a couple years ago. At 

that time, you mentioned human trafficking, and at that time, you 
72 

mentioned especially about the international victims. So I see that 

you have been under an education process that includes our own 

citizens. 

So the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act—I really think that 

there are some important points in that that I agree with strongly, 

and that is, that No. 1, it creates a fund for domestic victims to 

allow them the opportunity to get treatment on the same level as 

every other victim, international or domestic. There are no victims 

who are more important than the other, who are more hurt than 

the other. They are all victims. So also allowing them to be certified as a victim of severe human trafficking actually speeds up 

the process for them to get the services that they need in a timely 

manner. 

I also believe that—and the other thing was the importance of— 

it was all addressed on the demand side, but it is the importance 

of knowing that you increase the definition of trafficker by adding 

the word ‘‘solicitation,’’ which then also opens the door for—I call 

them rapists that are purchasing sex from these children and these 

people. It allows them to be included in that Federal statute. 

So in working with domestic minor trafficking victims, it is very 

imperative that we protect the most vulnerable in our society and 

that would be our children and our mentally ill and our handicapped. As far as the children go, there are many, many people in 

our country who really, really with all their heart want to help 

these people. The problem is that because they have no survivor involved in their organization or on a consultation basis that helps 

understand certain things that you cannot understand unless you 

have been a victim and how to transition from that victim to survivor. 

It took me 30 long years to get that done, and it was piecing together services throughout my life for domestic violence, drug addiction, and many, many things. When I was trafficked at 131⁄2, I 

was given an IV drug addiction to MDA which is a component, 

main component, of the drug Ecstasy today. It is a hallucinogenic 

and opiate combination, and the reason that I was drugged was so 

I would be very pliable and good for child pornography. So I am 

also glad that we are adding child pornography to those definitions. 

I would like to say that I want to address the supply and demand. So human trafficking is like any other economic system. It 

is supply-and-demand. We have mentioned this several times 

today. But what I wanted to point out was Dr. Melissa Farley with 

Prostitution Research Center in San Francisco did a study in Sweden on the prostitution problem there. Now, in Sweden, prostitution is illegal. But the Swedish government decided that they 

would take a new approach, and I think it is something that we 

can learn from. That is, when someone was arrested for prostitution, they were offered services that helped them change their life 

because like Adrian Garcia said, nobody grows up and goes, you 

know, I think I am going to be a prostitute because I do not want 

to pay taxes. I mean, nobody says that. We want to grow up and 

be princesses. We want to grow up and be doctors and lawyers. But 

there are so many kids that do not get that opportunity. Children 

do not run to; they run from. So 80 percent of the children on the 

streets are there, the same reason I was because of the abuse at 
73 

home that you can no longer take. It hurts less to be abused by 

someone you do not love. 

I would also like to say that in that Swedish model, they actually 

cut trafficking in half in 1 year because you cannot sell a 14-yearold girl if there is not someone standing there with the money to 

buy her. If the johns are afraid, the rapists are afraid of being publicly humiliated—and Judge Poe did this when he was a judge— 

was that public shame. Hey, I am a thief. I stole from the store. 

We need to learn from that, because guess what? That is appropriate. We have been using social shame in civilization since the 

beginning of time. 

The deal is, though, once that social shame is over, then they 

need to be able to get the resources that they also need to heal. 

Maybe they are addicted to pornography. Maybe they were abused. 

Hurt people hurt people. So we never know where that line is going 

to end. 

I do not know how much time I have left, but I also wanted to 

comment on the picture that we sometimes paint. It was mentioned 

before about the child or the woman or the man and the boy that 

is chained to a bed and walked through a cold shower once a day, 

fed a bologna sandwich, and abused by people after people after 

people, very broken, malnourished, beaten people. I think we need 

to be very careful about that picture that we paint because that 

may happen in a very small percentage of cases. 

What you need to look out for is someone like me. What you need 

to look out for is your granddaughter. What you need to look out 

for is your neighbor, a girl in Sunday school. That is what you need 

to look out for, because guess what? There are children in our high 

schools that are being trafficked by kids in high school. They think 

they are in love with a man—with a boy, and they have their first 

sexual experience with him, and guess what? He is videotaping it. 

Then he says to her: Listen, I got you on tape. Your parents are 

going to hate you. You are going to be humiliated. I am going to 

show it to everybody unless you do this. 

Now, there was a friend of mine. Her name is Teresa Flores out 

of Ohio, and she wrote a book called ‘‘The Slave Next Door.’’ How, 

she was trafficked. She was in an upper middle class family in 

Ohio I believe or Detroit, one of the two. But that happened to her. 

It was a good home. There was no abuse going on at all. There was 

nothing to indicate to anybody. But she went to school by day. She 

was an honor roll student. When the lights went out at night, they 

were outside her window and she went out the window and she did 

what she had to do all night long because she was afraid of the 

shame and rejection. So we end up allowing these victims to carry 

the shame that does not belong to them. 

The last thing I think that I really want to address is that there 

are many things that we can improve on in the State of Texas and 

in our Nation. But what I would like to see is that I would like 

to see more restored survivor involvement in the process because, 

like I said, it is kind of like an alcoholic. You really cannot understand another—alcoholic understands another alcoholic. It is the 

same system no matter how you go, what social group you are looking at. It is about the process of identification. It is about sharing 

a common pain. It is about our humanity. We cannot continue to 
74 

let this happen. So why are 100,000 kids a year on the street? 

Where are those emergency shelters for those kids so they have a 

safe place to go, maybe a protected center? Because, guess what? 

They get put in CPS, and 80 percent of those kids are at higher 

risk of being victimized. 

I was in CPS. I was in foster care. I was in a detention center. 

I was in the Youth Commission. They never ever could fix the problem. They just shipped me to somebody else to do it because they 

did not understand it. 

So if there is anything that I or Kathryn or other survivors that 

are working in this field can do to help you do what you need to 

be able to do that I do not have the authority to do, please let me 

know because I am making myself available. 

I want to thank you so much. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Briggs follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHERYL BRIGGS

MARCH 20, 2014 

As a survivor of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST), I feel I have a unique 

insight on the victimization and rehabilitation process that non-survivors may not 

have. From this standpoint, I know the specialized services a victim needs to transform to survivor. 

The proposed Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, currently in Congress seeks 

to clarify portions of the Trafficked Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in changing the 

definition of trafficking to include solicitation by buyers of trafficking victims. It also 

creates a Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund (DTVF) and allows domestic victims 

to obtain certification as a victim of severe human trafficking and thereby, providing 

a victim quicker access to funds and services. This fund will increase Federal resources for domestic trafficking victims up to $30 million per year, among many 

other important points. 

While there have been recommended Best Practices developed for DMST, there 

are no required minimal standards of care. While the majority of residential treatment programs for minors are licensed by the Health and Human Services Commission, this in no way qualifies the facility for offering trafficking services. I feel that 

it is of upmost importance that minimal standards be developed and required for 

any agency receiving Federal or State funding. This population especially minors 

are very vulnerable to manipulation, exploitation, and are at great risk of re-victimization by agencies that want to help that are not qualified to do so. We have an 

obligation to protect the most vulnerable in our society and assure that services provided are adequate, sufficient, and timely. 

The final point I would like to make is human trafficking, like any other industry, 

runs on an economics of supply and demand. It has been proven through studies 

by Dr. Melissa Farley of the Prostitution and Research Center in San Francisco, 

through a study in Sweden, that providing prostituted women with services and 

prosecuting ‘‘johns’’, decreased the number of trafficking victims by half. If we focus 

not only on the criminal enterprises in which trafficking occurs but the purchasers 

of the victims themselves, we would greatly reduce the supply. If through fear of 

public shame and/or increased prosecution of statutes, ‘‘johns’’ became afraid, that 

would create less demand which would automatically reflect in a decrease supply. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Well, thank you. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you for that powerful testimony, and 

we do look forward to working with you. 

The Chairman now recognizes Ms. Griffin-Townsend. 
75 

STATEMENT OF KATHRYN GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND, FOUNDER, 

WE’VE BEEN THERE DONE THAT REENTRY PROGRAM, HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member 

Jackson Lee, and all of the Members of the committee, thank you 

for holding this very important hearing today here in Houston, 

Texas, which is the epicenter of America as we look at human trafficking. 

Congresswoman Lee, your leadership today reaffirms American 

values of freedom and equality by addressing this issue in the 

United States Congress, which strengthens hope for victims of 

human trafficking who continue to fight for justice. Thank you. I 

thank all of you. 

I want to also welcome and thank Chairman McCaul for allowing 

me to begin to tell you about this story. I am a survivor of domestic 

human trafficking, and now I am free to live life. 

I have had the distinct honor for more than a decade to work 

with a certain slice of our population. I am referring to those men, 

women, and children who have fallen prey to international and domestic human trafficking, prostitution, and sexual slavery. This 

truly has been a difficult endeavor. However, thankfully through 

evidence-based rehabilitation, this difficult task has resulted in tremendous success for those whom we have helped. 

Allow me to describe briefly the process. The rehabilitation of 

those who have been sold for sex is a very long trauma-based process, and it can take up to 4 years. Nearly always, survivors and 

victims of human trafficking and sex slavery suffer from some form 

of abuse. While substance abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, and/ 

or physical abuse are most prevalent, many other psychological 

dysfunctions and cognitive issues may also be present. Through my 

experiences, I have found that all of these issues are best resolved 

by treating them with a specific protocol. 

First, their trust must be gained while allowing the victim time 

to understand that they are not alone in their plight and that 

someone else that has been there and done that and others are 

truly invested in their best interest and not patronizing the victim 

to take advantage of them again. Only then can true change begin 

by moving the victim even closer to becoming the valuable productive citizen in society they at this stage simply just do not know 

how to be. Many in this population have never had the opportunity 

to know that they count in this life. Codependency, abandonment 

issues, and the ‘‘poor old me’’ syndrome plagues this population. 

Fears such as homelessness and the stigmas that attach themselves to this population are devastating. Guilt and shame attach 

to the lives of these individuals as easily as gum attaches itself to 

the bottom of your shoe. 

For this group, rehabilitation is a must. We at the Harris County 

Sheriff’s Office, under the leadership of Sheriff Adrian Garcia, have 

opened up a new world of hope and success for the thousands who 

come through the We’ve Been There Done That program. 

As participants in the reentry program, these victims are protected by being kept away from their drug dealers, pimps, sugar 

daddies, johns, and predators long enough to begin the 

deprogramming of the damage they have suffered. This is a popu-
76 

lation that is accustomed to constantly being on the run, chased 

from one predator to another, as a lion would chase a deer until 

they fall again and again in a perpetual loop of tragedy. It is easier 

to deprogram these clients while they are in a facility, not necessarily a jail facility, but a secure facility where they do not have 

access to drugs, pimps, sugar daddies, johns, and predators where 

finally they have a chance to catch their breath and begin to heal. 

As a recovery coach, I am able to offer continuous coaching to 

these individuals for up to 5 years or as long as they need or the 

individual would want me to coach them. The need for case managers is essential. As desperately needed are housing facilities that 

can nourish these clients for up to 2 years until they are strong 

enough and have developed adequate skills to live on their own 

while still remaining in a rehabilitation program. 

The We’ve Been There Done That program offers this population 

a program of a minimum of 90 days to 180 days, and it is in the 

county jail where they receive the intensive deprogramming that is 

needed to separate them from the environment that they have been 

trapped within. After this, they are placed in facilities that can 

help manage their specific needs such as substance abuse, mental 

abuse, homelessness, et cetera. 

Thanks to our student interns from the University of Houston 

Downtown Criminal Justice Program—they have been a great 

asset to us volunteering to assist with case management in the 

Harris County jail. Their work helps us to assure that the clients, 

when they leave our custody, have exit plans, recovery plans, and 

their life plans are mapped out for them. 

Another component of the program is providing services to those 

victims who have been caught up in criminal activity because I follow them into the State jail where I continue to work with them, 

and there I offer a continued support even after they have been released. 

You see not all who have begun the process are willing to go into 

inpatient facilities. Some of them would like to remain employed 

and support their children or family while they are attending an 

outpatient treatment option. But based on my experience, the preliminary results indicate treatment drastically increases the success rate, which we have been collecting data here in the last 6 

months at the Harris County jail. 

It needs to be noted that some of this population will experience 

bumps in the road. It is to be expected. It is absolutely essential 

that we fund beds for those who have been identified as victims of 

international or domestic human trafficking. You see this group is 

quite familiar with conning, manipulation, lying, stealing, and 

cheating. But my experience has shown me that the majority of 

them express guilt about the crimes they committed or were forced 

to commit and they want to stop this endless loop. They just do not 

know how. Hurt people hurt people. 

What does human trafficking look like? Success stories that have 

come out. They were children as sex slaves and aged out and ended 

up and fell into adult prostitution, substance abuse, homelessness, 

and were stuck on the ‘‘poor old me’’ syndrome. All of these wonderful people are now productive citizens that have returned back 

into our society. 
77 

[Applause.] 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. That is the good alumni from Harris 

County. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Not all victims have criminal histories, 

though. 

They come from every race, gender, age, and ethnicity imaginable. The fact is the face of international and domestic human 

trafficking has multiple faces, and unfortunately, we are introduced 

to too many different faces on a daily basis. Many victims do not 

even realize they have been victims of human trafficking. Allow me 

to reiterate. Hurt people hurt other people. 

Thirty-day substance abuse treatment programs are simply not 

long enough to address social, physical, psychological, and developmental traumas that torment this population. Let me tell you. It 

takes a lot more than some care packages and some food and 

clothes. Their need for deprogramming, treatment, and assistance 

is obligatory. It is mandatory if they are to survive. 

Our goal is to stop the recidivism of human trafficking victims 

from recycling into the criminal justice system and return these rehabilitated victims to the general population as productive members of society with the same inalienable rights that those who 

have not ever been victimized too often take for granted. 

I am committed for the rest of my life to stay on this battlefield, 

educating, rehabilitating, and teaching the world to appreciate this 

population while helping as many as I can escape the bondage of 

human trafficking for the freedom to live free. 

I am begging all of you. Please open your hearts and your minds 

and to help us fight this great fight by helping us to save victims 

in this silent war. People should not be for sale. 

I am available to speak with anyone who would be interested in 

first-hand information involving this human trafficking epidemic. 

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to speaking to you 

all on this issue. 

God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Griffin-Townsend follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF KATHRYN GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND

MARCH 20, 2014 

First, thank you for the opportunity to address this committee. 

I have had the distinct honor for more than a decade to work with a certain slice 

of our population. I am referring to those men, women, and children who have fallen 

prey to international and domestic human trafficking, prostitution, and sexual slavery. This truly has been a difficult endeavor, however, thankfully, through evidencebased rehabilitation this difficult task has resulted in tremendous success for those 

who have been helped. 

Allow me to describe briefly the process; the rehabilitation of those who have been 

sold for sex is a very long trauma-based process, and it can take up to 4 years. 

Nearly always, survivors and victims of human trafficking and sex slavery suffer 

from some form of abuse. While substance abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, and/ 

or physical abuse are the most prevalent, many other psychological dysfunctions and 

cognitive issues may be present themselves as well. Through my experiences, I have 

found that all of these issues work best by treating them with a specific protocol. 

First, their trust must be gained by allowing them time to understand that they 

are not alone in their plight and that someone else is truly invested in their best 

interest and not simply patronizing them in order to once again take advantage of 

them. Only then can true change begin moving them ever closer to becoming the 
78 

valuable productive citizen in society they at this stage simply don’t know how to 

be. Many in this population have never had an opportunity to know that they count 

in this life. Codependency, abandonment issues, and ‘‘poor-old-me’’ syndrome becomes major issues for many and plagues this population. Fears such as homelessness and the stigmas that attach themselves to this population are devastating. 

Guilt and shame attaches itself to the lives of these individuals as easily as gum 

clings to your shoe. 

For this group, rehabilitation is a must. We at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office 

under the leadership of Sheriff Adrian Garcia, have opened up a new world of hope 

and success for the thousands who have come through the We’ve Been There Done 

That program. 

I’m sure we agree that it appears that we are punishing victims all over again, 

but that is simply not the case. 

By them present in our reentry program they are instead being protected by being 

kept away from their drug dealers, pimps, sugar daddies, johns, and predators long 

enough to begin deprogramming the damage they have suffered. This is a population that is used to constantly being on the run, chased from one predator to another as a lion would chase a deer until they fall again and again in a perpetual 

loop of tragedy. It is easier to deprogram these clients while they are in a facility 

where they do not have access to drugs, pimps, sugar daddies, johns, and predators, 

finally they have the chance to catch a breath and begin to heal. 

As their recovery coach, I am able to offer continuous coaching to these individuals for up to 5 years or as long as the individual would like for me to coach them. 

The need for case managers is essential. Also desperately needed are facilities that 

can house these clients for up to 2 years until they are strong enough and have developed adequate skills to live on their own, while still remaining in an active rehabilitation program. 

The We’ve Been There Done That program offers this population a program of a 

minimum of 90 to 180 days in the county jail where they can receive the intensive 

deprograming that is needed to separate them from the environment they have been 

trapped within. After this, they are placed in facilities that help manage their specific needs, i.e., substance abuse, mental abuse, homelessness, etc . . . 

Student interns from the University of Houston—Downtown Criminal Justice Program have also been a great asset to us volunteering to assist with case management in the Harris County jail. Their work with our clients assure when they leave 

our custody they have exit plans, recovery plans, and their life plans are mapped 

out for them. 

Another component of the program is providing services to those victims who have 

been caught up in criminal activity by following them to State jail where I continue 

to work with them there and offer continued support even after they have been released. 

Not all who have begun the process are willing to go into in-patient facilities. 

Some wish to remain employed and support their children or family while still attending out-patient treatment options. Based upon my experience I have found that 

treatment is providing a success rate of up to 85 percent. 

It needs to be noted that some of this population will experience a few bumps in 

their road to success, we also must understand that is to be expected. It is absolutely essential that we fund beds for those who have been identified as victims of 

international or domestic human trafficking. This group is far too familiar with conning, manipulation, lying, stealing, and cheating. My experience has shown that the 

majority of them express sincere guilt about crimes they were forced to commit and 

want to stop this endless loop but don’t know how. 

Hurt people hurt other people. What does human trafficking look like? Not all of 

these victims have criminal histories. They come from every race, gender, age, and 

ethnicity imaginable. The fact is, the face of international and domestic human trafficking has multiple faces, and unfortunately, we are introduced to many different 

faces on a daily basis. Many victims do not even realize they have been victims of 

human trafficking. Allow me to reiterate; hurt people, hurt other people. 

Thirty-day substance abuse treatment programs are simply not long enough to address the social, physical, psychological, and developmental traumas that torment 

this population. It takes a lot more than just giving them C.A.R.E. packages of 

clothing and food. Their need for deprogramming, treatment, and assistance is not 

obligatory, it is mandatory if they are to survive. 

Our goal is to stop victims of human trafficking from recidivating back into the 

criminal justice system and to put them back in the population as productive members with the same unalienable rights those of us who have not victimized too often 

take for granted. 
79 

I am committed for the rest of my life to stay on this battlefield, educating, rehabilitating, and teaching the world to appreciate this population while helping as 

many as I can escape the bondage of human trafficking for the freedom to live free. 

I am begging all of you to open up your hearts and minds and to help us fight 

this great fight, help us to save prisoners in this silent war. People should not be 

for sale. 

I am available to speak with anyone who would be interested in first-hand information involving this epidemic. Thank you for your time and I look forward to 

speaking with all of you on this issue. 

God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. Well, God bless you too. God bless you. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Thank you. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you for the courage to come forward, 

both you and Ms. Briggs and the victims—the courage to come forward to tell these stories that are so powerful. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Chairman, can I give this to you all? 

Chairman MCCAUL. Yes. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. For the record? 

Chairman MCCAUL. For the record. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. This was me as a victim. This is me as 

a victor. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. So without objection, this will be entered 

into the record with unanimous consent. 

[The information follows:] 
80 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you for that and that will be in the 

Congressional record. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Oh, my God. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. So be careful what you ask for. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Bruised but not broken. Okay. 

Chairman MCCAUL. You know, when I was deputy attorney general for criminal justice, I started the Internet Crimes Against 

Children Task Force. That is when I first started to get exposed to 

this, to see these horrific exploitations, child pornography. I think 

we have done some great work since then. But this issue really 

goes way beyond that. It is a powerful, powerful, destructive issue. 

I want to again thank you for coming forward. 

I have five kids, four daughters, teenage daughters, not always 

easy at times. I have two 12-year-old identical twin girls. When I 

hear the stories, when you look at the average age, and I look at 

these stats, and the average age of these children is 12, 13, 14 

years old. The idea that they are being run through these houses 

and sex exploitation is I think—and I know everybody on this 

panel agrees—one of the most, I think, destructive, horrific acts 

known to mankind. We want to do everything we can in the Congress in a completely bipartisan way to stop it. 

Ms. Briggs, you made an interesting comment. Children do not 

run to; they run from. I wanted to first ask both of you, but first 

Ms. Griffin-Townsend. You know, part of the problem is bringing 

them out of the shadows, out of the darkness and into the light, 

into a protected environment where they can go to law enforcement 

so that as my good friend, Judge Poe, states, we can put them behind bars, the people that perpetrate these horrific crimes. 
81 

How can we do a better job of getting them out of the shadows? 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Mr. Chairman, the sad part about the 

children that end up falling prey to this population—a lot of them 

think that these are their boyfriends and they have been convinced 

and brainwashed and coerced to believing that these men and 

women love them. I am finding that children, when sexually molested, are—it is all molestation because they are kids and these 

are adults that are doing it—they think that that makes them 

adult. It is very hard. I have worked with so many kids because 

they do not want to give up the pimp boyfriend—a lot of them— 

because, see, there are so many hidden handcuffs and chains. A lot 

of them do not have the physical chains. They are invisible. This 

is the population that I come across all the time. Everybody is not 

kept in a basement. Everybody is not fed crumbs of bread and 

walked around on dog leashes like some of the people that I have 

had to work with to rehabilitate. 

When you said you had twin daughters, I cringed because the 

thought and the fact of two 12-year-old twins—that is double the 

money. There is a big market for your babies. The cold part of it 

is they could get to your babies because of your position and try 

to extort you just to get them back and then they will feel, well, 

he is a politician, so he is not going to want anything to be exposed. 

Oh, my God. Believe it or not. Everybody sitting up there on that 

panel that has children are at greater risk because they feel they 

can get more money for your babies. 

Then a lot of people have thought for a long time is just the 

throwaways, like the doctor was saying. It is anybody, and little 

boys bring more money than little girls. 

Then we think about it. Why does it happen? If stuff is happening in the home—and when I say hurt people hurt other people, 

a lot of the parents were broken, and there are just generational 

curses that have been passed on and these secrets, and children 

run away from that. Then they meet somebody and they will tell 

them I love you, I am going to suit you up and boot you up, and 

you are going to have this, and you are going to have that. I promise to put you in a video, the internet, and these selfie pictures and 

Face Time, Instagram. Oh, my God. We are battling a lot of stuff. 

Then you get addicted just as bad to the games. They will sit 

them down and give them PlayStations, which will traumatize 

them, paralyze them, and hypnotize them to tell them I am going 

to buy you this game and they sit there for hours. Well, that is 

what a lot of them were used to because parents are letting these 

technology games raise the children. Oh, my God. I could go on and 

on, Chairman. 

I just wanted to come home and let you know this is happening 

next door, in your house, around the corner. It is everywhere. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you. 

Ms. Briggs, I want to give you the opportunity to say something. 

Ms. BRIGGS. I think that education, not necessarily of the children, but the children’s parents is absolutely vital and critical. I do 

not think we have to reinvent the wheel. We have the DARE program in our schools already, and we need to add an element of 

human trafficking education from kindergarten through 12th 

grade. This has to be a topic that we are willing to talk about. 
82 

When I was a child, my mother was a domestic violence victim. There were no shelters to help her. So when she left, she had $13, 

and she left to try to find a safe place to go so that at some point 

she could get us kids because she had no support. So now everybody talks about domestic violence. We are talking about child 

abuse. We are talking about incest, and all that stuff is no longer 

a family issue. This has to go right up there through that process. 

I think the other thing is that when did it become okay to have 

throwaway children. I mean, that whole term just kind of like 

makes my stomach sick because what does that indicate, and we 

continue to identify them as throwaway children. There are no 

throwaway people. Not in America there is not supposed to be. 

You know, we need emergency shelters for these runaways where 

they can not get necessarily put in the juvenile justice system or 

CPS. Maybe we need some emergency protected safe houses for 

these kids at least to be able to have an opportunity to make contact with someone who might help identify the problem they were 

having at home before they left. 

Now, the other thing that I think is very crucial for us to know 

is that I was on the internet and I was watching a little video. An 

FBI agent. There was a guy. He just got sentenced I think to two 

Federal life sentences for human trafficking in Federal court. So we 

know no parole, no good time, no nothing. So he was going to be 

in prison for the rest of his life. When he got done and he was coming out of the courtroom, there was an FBI agent and he had a 

camera set up, and he said, hey, you mind? Will you talk to me? 

The guy said, sure. What are you going to do? Give me life? So she 

said, you know, I got a question. She said, where do you get your 

girls? He goes, I go to the mall. He said I walked up to a little girl 

and I said, baby, you have beautiful eyes. If she says thank you, 

I just keep walking. I walk up to the next little girl and I go, baby, 

your hair is amazing. If she looks down and looks up and says, you 

really think so, he said I will leave the mall with that child willingly. 

So this is not even about stranger danger. I can sit in The Woodlands where I live at the mall on any Sunday around 11:30 and 

watch car after car after car after car drop off their children to a 

safe mall in a safe neighborhood. But the more sophisticated that 

this crime becomes, the more education they get on what children 

need at specific ages. What are the struggles of development they 

are going through? Identity crisis. They reject everything their family is. They want to figure out who they are and they know how 

to work that. 

So as parents, we think, okay, well, my daughter is in the bedroom. She is safe. She is in my house. But guess what? She is on 

the internet unsupervised where there are 50,000 predators looking 

for her in any day. They look for that little girl who is having a 

hard time or that little boy. 

Thank you for mentioning little boys because in the United 

States we have less than 20 beds for minor boys, and minor boys 

are trafficked for sex between 9 and 11. The only place that they 

really have to go as they begin to grow up into teens is the LGBT 

community. I thank God that they are there. But these children 

need to be in a place that is not pushing them or influencing them 
83 

in any direction. They are children. They do not have to make that 

decision today. They are carrying shame from the rapes and the homosexual rapes and acts that happened upon them that they were 

told that they deserved, that they were made for, that they were 

good at. So, No. 1, even though we always talk about girls and 

women, we need to never forget these are boys as well. These are 

men as well. 

The average lifespan of a child prostitute is 7 years. When they 

make it to 18, it is a miracle. 

The other thing is—one more thing is that what I have encountered over and over again working with the adult population is that 

I have had a lot of women in different places that I go and do 

awareness presentations. The main thing they say to me is, you 

know, Cheryl, she is 18 and she is standing on the corner. Ain’t nobody holding a gun to her head. Now, if that was me and I was 

being trafficked, I would just start running and go get some help. 

I just say, yeah, where would you go? 

Well, guess what? There are things called psychological guns. If 

your life is about pain and rape and beatings and exploitation, but 

the only good thing that you can do to continue to do that is save 

your little sister from being taken, that is honor. If the only thing 

that that victim can do is keep her family safe, she will endure it. 

That is honor. That is the only honor she has in her life. But she 

sacrifices. In many situations, they sacrifice for somebody else. 

Now, that does not mean they are compliant. 

I remember the moment when I had the realization—and I may 

cry when I say this. When I was 131⁄2 and I was where I was at 

and I remember thinking nobody is coming for me. Nobody knows 

where to look. Nobody is coming. What I want to say to you is 

when we have worked with rescued victims, the first thing I want 

them to hear is we did not forget about you. We are here. We came. 

So it is not stranger danger. It is your children in the mall halfdressed, and a guy wants something. He goes, hey, I was at that 

concert. Where were you sitting? Did you not like the laser light 

show? It is all about non-threatening behavior. They are trained in 

how to manipulate our children and they exploit them. 

So we have to start this education at K–12, and we have to have 

the parents involved. We got to quit thinking that it is the underprivileged minority children that it is happening to. It is everybody. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. Well, my time has expired. But thank you 

so much for coming forward with that story. 

I just want to end with Dr. Isaac. My time has expired, but I 

would like to follow up with you in terms of—perhaps later. You 

are kind of on the front lines with these kids coming through the 

hospitals, how to properly identify them and help them get out of 

this cycle that Ms. Briggs talks about where they can get out of 

that cycle and go to law enforcement. 

So anyway, with that, the Chairman now recognizes the Ranking 

Member, Ms. Jackson Lee. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chairman, I think this has been one of 

the most powerful hearings that any of us as Members of Congress 

have had the privilege in serving the people of the United States 

of America to be a part of. We do a lot of work in Washington, DC, 
84 

*Slavery Today Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 1, February 2014. The information has been retained 

in committee files and is available at http://www.slaverytodayjournal.org/downloads/februaryfull-issue-2014/. 

and sometimes the images are not of collaboration. I hope this 

story right here in Houston, Texas that travels all the way to the 

United States Congress highlights the Members and the collaborative voice of outrage, of tears. Although, Ms. Briggs, you may not 

hear it in our voice, see it, but it is a painful experience, but it is 

an important experience through you and through the other witnesses to learn the truth and then be able to act vigorously without 

ceasing to find answers. 

Again, Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer up and mention Jacqueline Simosky. 

But I would like to ask unanimous consent to put the ‘‘Slavery 

Today Journal’’, a multidisciplinary journal of human trafficking in 

the record. I ask unanimous consent to put this document. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Without objection, so ordered.* 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. I hold this up because our initial panel with 

excellent law enforcement—I think when we concluded, they felt no 

shame to be able to intermingle, Dr. Sanborn, the idea of human 

trafficking and slavery, modern-day slavery. 

Mr. Chairman, a few years ago, I sat on the ground at the border 

of Bangladesh with girls who had been sold by their parents because of their devastating poverty into human trafficking and slavery. I sat on the ground. These girls were numb. They were young. 

I thought I am going to work to stop this in Bangladesh. Now, this 

was many years ago. 

Here we have come thousands of miles, and I think what this 

panel is saying is wake up, America. Clarion call. Whether it is domestic or international—and I do not think we should distinguish 

except Homeland Security has this rightful position in dealing with 

international border security issues or issues of our border. We 

should not separate it. We have a global but we have a domestic— 

but as someone said in the earlier panel, they can be exported out 

and in, imported in, exported out. 

Dr. Sanborn, a striking statement or report that your Children 

at Risk organization—and thank you for your service, and thank 

you for working with me for a house for the ages of 18 to 21. In 

that instance, it was foster care. Now I am going to embrace this 

larger issue because the fact is we do not have anything here in 

Houston to speak of, but I think it is an example of the United 

States. 

You said every three runaways in Texas is lured into sex trafficking in 48 hours. Expand on that, and where do they go? 

Mr. SANBORN. Well, across the United States, about a million 

children run away from home, and we know that between 150,000 

and 300,000 of those young girls—probably about the fourth time 

that they run away, they are lured into trafficking. When you run 

away from home the third or fourth time, you are going to go somewhere a little bit farther away. So maybe you take the bus to the 

nearest big city, the nearest big, warm climate city. That might be 

Dallas, Atlanta, San Diego, and many places in Houston, especially 

for girls from the middle of the country, Louisiana, Mississippi. 

Houston is a big destination. They arrive at the bus station, and 
85 

the bus station is a place where a lot of these traffickers will look 

for these girls. A cute little 12-year-old coming off the bus—they 

are very approachable for a free meal at McDonald’s and expansion 

beyond that. Sometimes these girls very quickly, as Kathy and 

Cheryl will tell you, within a number of days, they are selling 

themselves because they have fallen in love, quote/unquote, with 

this trafficker. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Would you say that every day a child is getting off a bus somewhere or hitchhiking? I do not know how popular that is. So as we sit here today, could there be someone getting off a bus and being enticed in the wrong direction? 

Mr. SANBORN. I would say every day there are many girls that 

get off buses in many places that are lured into trafficking. You 

know, the shame of it is for many domestic victims today, Congresswoman, that if we were to go on the internet where many of 

these or most of these young domestic victims are sold now, it 

would be faster to get a young girl delivered to us, faster than getting a pizza delivered. It is a shame, and this is happening in 

Houston a lot, and it is a shame for us. Shame on us as a city. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. My commitment to you that we may make— 

this may be the epicenter of human trafficking, but it is going to 

be the paradise of refuge for children. We are going to find a way 

to break the barriers. 

[Applause.] 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. I know my colleagues—some are from Houston. The Chairman is not except for the fact that his district overlaps. 

We thank you very much. But I think we can be an example in 

this city. 

Dr. Isaac, I went out at night with one of our agencies that deals 

with runaways. So I went out at night to find them. This is a warm 

city, but I went out to find them on streets in a cold time. 

You talked about health care, and obviously young women need 

their own gynecological treatment or medical treatment, young 

men. My question is what in Congress on the medical side could 

we do? 

I just noted that HHS, since 2009, has spent all of their appropriations that we have given them—obviously, too little—before the 

end of the appropriations term. That means that for a period of 

time in the United States, we have no impact on certain areas in 

terms of helping these children. What can we do with respect to the 

medical part of it? 

Dr. ISAAC. The medical part of it. As I stated, I believe it is the 

education of some of our health care professionals. A lot of them 

may see these children, and they are very rough-and-tumbled children. Again, they are children. I have certainly seen kids who have 

come through the emergency room. They certainly do not cooperate 

sometimes with our exams. But I usually tell them to have them 

come within 24 or 48 hours to our medical clinic that deals specifically—again, this is at the Children’s Assessment Center if you are 

in Harris County—to come within 24 or 48 hours to come to our 

clinic. Within that time, these are children who are very pliable. 

This is time that they have been away from their traffickers, that 

they have had their change of mind. They are completely pliable 
86 

and cooperative with the exam and giving their historical histories 

of what has happened. It is very intriguing to see that a lot of 

these kids I will see, when I turn my back—they are actually reading books to the other little kids. So they are essentially children. 

So, again, it is the education of our health care professionals. 

As I said also, we have a system and a project that we are working on that is directed to educating these workers to identify and 

interview these children. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. I understand my colleague, Mr. Poe, has to 

leave in just a second. So let me just quickly—these are the two 

witnesses that I wanted to probe. So let me just quickly ask Ms. 

Briggs and Ms. Griffin-Townsend, first of all, if love could pour 

from the table, it would be going to all of you here at this table. 

To those who are courageous enough to be here with the reflection 

of all the other sisters and brothers that may not be able to be 

here, we thank them for their courage and all of you. 

Just very, very quickly. I am so glad that the two of you have 

said, ‘‘I am a prostitute, or was. How dare you denigrate me? How 

dare you consider me someone who is a disgrace, who is on the 

street, who loves sex?’’ Tell us what you need in order to take that 

to a higher level so that this prostitution issue leading into human 

trafficking can also be stopped immediately. 

I thank the Chairman. 

Ms. BRIGGS. Thank you so much, Ms. Lee. 

I believe that what we really need at this point is we need funding and we need funding for emergency places for our children that 

have nowhere else to go where they can actually obtain resources 

and not be charged as a criminal or be put in a foster home that 

maybe not be the best situation for them. 

I think the second thing that we need is we need to have required—we need to develop required minimum standards of care. 

In every other industry, they have them. Every other industry has 

a watchdog organization like JCAHO for the hospital systems and 

whatever it is for the forensic crime labs. In order to get funding 

from the State or Federal Government, they should have to pass 

an audit that says, hey, we have adequate services, because guess 

what? A warm bed and a meal ain’t enough. They got to have trauma therapy. They have to have trauma-informed care. They have 

to have drug counseling. They got to have rehabilitation in that 

area. They have got to learn about—they are never going to play 

with Barbies again. Okay, we can forget that. But what we cannot 

take away from them is the adult responsibilities to figure out how 

they are going to care and pay for themselves. But we have to empower them. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Also, Congresswoman Lee, each one of 

these individuals—I mean, I want to stress this. It is devastating 

for a child to be caught up. But the children, let me say, that are 

here in Houston, Texas—a lot of them do not feel that they are a 

victim and do not want to be rescued. I know me, you, and all of 

these young survivors over here—you could not tell us anything. 

We thought we were grown. I mean, really, we had been brainwashed or whatever. Then after you get 19 years old now, you have 

aged out. You are no good anymore. At 19 you are a has-been. So 
87 

now the only thing you know—you are psychologically damaged. 

You do not know anything else but to jump in and out of cars or 

sell yourself on Craigslist. You know, you run into Walgreen’s and 

steal some makeup. Then you get beat up. If you are in the strip 

club, if you do not give the pimp or the DJ or the manager the 

money, fake ID’s—it is horrible. For too long people have overlooked us. 

I am not proud to say that I was a drug addict and a prostitute, 

but I am grateful that I was able to make the decision to survive 

and turn that mess into this message. 

Grants and all of that—you know, they have these strict qualifications. You have got to have this degree and that degree. Peer 

to peer. When I say you got to gain the trust at the beginning when 

you first get somebody—the reason why I have been able to break 

through the barriers is because I can show them mug shots. I can 

show them this broke arm and where this ear has been cut off and 

my face has been rebuilt. I have been dragged and I am fixing to 

get me a hip replacement when I get time after trying to help all 

these folks. I need it. I am just saying they know I have been there 

and I have done that. Some of these people that were in the life 

with me I have been able to go back and pull out. It is a domino 

effect. They are going to be able to go back and pull out because 

people need to know you know what you are talking about. I can 

identify with you. 

So that is why I say we are basically on the front end as the 

colonics. We have to get them, get their trust, clean them up, and 

then, yes, the professionals have to be there, but do not discredit 

us because we are going to get their trust and get you ready to go 

on to those professionals and get you some real help and rehabilitation. 

[Applause.] 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you for letting me know all of them. 

Chairman MCCAUL. The Chairman now recognizes Mr. Poe. 

Mr. POE. I thank the Chairman. 

There are three statements that I want to go over that you all 

made. 

Dr. Sanborn, you said there were 20 beds in all of the United 

States of America for boys that are trafficked at 9 to 11. Is that 

what you said? 

Mr. SANBORN. I think it was one of the—— 

Mr. POE. One of you all said that. That is a true statement. You 

just did not say it. 

Mr. SANBORN. Yes. 

Mr. POE. Who said that? Ms. Briggs? There are 20 beds. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Less than 20. 

Mr. POE. Twenty beds for boys that are 9 to 11 that are trafficked in the United States. 

Ms. BRIGGS. There are less than 20 beds for boys 9 to 17. 

Mr. POE. Nine to 17. 

Ms. BRIGGS. Yes. Out in LA, there is Children of the Night. I do 

believe they have 15 boys and girls spots. Then you have Isaiah’s 

House in Montana which has 8 boys and 8 girls spots. That is all 

that is designated for male children victims. 

Mr. POE. Do you think that is a tragedy? 
88 

Ms. BRIGGS. I absolutely do. 

Mr. POE. In a country like this, we can only provide 30 beds for 

trafficked boys that are domestic trafficked boys? 

Ms. BRIGGS. I really do believe that boys may carry a greater 

depth of shame because of the type of rape that is forced upon 

them. I do believe that. 

It is kind of like having a guy who is a domestic violence victim. 

I worked at the shelter for 5 years, and very few times—I had a 

guy tell me when we put him and his kids up in a hotel that the 

police officer laughed at him and said, what do you mean your wife 

is beating you up? You know, you are twice as big as she is. He 

just did not believe in violence. 

So I think it is the same thing. Boys have a hard problem selfidentifying even more than any other population, and I think we 

need to work closely with like the Polaris Project and local hotlines 

and local organizations so that we can then begin to identify these 

boys because I promise you they are there in pretty much the same 

numbers as girls. 

Mr. POE. Let me ask the question, Ms. Griffin-Townsend. Then 

you can give the answers. 

You said that people should not be for sale. Do you not think 

that is exactly what—we need to solve that problem, that overall 

problem. I mean, that is the big picture. That is the humanity and 

what we are trying to do is making sure that people are not for 

sale. Those days should have ended a long time ago. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Absolutely. 

Mr. POE. I know you want to say something, but I am talking 

right now. You are dying to say something. 

I want to thank you and Ms. Briggs especially for your courage. 

You got a lot of wisdom that you are sharing with us. Ms. GriffinTownsend, I want to thank you for bringing your amen corner out 

here today as well. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. POE. The only other thing—Ms. Briggs, you do not need to 

comment unless you want to. You said it felt like, as a victim, nobody is coming for me. We want to change that dynamic as well. 

All of us working together. Children should never be in a position 

in life where they feel like nobody is going to look for them. Nobody 

is coming for them. 

So I want to thank all of you for your wisdom and our experts 

on this end of the table. We got experts everywhere. Dr. Sanborn 

and Dr. Isaac, especially with Children’s Assessment Center, thank 

you. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman MCCAUL. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Al Green. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I would like to extend my thanks to the people who testified and 

the people who stood by them, stood with them, helped them to get 

to this point. Kathy—and that is how I know you affectionately— 

you just celebrated a birthday. 

Ms. BRIGGS. Yes, I did. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. You just celebrated a birthday. 

Ms. BRIGGS. Thank you. 
89 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. But for intervention and somebody understanding that you were somebody, that you were a child of the 

same God that created the rich man, the same God that created 

the Wall Street millionaire, you are a child of that same God. But 

for that, you may not have celebrated that last birthday. So I am 

grateful that you have given your testimony, all of you. 

Someone testified earlier that—they did not use this term, but I 

am going to use it—‘‘the master’’ because there is a master-servant 

relationship here, master-slave relationship. Someone testified that 

the master makes $31,000 a week. That is what I heard. I wrote 

it down. Thirty-one thousand dollars a week in a small market— 

in a small market. Houston is not a small market. What are some 

of these masters making in Houston, Texas? Kathy, can you give 

us some insight please? 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Yes, sir. By Houston being so spread 

out, we do not have zoning. Let me tell you. An abandoned house 

with no windows, weeds growing up, milk crates on the inside of 

the house, an old, dirty mattress on the floor can bring in as much 

as $35,000 to $50,000 a week. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. My God. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. We just pass by and think them just 

homeless people. 

You see, the corner drug dealer, the little small-time dope dealer, 

is just a pawn. They use him because he knows now especially all 

of our adult children who were just prostitutes that have aged out 

of all of that juvenile human trafficking and domestic and incest 

and molestation. They are looking at them as damaged goods. 

Those are the ones now that are so addicted and will do anything 

and anybody that will bring me a hit of any kind of dope is my savior now. So I am going to do whatever you ask me to do. Just give 

me some dope. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. That is a good segue into the second 

part of my question. If the master makes $30,000 to $50,000 a 

week, what does a servant make? What does a servant get? 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Most of the little nickel-and-dime drug 

dealers—they are addicted to another drug. So they end up not 

making anything. They are doing that to get their dope. The only 

somebody that is winning is the master, and then the middleman 

gets maybe 2 grand. They are getting all of that. Or they give them 

a car, you know, what I am talking about, them bouncing or something like that. 

VOICES. Swingers. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. What did you call them? 

VOICES. Swingers. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Swingers. You got a whole choir over 

there that can tell you exactly how it is done. 

They do not even know that they are being used as slaves themselves. They do not even know it. They think that if they got $200 

in their pocket, they are balling. It is so sad. 

Congressman, like I say, I got to take you to the streets for real. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Well, you and I have agreed that we will 

go to the facility that made the news yesterday and we will go to 

other places after that. 
90 

But I want to thank you again, Mr. Chairman. I thank all of the 

witnesses for appearing and just simply let you know that there 

are no throwaways in the America that I love. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you and God bless you. 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thank you, Al. 

The Chairman now recognizes Mr. Farenthold. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Dr. Sanborn, I will start with you since we talked a little bit 

about the internet in the last round of questionings, and you 

brought up a website that advertises some of these services. Would 

shutting down those sites make a difference, or would they just pop 

back up internationally where we could not get to them? How do 

we do it without casting an over-broad net that would violate the 

First Amendment? 

Mr. SANBORN. I think that is a great question. 

Please do not ever put me on a panel with Cheryl and Kathy 

again. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. SANBORN. I am not used to being a sidekick. 

You know, it is a very tricky question, is it not, because most of 

the business has moved to the internet, but there are a lot of people that are hiding behind the First Amendment. I am a big believer in the First Amendment and we have lots of lawyers on our 

staff that would say we are all behind the First Amendment. You 

are right. If we decided today to shut down backpage.com, there 

would be others that people would move to. But the fact of the matter is we need to just keep shutting them down. 

When Craigslist was pressured into being shut down, what we 

found is that some of these purchasers were lost for a little while 

until they found backpage.com. There is no way that backpage.com 

is going to do the same thing that Craigslist did, which is to shut 

down on its own, because it is making way too much money. It is 

owned by the Village Voice and it is making a lot of money. They 

recently separated from the Village Voice, but they were making a 

lot of money. 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. So let me go on and talk a little bit. You 

know, I asked our law enforcement folks on the last panel, why do 

you not just go on this website and go into each and every one of 

those organizations and rescue the victims? He said, well, it was 

a matter of setting priorities. I fell into that trap with him. I said, 

yes, well, I guess, you know going after murderers is a priority. 

Then I got to think beyond murder or plotting terrorism, holding 

young children in basic slavery—I cannot think of a higher priority. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. But I fell into that trap. 

I heard for years from folks, you know, prostitution is a 

victimless crime. Ms. Briggs, how many are there because they 

want to be there? Are there any? 

Ms. BRIGGS. I have never in my life met one woman who, if you 

offered her—or child, if you offered them a viable second option, 

who would continue to do what they are having to do for survival. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. We talked a little bit about the customers here 

and what we could do about the customers. Let me ask you: Do the 
91 

customers even know that the person that they are hiring may 

be—I am using air quotes for ‘‘hiring’’—is there involuntarily? Do 

they know whether or not they are a 14-year-old? 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Yes and they do not care. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. So you think going after the demand, as Judge 

Poe said, would make a huge, huge difference. 

Ms. BRIGGS. Right, because if you cut down the amount of people 

out there buying sex, then a pimp that has seven girls—if he can 

only sell five of those on a daily basis, he is going to let two go. 

So that is the deal: Supply and demand, supply and demand. It is 

international. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. So how do we convince the law enforcement 

community that this needs to be a higher priority? I mean, there 

are things we can do in Congress. We can rewrite the laws to 

broaden some of the definitions that we have talked about. We can 

change some of the language with visas that we have talked about. 

But when it comes down to it, it is up to the law enforcement folks 

on the street to make that a priority. 

What do we do besides have hearings like this, talk to the television cameras? Are we doing everything we can do? I am going to 

let Ms. Griffin-Townsend answer that. 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. The first piece is to get a room full of 

survivors—there are many—and put us all in front of law enforcement and look at what the real faces of this travesty actually look 

like. 

[Applause.] 

Ms. GRIFFIN-TOWNSEND. Stop being ashamed. Stop being embarrassed because, you know, how many get to live two lifetimes in 

one lifetime? All of us have and we can pass that on and let them 

know that. Then everybody has got something that they want to 

keep secret that they do not want God to know, but he already 

knows. You can keep yours held, but we need to bring it out and 

show them the different real basis of it so they will know what to 

go after because everybody is keeping it in a little box. This thing 

is bigger than a box. There is no such thing as a box when it comes 

to this sexual slavery. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Well, hopefully, this hearing will take a step 

towards that. There were a lot of cameras here earlier. Hopefully, 

the coverage that we get tonight from this will be one step in making a difference in people’s lives. 

I applaud what you are doing, helping folks one person at a time. 

Again, I applaud you, and God bless you. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. Thanks. 

Let me just close by saying I have chaired a lot of hearings. This 

has been the most powerful. We deal with a lot of threats. We deal 

with al-Qaeda, terrorist threats, but this is the biggest threat to 

our children right here in the United States. We have an obligation 

to do something about that. 

As Sheila talked about earlier, we do a lot of stuff up there that 

does not amount to anything, but this is an area where we can 

really, truly make a difference in the lives of others and our most 

vulnerable in our society. We want to change lives from this to this 

side and that is our goal. 
92 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. As you said—and I will not filibuster here, 

but you said we want to turn that mess into a message. Wow. That 

is a powerful message and it is a powerful message that we need 

to send back to Washington and work this thing out on both sides 

of the aisle, which is not happening enough today in Washington, 

make this thing work not for us but for these children that are 

being exploited and for you, the victims. We owe this to you. 

I just want to really thank all the panelists but particularly the 

victims for the courage to come out in the open, come out of the 

shadows and say, you know what? I am somebody and I deserve 

to be heard. We want you all to do something to stop this from happening again. So all I can say is thank you. 

I want to give you credit also for working with me to do this field 

hearing right here in your district and want to give you the opportunity to give the final word. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chairman, the hearts of Members were 

exposed today, and what you heard was not a Chairman of a distinguished background, a law enforcement background, but you heard 

a father. You heard a man with a heart. You saw the best of what 

Congress is and can be. We are all on one page. We all have cracking voices, watery eyes. I think that we have now opened with a 

flashlight and we are looking for sunlight to be able to shine on victims that are human beings to be loved. 

I love what all my Members have said and your testimony. Can 

you believe this has been happening to children? It is not because 

of our benign neglect. It is because of what is your priority, what 

are you thinking of. So today, in an official Congressional hearing, 

the first hearing in Houston on human trafficking brought people 

together that I think will be the light of America and the light of 

the world. Let us touch somebody and say that you are valuable 

and I will not view you in any other way than the valuable person 

that you are. This human trafficking hearing has exposed slavery 

and human trafficking and smuggling, and we have said one thing. 

You are all the same and we are going to get you. I am grateful 

that we are going to do it in a bipartisan manner based on heart 

and love and the values of this great Nation. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for your courtesy. 

Chairman MCCAUL. We thank you. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman MCCAUL. Let me just say this hearing is adjourned, 

but our mission has just begun. 

[Whereupon, at 1:04 p.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

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