Attorney General’s Annual Report to 

Congress on U.S. Government 

Activities to Combat Trafficking in 

Persons 

Fiscal Year 2005 

June 2006
2 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 3 

II. Benefits and Services Given Domestically to Trafficking Victims 5 

A. Department of Health and Human Services 5 

B. Department of Justice 7 

C. Department of Homeland Security 8 

D. Department of State 9 

E. Department of Labor 9 

F. Legal Services Corporation 10 

III. Immigration Benefits for Trafficking Victims 11 

IV. Investigations and Prosecutions of Trafficking in Persons 12 

A. Investigations 12 

B. Prosecutions 15 

C. Examples of Cases 18 

V. International Grants to Combat Trafficking 21 

VI. Training and Outreach 23 

 

A. Domestic Law Enforcement Training 23 

B. International Law Enforcement Training 28 

C. Outreach to Nongovernmental Organizations 33 

D. Department of Health and Human Services Public Awareness 

 Campaign and Outreach 34 

E. Department of State 38 

VII. Senior Policy Operating Group on Trafficking in Persons 39 

VIII. Conclusion 40 
3 

I. Introduction

Human trafficking is an offense against human dignity, a crime in which human beings, 

many of them teenagers and young children, are bought and sold and often sexually 

abused by violent criminals. Our nation is determined to fight and end this modern form 

of slavery. 

--President George W. Bush, January 2006 

 Trafficking in persons (“TIP”) is a regrettably widespread form of modern-day 

slavery. An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 human beings are trafficked across 

international borders each year. More than 80 percent of these victims are women and 

girls, and 70 percent of them are forced into sexual servitude. Furthermore, one estimate 

claims that between 14,500 and 17,500 victims may be trafficked into the United States 

each year, although that figure may be overstated.1 In response, the United States has led 

the world in the fight against this terrible crime. 

The centerpiece of U.S. government efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons is 

the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (“TVPA”), Pub. L. 106-386, signed into 

law on October 28, 2000. It enhanced three aspects of federal government activity to 

combat trafficking in persons: it provided for a range of new protections and assistance 

for victims of trafficking in persons; it expanded the crimes and enhanced the penalties 

available to federal investigators and prosecutors pursuing traffickers; and it expanded 

U.S. activities internationally to prevent victims from being trafficked in the first place. 

Specifically, the TVPA: 

• Provided for victim assistance in the United States by making trafficking victims 

eligible for federally-funded or -administered health and other benefits and 

services; mandated U.S. government protections for victims of trafficking and, 

where applicable, their families; outlined protections from removal, including T 

non-immigrant status for trafficking victims over the age of 18 who cooperate 

with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking (victims 

under 18 are not required to cooperate in order to receive immigration benefits); 

and allowed T non-immigrant status holders to adjust to permanent resident 

status; 

• Created new crimes and enhanced penalties for existing crimes, including forced 

labor, trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, sex 

trafficking of children, sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud or coercion, and 

unlawful conduct with respect to documents; criminalized attempts to engage in 

these behaviors; and provided for mandatory restitution and forfeiture; 

 

1

 This figure was an early attempt to quantify a hidden problem. Further research is underway to determine 

a more accurate figure based on more advanced methodologies and more complete understanding of the 

nature of trafficking. 
4 

• Provided for assistance to foreign countries in drafting laws to prohibit and punish 

acts of trafficking and strengthen investigation and prosecution of traffickers; 

created programs to assist victims; and expanded U.S. government exchange and 

international visitor programs focused on trafficking in persons; and 

• Created the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to 

coordinate the U.S. government’s anti-trafficking efforts. The TVPA directed the 

Task Force, among other activities, to: 1) measure and evaluate progress of the 

United States and other countries in the areas of trafficking prevention, protection, 

and assistance to victims; 2) expand interagency procedures to collect and 

organize data; 3) engage in efforts to facilitate cooperation among countries; 4) 

examine the role of the international sex tourism industry; and 5) engage in 

consultation and advocacy with governmental and nongovernmental 

organizations. 

The Trafficking Victims Protection Re-authorization Act of 2003 (“TVPRA”), 

Pub. L. 108-193, signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2003, reauthorized 

the TVPA and added responsibilities to the U.S. Government’s anti-trafficking portfolio. 

In particular, the TVPRA mandated new information campaigns to combat sex tourism, 

added some refinements to the federal criminal law, and created a new civil action that 

allows trafficking victims to sue their traffickers in federal district court. In addition, the 

TVPRA requires a report from the Attorney General to Congress to be submitted to 

Congress every year. This report was mandated to provide information on the following 

U.S. government activities to combat trafficking in persons: 

• The number of persons in the United States who received benefits or other 

services under section 107(b) of the TVPA in connection with programs or 

activities funded or administered by the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Board of the Directors of the Legal 

Services Corporation, and other appropriate federal agencies during the 

previous Fiscal Year; 

• The number of persons who had been granted “continued presence” in the 

United States under TVPA section 107(c)(3) during the previous Fiscal Year; 

• The number of persons who applied for, had been granted, or had been denied 

T non-immigrant status or otherwise provided status under section 

101(a)(15)(T)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 

1101(a)(15)(T)(i)) during the previous Fiscal Year; 

• The number of persons who were charged or convicted under one or more of 

sections 1581, 1583, 1584, 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592, or 1594 of title 18, United 

States Code, during the previous Fiscal Year, and the sentences imposed 

against each such person; 
5 

• The amount, recipient, and purpose of each grant issued by any federal agency 

to carry out the purposes of sections 106 and 107 of the Act, or section 134 of 

the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, during the previous Fiscal Year; 

• The nature of training conducted pursuant to section 107(c)(4) during the 

previous Fiscal Year; and 

• The activities undertaken by the Senior Policy Operating Group (“SPOG”) on 

Trafficking in Persons to carry out its responsibilities under section 105(f) of 

the TVPRA during the previous Fiscal Year. 

This report, the third required under the TVPRA, is submitted to Congress in 

compliance with that directive. It details U.S. government activities to combat TIP during 

Fiscal Year 2005 (“FY05”), with a focus on the categories above. 

II. Benefits and Services Given Domestically to Trafficking Victims 

The success of U.S. government efforts to combat trafficking in persons 

domestically hinges on pursuing a victim-centered approach. All U.S. government agencies 

are therefore committed to providing victims access to the services and benefits provided by 

the TVPA. Because government benefits are typically tied to a person’s immigration status, 

the TVPA created a mechanism for allowing certain non-citizens who were trafficking 

victims access to benefits and services from which they might otherwise be barred. Under 

sections 107(b)(1) and (b)(2) of the TVPA, various federal agencies must extend some of 

their existing benefits to trafficking victims and are authorized to provide grants to 

effectuate such assistance. This section reviews the activities of the Department of Health 

and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Department of 

Homeland Security (“DHS”), the Department of State (“DOS”), the Department of Labor 

(“DOL”) and the Legal Services Corporation (“LSC”) to implement sections 107(b) and 

107(c) of the TVPA.

A. Department of Health and Human Services

1. Certifications and Letters of Eligibility 

 The TVPA authorizes the “certification” of adult victims to receive certain federallyfunded or -administered benefits and services, such as cash assistance, medical care, food 

stamps, and housing. Victims who are minors receive “letters of eligibility” for the same 

types of services. In FY05, HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (“ORR”) in the 

Administration for Children and Families issued 196 certifications to adults and 34 

eligibility letters to minors, for a total of 230. 

 These certifications and eligibility letters, combined with the 163 letters issued in 

Fiscal Year 2004 (“FY04”), the 151 letters issued in Fiscal Year 2003 (“FY03”), the 99 

letters issued in Fiscal Year 2002 (“FY02”) and the 198 letters issued in Fiscal Year 2001 
6 

 

(“FY01”), bring to 841 the total number of letters issued during the first five fiscal years 

in which the program has operated. 

 The FY05 letters were sent to victims or their representatives in 19 states. The 

largest concentrations were in California, New York, and Texas. In FY05, the countries 

of origin for reported victims were Cambodia, Albania, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cameroon, 

Colombia, Chad, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, 

Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Korea, 

Latvia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Paraguay, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and 

Western Samoa. The highest populations of victims originated in Korea (23.5%), 

Thailand (11.7%), Peru (10.0%), and Mexico (9.6%). 

2. Service Grants 

ORR has utilized discretionary grants to create a network of service organizations 

available to assist victims of a trafficking. In this endeavor, ORR has collaborated 

closely with DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime (“OVC”), which also awards grants to 

provide services to victims of trafficking (described below). ORR and OVC meet 

regularly to review the status of the national service delivery mechanism. In the case of 

minors who are victims of trafficking, the policy of HHS is to enroll them in the 

Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program in order to provide them care and services (even 

though they are not refugees as defined in statute). This enrollment can be accomplished 

very rapidly, usually within 24 hours of ORR being made aware of a victim. 

Participation in the program is voluntary for the victims. 

 

Since the inception of its trafficking program in FY01, ORR has awarded 

discretionary grants to 28 organizations. (See chart on next page for a representative list.) 

The FY01 grants provided $1.25 million in funding to eight organizations for an 

eighteen-month period that ended in March 2003. The purpose of these grants was to 

assist victims and promote awareness of trafficking by hosting training and media 

activities. In FY02 and FY03, all trafficking grant awards were for a one-year period, 

renewable annually for an additional two years. 

ORR awarded these service grants in two categories. Category One grants fund 

projects that raise awareness of trafficking in persons and/or provide case management 

and direct services to victims.2

 Category One grant projects include establishing 

nationwide networks of non-governmental organizations and service providers. Category 

Two grants fund technical assistance projects that provide training and technical expertise 

2

 Under the TVPA as originally enacted, grantees could not use HHS-funded assistance for pre-certified 

adult victims of trafficking. Depending on case circumstances, the prohibition frequently created a federal 

assistance gap between the time the victim was identified (whether by law enforcement or by NGOs) and 

the time of certification. During that time period, grantees attempted to identify other sources of funds. In 

the case of nonentitlement programs, the TVPRA authorized HHS to provide benefits and services to assist 

potential victims in achieving certification.
to law enforcement agencies, social service providers, faith-based organizations, and 

professional associations. 

 In FY05, ORR did not award any new Category One or Category Two grants; 

rather, it awarded only Street Outreach grants (discussed below in Section VI.D.2, 

Training and Outreach, Department of Health and Human Services Public Awareness 

Campaign and Outreach Grants). To complete the final year of direct services, 

approximately $3.2 million was granted to the FY03 grantees in FY05. 

Recipients of HHS Direct Service Grants 

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (Washington, DC) 

St. Anselm’s Cross-Cultural Community Center (Orange County, CA) 

New York Association for New Americans (New York, NY) 

DWA FANM (Brooklyn, NY) 

Crisis House, Inc. (El Cajon, CA) 

Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (San Francisco, CA) 

San Diego Youth & Community Services, Inc. (San Diego, CA) 

Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (Miami, FL) 

Refugee Women's Network (Decatur, GA) 

Pacific Gateway Center (Honolulu, HI) 

International Rescue Committee, Resettlement Department 

(New York, NY) 

Center for Multicultural Human Services (Falls Church, VA) 

Refugee Women's Alliance (Seattle, WA) 

B. Department of Justice

OVC funds a total of 25 direct services projects for victims, as well as one project 

that provides technical assistance to OVC trafficking grantees, and one that focuses on 

building shelter capacity for trafficking victims across the nation. 

During Calendar Year 2005 (OVC’s reporting period), OVC’s grantees provided 

services to 692 victims. Some victims were served by more than one service provider. 

This occurs when large numbers of victims are identified in a single raid or episode and 

the local service provider does not have the capacity to provide ongoing services to large 

numbers of victims. 

 Examples of OVC grantees include the International Institute of Connecticut, 

which provides comprehensive services to pre-certified victims identified in the state of 

Connecticut, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, which is working with the 

Los Angeles Anti-Trafficking Task Force to build effective community service networks 

to identify victims and respond to their needs, and the Asian Pacific Islander Legal 

Outreach, which works with community partners in the San Francisco Bay area, such as 

7 
8 

the Asian Women’s Shelter, the Donaldina Cameron House, and Narika (an organization 

committed to ending domestic violence) to provide services that are culturally and 

linguistically appropriate to pre-certified trafficking victims. 

A list of all OVC funded projects can be found on the OVC website at: 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/help/traffickingmatrix.htm. 

C. Department of Homeland Security

 With funding from OVC, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) 

Victim-Witness Assistance Program operates a Federal Crime Victim Assistance Fund 

(“Fund”). The Fund is available to assist Special Agents in Charge (“SACs”) with 

emergency services for victims of crime, including trafficking and related crimes. In 

FY05, ICE utilized the Fund to provide emergency housing, food, and incidentals for 17 

Korean victims of sex trafficking in San Francisco, California, 10 Honduran victims 

(including juveniles) of sex trafficking in Newark, New Jersey, four Ukrainian victims of 

sex trafficking in Detroit, Michigan, three victims in Baltimore, Maryland, numerous 

Mexican victims of sex trafficking in New York City and Newark, and a Mexican victim 

of sex trafficking in Tampa, Florida; clothing and personal items for a victim rescued 

from a home in Colorado where she had been kept captive; health assessments for two 

child victims in Boston, Massachusetts; costs associated with the Center for Disease 

Control’s tuberculosis testing for victims in San Francisco; and food for 100 potential 

victims in San Francisco. These funds are essential to fill a current gap in services for 

victims of trafficking until they can be safely transferred to NGOs. 

Other services DHS provides to victims include supplying clothing, translators, 

and other items. For example, rescued victims frequently have only the clothing they are 

wearing when rescued. ICE has therefore prepared packets of clothing and essential 

hygiene items that are sent to field offices for investigations when large numbers of 

victims are to be rescued. Among other things, victim assistance staff must also be 

prepared to provide appropriate translation services, culturally appropriate food, and 

clothing. In one case, ICE arranged for a Catholic priest to provide mass for victims at a 

secure location because the traffickers had not allowed the victims to attend church. 

Victims who have children pose unique problems. If children are rescued with 

the parents, victim assistance staff must be prepared to provide services to children – 

including keeping them occupied while their parents are being interviewed. For example, 

in an ICE case on Long Island, ICE had custody of almost a dozen children ranging from 

nine months to 17 years old. ICE collected toys and games from ICE staff to give to the 

children. ICE has also dealt with issues of family reunification. For example, in another 

case in New York State, children of trafficking victims were held by members of the 

offenders’ families in Mexico. ICE agents and victim assistance staff worked with 

federal prosecutors, DOS, and the International Organization for Migration’s (“IOM”) 

Family Reunification Project to bring the children to the United States to rejoin their 

mothers. 
9 

D. Department of State

 DOS’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (“PRM”) launched the 

Return, Reintegration, and Family Reunification Program for Victims of Trafficking in 

the United States in 2005, which reunites eligible family members with trafficked persons 

in the United States and assists victims who want to return to their home country. This 

project was developed at PRM’s request as part of the U.S. government’s efforts in 

support of the TVPA. PRM’s implementing partner, the IOM, works collaboratively 

with NGOs, law enforcement agencies, the faith-based community, and U.S. government 

agencies in order to assist the families of identified victims. After receiving a T visa, 

trafficked persons can bring their eligible family members to the United States, as 

provided for by the TVPA. The IOM may provide financial and logistical support for 

travel of immediate family members through pre-departure assistance with travel 

documents, transportation arrangements, airport assistance, and escorts for children. For 

trafficked persons who do not wish to avail themselves of the T-visa benefits to remain in 

the United States, the program works to ensure safe return and reintegration assistance 

back to home communities. This may include pre-departure assistance, travel 

documentation, transportation, and reception upon arrival by IOM partners on the ground, 

when possible. Reintegration assistance may be provided through NGO partners to 

mitigate the chances of re-trafficking and may include: temporary shelter, health care, 

training and education, small grants for income-generating activities, etc. As of March 

2006, this program assisted three trafficking victims who wished to return to their country 

of origin, and facilitated the family reunification of 24 family members with victims in 

the United States. 

E. Department of Labor

 DOL’s One-Stop Career Centers provide employment and training services – 

notably job search assistance, career counseling, and occupational skills training – to 

victims of trafficking in accordance with guidance issued by the Employment and 

Training Administration (“ETA)” after the passage of the TVPA. In addition to 

informing the career centers about federal resources for victims of trafficking, the 

guidance notes that no state may deny services available to victims of severe forms of 

trafficking based on their immigration status. Any such services are provided directly by 

state and local grantees to trafficking victims, however, and ETA does not collect 

information on the extent to which such services are offered or utilized by trafficking 

victims. 

 DOL’s Job Corps program also provides useful job training opportunities that are 

available to trafficking victims.
10 

F. Legal Services Corporation

LSC is a private, non-profit corporation established by Congress which funds 

legal aid programs around the nation to help poor Americans gain access to the civil 

justice system. Under section 107(b) of the TVPA, LSC must make legal assistance 

available to trafficking victims, who often need assistance with immigration and other 

matters. LSC has issued guidance to all LSC program directors describing the LSC's 

obligations to provide legal services to trafficking victims. The current guidance is 

available at: http://www.rin.lsc.gov/Reference%20Materials/Refrmats/Progltrs/Progltr05-

2.pdf 

 In FY05, eleven LSC grantees assisted 141 trafficking victims, as shown in the 

chart below. 

LSC Grantees # of Persons 

Served

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles 83* 

Colorado Legal Services 21 

Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York 18 

Georgia Legal Services 5 

Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services 5 

Southern Arizona Legal Aid 3 

Northwest Justice Project 2 

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma 2 

Virginia Legal Aid Society 1 

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas 1 

Nevada Legal Services 1 

TOTAL 141

*plus 127 “derivative applicants,” i.e. family members of those trafficked. 
11 

III. Immigration Benefits for Trafficking Victims

Trafficking victims in the United States are eligible to receive two types of 

immigration relief—Continued Presence (“CP”) and T nonimmigrant status, also known 

as a “T visa.” The Parole and Humanitarian Assistance Branch (“PHAB”), within ICE’s 

Office of International Affairs, grants CP and DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services (“CIS”) awards T visas. DHS provides copies of these awards to the HHS, 

which issues the certification under section 107 (b) of the TVPA as described above. 

“Continued Presence” is a term of art referring to parole to be legally present in 

the United States granted to trafficking victims in accordance with Section 107(c)(3) of 

the TVPA. Pursuant to 28 C.F.R. 1103, DHS has the authority to grant CP to victims of 

severe forms of trafficking who are potential witnesses in the investigation or 

prosecution. CP must be requested by a federal law enforcement agency on behalf of the 

potential witness. CP requests are reviewed and, when warranted, authorized by the 

PHAB, pursuant to authority delegated to it by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

When the PHAB authorizes CP, the approved application is forwarded to the 

Vermont Service Center (“VSC”) within CIS for production of an employment 

authorization document and an I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. CP is initially authorized 

for a period of one year; however, an extension (re-parole) of CP may be authorized for a 

longer period if the investigation is ongoing. 

In FY05, the PHAB received 160 requests for CP. Of these, 158 requests were 

granted and two requests were withdrawn by the requesting federal law enforcement 

agencies because there was insufficient evidence to substantiate that the individuals were 

trafficking victims. ICE also received 92 requests for extensions to existing CP, and all 

the extensions were granted. The majority of extensions represent an ICE investigation 

in Long Island involving Peruvian victims of forced labor. 

Requests for 

CP in FY05 

Number 

Awarded 

Number 

Withdrawn 

Countries 

Represented 

Countries 

with the 

Highest 

Number of 

Victims 

Cities with the 

Most CP 

Requests 

160 158 2 29 Korea, Peru, 

and 

Honduras 

New York 

San 

Francisco 

Newark 

Request for 

Extensions 

92 

Extensions 

Authorized 

92 

Peru New York 
12 

Victims may also petition CIS to receive a T visa, a status available to victims 

over the age of 18 who have complied with reasonable requests for assistance in the 

investigation and prosecution of acts of trafficking. Victims who receive T nonimmigrant 

status may remain in the United States for three years, and then may apply for lawful 

permanent residency subject to certain statutory criteria.3 See the chart below for 

numbers of persons who applied for, who were granted, and who were denied T visas in 

FY05. 

Number of persons who applied for, were granted, or were denied a T visa: 

FY05 

Victims 

Applied 229 

Approved* 112 

Denied** 213 

Family of Victims 

Applied 124 

Approved* 114 

Denied** 18 

* Some approvals are from prior fiscal year(s) filings. 

** Some applicants have been denied twice (i.e., filed once, were denied, filed again). 

 It should be noted that 170 denials stemmed from one case in which it was 

determined that the applicants were not victims of trafficking as defined in the TVPA 

statute. 

IV. Investigations and Prosecutions 

A. Investigations

 Federal investigations of trafficking in persons are undertaken by Federal Bureau 

of Investigation (“FBI”) agents and ICE agents. 

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation 

 Special agents in the Civil Rights Unit (“CRU”) at FBI Headquarters and in field 

offices around the country investigate trafficking in the United States. FBI Legal 

Attaches at U.S. embassies around the world support investigations with international 

 

3

 Note that the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act, signed by President Bush January 5, 

2006, allows T nonimmigrants to have T status for up to 4 years, but they may apply for permanent 

residency after 3 years in status. 
13 

links. In addition, FBI agents in the CRU coordinate with agents in the Organized Crime 

and Crimes Against Children Units to ensure that cases initially identified as smuggling 

cases, Internet crimes against children, and/or sex tourism are also identified for potential 

human trafficking elements. 

On August 30, 2005, the FBI began its Human Trafficking Initiative. The 

initiative involved the FBI’s field offices determining, via a threat assessment, the 

existence and scope of the trafficking problem in their region; participating in an antitrafficking task force; establishing and maintaining relationships with local NGOs and 

community organizations; conducting victim-centered investigations; and reporting 

significant case developments to the CRU. 

In FY05, the FBI opened 146 trafficking investigations and made 48 arrests. 

In addition, the FBI continued to combat child prostitution in the United States 

through the Innocence Lost Initiative. In June of 2003, the FBI, in partnership with the 

Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (“CEOS”) of DOJ’s Criminal Division and the 

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”), implemented the 

“Innocence Lost National Initiative” to address the growing problem of child prostitution. 

Initially, the FBI identified 14 field offices with a high incidence of child prostitution. In 

FY05 and through the first quarter of FY06, an additional 10 field offices were identified 

as areas in which these criminal enterprises were operating. As of September 30, 2005, 

the Innocence Lost Initiative resulted in 139 open investigations (67 in 2004 and 72 in 

2005), 505 arrests (118 in 2004 and 387 in 2005), 60 complaints (11 in 2004 and 49 in 

2005), 70 indictments (26 in 2004 and 44 in 2005), and 67 convictions (22 in 2004 and 

45 in 2005). 

2. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

Within ICE, oversight of the enforcement of trafficking cases lies with the Human 

Smuggling and Trafficking Unit (“HSTU”) in the Office of Investigations. The 

responsibility for human trafficking investigations themselves is under the purview of 

ICE domestic field offices and attaché offices overseas. In addition, the Cyber Crimes 

Center is responsible for worldwide oversight and management of child sex tourism 

investigations. Also, the Financial and Trade Investigation Division systematically 

follows the trail of illicit monies of trafficking organizations. The Asset Identification 

Removal Group targets the finances and assets of trafficking organizations and focuses 

on civil asset forfeiture. The Law Enforcement Support Center serves as a national 

enforcement operations center and provides information on the status and identities of 

aliens. This allows ICE to rapidly arrest and maintain custody of potential traffickers 

under immigration charges while further investigations are being completed. 

In FY05, ICE opened 274 human trafficking investigations, which consisted of 86 

investigations of forced labor and 188 investigations of commercial sexual exploitation. 

ICE made 101 arrests, 85 for sex trafficking and 16 for forced labor. 
14 

ICE is also actively involved in investigating the sexual exploitation of children 

overseas. Operation Predator is ICE's comprehensive initiative to safeguard children 

from foreign national sex offenders, international sex tourists, Internet child 

pornographers, and human traffickers. Since 2003, the initiative has resulted in more 

than 7,000 arrests - an average of more than eight arrests per day. In FY05, ICE made 

2,380 Operation Predator arrests. Operation Predator has an important international 

component as leads developed by domestic ICE offices are shared with ICE Attaché 

offices overseas and foreign law enforcement for action. Leads shared with foreign 

authorities have resulted in more than 1,000 arrests overseas. With regard to sex 

tourism, since the PROTECT Act was enacted in 2003, ICE has conducted over 190 

investigations of U.S. citizens traveling abroad for the purpose of sexually exploiting 

children. In FY05, ICE agents arrested 15 individuals for child sex tourism violations. 

3. Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center 

DOJ, DHS, and DOS, along with other government agencies, staff the Human 

Smuggling and Trafficking Center (“the Center”). The Center combines federal agency 

representatives from the prosecutorial, law enforcement, policy, intelligence, diplomatic 

and consular arenas to work together on a full time basis to attempt to curtail human 

smuggling and trafficking in the United States and worldwide. The Center facilitates 

broad dissemination of intelligence and drafts strategic assessments on matters related to 

illicit travel, including human trafficking. 

During FY05, the Center also assisted in successful criminal investigations. In 

the summer of 2005, staff at the Center met with a prosecutor and law enforcement 

officers in the Eastern District of Virginia to discuss information that had surfaced with 

respect to an American citizen who had purportedly engaged in sex tourism in China. 

The Center conducted analysis on a portion of the evidence and provided additional 

information related to the suspect. In part due to the information supplied by the Center, 

the suspect entered a guilty plea to sex tourism-related charges. (Details of the case, 

including the name of the defendant, cannot be provided as it is currently under seal.) 

 The Center has also assumed a coordinating role with DOJ’s Criminal and Civil 

Rights Divisions relating to a trafficking investigation in the District of New Jersey. 

Prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section and 

the Civil Rights Division have teamed together with some direction and information 

provided by the staff at the Center in an effort to continue the pursuit of traffickers on the 

East Coast. In addition, the Center has provided other sex trafficking/tourism 

information to the CEOS. 

 4. Department of Labor 

Law enforcement efforts to investigate trafficking in persons also include those of 

DOL, which continues to increase its emphasis on compliance with labor standards laws, 

such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 

Protection Act, in low-wage industries like garment manufacturing and agriculture. DOL 
15 

civil law enforcement responsibilities relating to trafficking are carried out by the Wage 

and Hour Division (“WHD”) with the support of the Office of the Solicitor. WHD 

investigators interview workers and assess situations where workers may have been 

intimidated, threatened, or held against their will. WHD investigators also review payroll 

records and inspect migrant farm worker housing. Additionally, criminal enforcement 

agents from DOL’s Office of the Inspector General have worked with their FBI and ICE 

counterparts on a growing number of criminal investigations, particularly those involving 

organized crime groups. 

B. Prosecutions

The Criminal Section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, in collaboration with U.S. 

Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, has principal responsibility for prosecuting human 

trafficking crimes, except for cases involving trafficking in children, which is a 

specialization of CEOS. 

In FY05, the Civil Rights Division and United States Attorneys’ Offices initiated 

prosecutions against 95 defendants, 87 percent of whom were charged with violations 

under the TVPA. More than twice the number of defendants were charged in 2005 than 

had been prosecuted in 2004, the highest number prosecuted in a single year. 

The following two charts list the numbers of defendants charged, prosecuted, and 

convicted of trafficking offenses and offenses under the TVPA since FY01. Defendants 

charged in FY05 with a trafficking offense are not necessarily the same defendants 

convicted and sentenced in FY05. (These figures do not include CEOS prosecutions of 

child trafficking and sex tourism.) 
16 

 

All Trafficking Prosecutions 01 02 03 04 05 

Cases Filed

Total 10 10 11 26 34 

Sex 4 7 8 23 26 

Defendants Charged

Total 38 41 27 47 95 

Sex 26 27 21 40 75 

Convictions

Total 23 28 21 33 35 

Sex 15 23 16 30 25 

 

 The chart below describes the number of defendants charged, prosecuted, and 

convicted of trafficking offenses and offenses under the TVPA only since FY01. 

(Defendants charged in FY 2005 with a trafficking offense are not necessarily the same 

defendants convicted and sentenced in FY 2005.) 

TVPA Prosecutions 01 02 03 04 05 

Total Cases Filed 5 7 10 10 27 

 Sex 2 5 7 9 19 

Total Defendants Charged 11 21 26 24 83 

 Sex 6 13 20 19 64 

Total Convictions 5 6 18 15 26 

 Sex 3 6 13 13 18 

 Bar graphs on the following pages display these numbers in a different format. 
1 2 3 4 5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Total Sex 

Cases Filed

1 2 3 4 5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Total Sex 

Defendants Charged

17 

1 2 3 4 5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Total Sex 

Defendants Convicted
18 

In addition to these trafficking cases, since the passage of the PROTECT Act in 

April 2003, which facilitated the prosecution of sex tourism cases, there have been 

approximately 50 sex tourism indictments/complaints and at least 29 convictions. There 

are roughly 60 active investigations. Descriptions of sex tourism cases prosecuted in 

2005 are included in the section below. 

In order to present data regarding sentences, DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics 

reviewed the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (“AOUSC”) criminal case 

database to make a preliminary calculation of the average length of sentence for cases 

completed in FY05 that involved the trafficking offenses of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1581 

(peonage), 1583 (enticement for slavery), 1584 (sale into involuntary servitude), 1589 

(forced labor), 1590 (trafficking with respect to peonage/slavery/involuntary 

servitude/forced labor), 1591 (sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud or coercion), 

1592 (unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of trafficking), and 

1594 (general provisions). This calculation differs from the case statistics presented in 

the preceding charts, because the AOUSC database tracks the statutes involved in a court 

case rather than the underlying facts of each case. As a result, the AOUSC database 

search was unable to determine sentences in trafficking prosecutions in which defendants 

pleaded guilty to non-trafficking offenses such as immigration violations or visa fraud. 

In addition, the AOUSC database chronicles only the top five offenses charged, and not 

the full scope of charges brought. 

Of the 25 defendants convicted of one the statutes listed in the TVRPA as 

required to be reported by the Attorney General, 23 received a prison-only term, one 

received both prison and supervised release, and one received a probation-only sentence. 

The average prison term imposed for the 23 defendants was 103 months and prison terms 

ranged from 14-270 months. Ten received a prison sentence from 1-5 years, five 

received terms from 5-10 years, and eight received a prison term of more than 10 years. 

One defendant received a probation-only term of 12 months and one defendant received a 

split sentence of 37 months prison and 36 months probation. 

C. Examples of Cases

Cases investigated, prosecuted, and concluded in FY05 include the following:4

United States v. Babaev (New York). In July 2005, Alex Babaev and Asgar 

Mammedov pled guilty to sex trafficking for bringing young women from Azerbaijan 

into the United States to work as prostitutes in New York between March 2003 and 

March 2004. The men kept the women in prostitution through threats and force, 

including beatings and rapes, and threats against their families in the Caucasus region. 

Mammadov was sentenced in December 2005 to ten years of incarceration and ordered to 

pay $325,000 in restitution to his victims. In early 2006, Babaev was sentenced to 20 

years of incarceration. 

 

4

 The statements in this section are merely allegations as to any defendant who is pending trial or is a 

fugitive. 
19 

United States v. Boehm, et. al. (Alaska). On March 19, 2004, an 18-count 

indictment was returned against Josef F. Boehm, charging him with conspiring commit 

sex trafficking of children, possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, 

being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being an unlawful user of a controlled 

substance in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Boehm pled guilty on November 

22, 2004, to child sex trafficking and drug charges. As part of the plea agreement, he 

agreed to forfeit his residence and also to provide $1.2 million in a trust fund for the 

future benefit of the victims. Boehm was sentenced on May 10, 2005, to 11 years and 3 

months of incarceration to be followed by five years’ supervised release. 

United States v. Maksimenko (Michigan). Following the escape of several exotic 

dancers who sought the assistance of federal law enforcement, Aleksandr Maksimenko 

and Michail Aronov were indicted in February 2005 on charges of forced labor. The 

defendants had recruited Russian and Ukranian women to travel to the United States and 

held them in a condition of servitude in strip clubs in southeastern Michigan. At least 

nine women were held by the defendants since 2001 through threats, force, and rape. On 

September 8, 2005, Aronov pled guilty to conspiracy to violate commit slavery, 

immigration violations, and money laundering. As part of his guilty plea, Aronov agreed 

to forfeit more than $500,000 in proceeds of his crimes. Maksimenko’s wife, mother, 

and stepmother pled guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice in the wake of the men’s 

arrest. 

United States v. Medrano (New Jersey). In July 2005, a 31-count indictment was 

returned against Luisa Medrano and nine others. They had lured Honduran women and 

young girls from small villages with promises of employment as waitresses and then 

forced them to work at bars in Union City, New Jersey. After rescue, the women stated 

that they were beaten, their families had been threatened in Honduras and they were 

subjected to forced abortions. Investigative efforts resulted in the rescue of nineteen 

Honduran females, six of whom were juveniles as young as 14 years of age. In June 

2005, the government of Honduras, in collaboration with ICE, arrested four other 

persons, charging them under Honduran law with human smuggling and trafficking. All 

the women and girls have been relocated and are receiving services. 

United States v. Zavala and Ibanez (New York). On November 5, 2004, 

defendants Mariluz Zavala and Jorge Ibanez pled guilty to conspiracy to commit forced 

labor, document servitude, and recruiting, harboring, transporting, and housing 

undocumented workers; engaging in extortionate credit transactions; and transferring 

false alien registration cards. Between June 1, 1999, and June 21, 2004, Zavala and 

Ibanez orchestrated a scheme to illegally obtain visas for Peruvian aliens seeking to come 

into the United States. The defendants charged the aliens a smuggling fee ranging from 

$6,000 to $13,000. By confiscating their passports and threatening to turn them over to 

authorities, the defendants compelled the aliens to perform work for them and other 

employers. The defendants kept most of their paychecks, leaving the aliens with 

approximately $50 or less per week on which to live and support their families. More 

than 60 Peruvian illegal aliens, including 13 children, who were living in cramped and 

squalid conditions, were granted continued presence and are receiving services through a 
20 

non-governmental organization. As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants agreed to 

forfeit a residence valued at $175,000 and bank accounts containing approximately 

$30,000 generated through their crimes. On November 9, 2005, Zavala was sentenced to 

15 years of incarceration. Ibanez’s sentencing was pending as of the preparation of this 

report. 

United States v. Salazar (Texas). Six defendants were charged with conspiring to 

traffic young Mexican women and girls into prostitution. The defendants allegedly lured 

young Mexican girls and women into the United States under false pretenses then forced 

them into prostitution, using physical violence and threats to maintain strict control over 

them. Four of the six defendants have pled guilty to conspiring to commit sex 

trafficking. Trial for defendant Ivan Salazar is currently set for November 2006. The 

alleged ringleader, Gerardo Salazar, remains a fugitive. 

Richard Arthur Schmidt (Philippines/Cambodia). On May 25, 2005, Richard 

Arthur Schmidt was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by supervised release for 

life in connection with his July 8, 2004, guilty plea for molestation of underage boys in 

the Philippines and in Cambodia. Schmidt had previously been convicted three times of 

child sex crimes in Maryland, but had been released from prison in 2000 after serving 13 

years of an 18-year sentence. In December 2003, ICE agents in Bangkok learned that 

Schmidt had been subsequently arrested in the Philippines and Cambodia for sexually 

molesting underage boys. ICE agents worked with Cambodia to get Schmidt expelled 

from Cambodia and transferred into U.S. custody. 

United States v. Sims (Georgia). On February 4, 2004, a federal grand jury in the 

Northern District of Georgia indicted Maurice Sims on six counts, including kidnapping, 

violations of the TVPA, and transporting a minor in interstate commerce for criminal 

sexual activity. He had transported a 16 year-old girl from El Dorado, Arkansas to 

Atlanta, Georgia for purposes of prostitution and en route beat and raped the girl. A 

superseding indictment was returned March 2, 2004 adding three counts of obstruction of 

justice. On September 20, 2004, Sims was convicted following a jury trial, and on 

December 15, 2004 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

United States v. Okhotina (California). In January 2003, Alana Okhotina 

smuggled her eighteen year old niece into the United States from Russia and forced her to 

work as a prostitute to repay her smuggling debt. The defendant threatened to kill the 

victim and her family if she did not comply and told her that she would be arrested if she 

went to the police because she was here in the United States illegally. On December 6, 

2005, Okhotina entered a guilty plea to trafficking into slavery. Okhotina’s sentencing 

was pending as of the preparation of this report. 

United States v. Kaufman (Kansas). For nearly 20 years, beginning in 1986 and 

lasting through October 2004, the defendants Arlan and Linda Kaufman engaged in a 

conspiracy to hold mentally ill residents in involuntary servitude and forced labor in “The 

Kaufman House,” a residential treatment group home. The defendants forced the 

victims to perform labor and services for the defendants’s entertainment and benefit, 
21 

including engaging in nudity and sexually explicit acts. On November 7, 2005, the 

Kaufmans were convicted by a jury of numerous crimes, including conspiracy, 

involuntary servitude, forced labor, and multiple health care fraud counts. Arlen 

Kaufman was sentenced to 30 years of incarceration, and Linda Kaufman was sentenced 

to seven years of incarceration. 

United States v. Komala and United States v. Gouw (Virginia). Defendant 

Harjanto Komala was charged with conspiring to recruit juvenile females to engage in a 

commercial sex act and defendant Hans Gouw was charged with conspiracy to commit 

sex trafficking, immigration fraud, identification document fraud and money laundering. 

On April 26, 2005, the defendants pled guilty to the charges. The defendants admitted to 

plotting to recruit young Indonesian women and teenage girls to come to the United 

States to work as prostitutes and nude dancers. The women and teenage girls would not 

have been allowed to leave the employment for at least a year, would have had their 

documents confiscated and would have been closely monitored while living in a house 

under the control of Gouw, the ringleader. On May 27, 2005, defendant Komala was 

sentenced to one year and a day in prison and the judge ordered the forfeiture of $50,000. 

On September 9, 2005, defendant Gouw was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. 

V. International Grants to Combat Trafficking 

In FY05, the U.S. government spent approximately $95 million to fund 266 

programs in 101 countries to support foreign government and NGO efforts to combat 

human trafficking. This is an increase of 16 percent in international programs funding 

over FY04 and a 27 percent increase over FY03 funding. The 2005 funding increase can 

partly be explained by the one-time Presidential Anti-Trafficking Initiative, which 

transferred almost $50 million into eight countries: Brazil, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, 

Mexico, Moldova, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. Programs are supported by DOS and 

DOL and the U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”). A full list of 

programs is attached as the Appendix to this Report. 

Examples of such programs are the following: 

• In Sierra Leone, a grant from USAID established an interagency partnership to 

raise awareness of gender-based violence and torture, including issues of sexual 

violence and trafficking and to improve access to quality mental health care for 

victims.

• In Cambodia, with USAID’s assistance, the IOM, in conjunction with the 

Ministry of Women’s Affairs, conducted information campaigns in 18 provinces 

to raise awareness of the dangers of trafficking. The IOM has also fostered 

village-based community information networks, similar to “neighbourhood 

watch” programs in the United States, to fight trafficking.

• In Albania, USAID supports the Terre des hommes Transnational Action against 

Child Trafficking project. This comprehensive child-trafficking program is 
22 

focused on identifying at-risk children, providing social and educational 

assistance to families, reintegrating trafficked children, and monitoring and 

coordinating.

• In Mongolia, DOL supported the proposed National Subprogram to Eliminate the 

Worst Forms of Child Labor. This project aims to strengthen the policy response 

for national action against the worst forms of child labor and to provide services 

to children withdrawn from or at risk of entering exploitative labor situations. 

This project has a component to address commercial sexual exploitation of 

children, particularly children who have run away from home and are found in 

urban areas and towns. The project will withdraw children from commercial 

sexual exploitation and provide rehabilitation and reintegration services.

• In Sierra Leone and Liberia, DOL provided funding for a project that assists 

children who are victims of, or at-risk of, trafficking from rural to urban areas for 

purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor in diamond mines. The project 

will remove children from the worst forms of child labor, strengthen and link 

national and local systems for monitoring and supporting education and 

eliminating exploitive child labor, and assist local partners with developing 

individual child-tracking and project-monitoring systems, including selfevaluation tools. 

• In Morocco, DOS provided funding to a project by the NGO Bayti to rescue and 

rehabilitate child maids, provide them with education or vocational training and 

attempt reintegration with their families. The project included a residential shelter 

facility and drop-in center, where victims do not stay for extended periods of time 

but rather have access to out-patient-like services. 

• In Madagascar, DOS provided funding to Catholic Relief Services to provide 

assistance to victims of, and those at risk for, exploitation through sex trafficking 

and sex tourism. Assistance includes counseling, vocational and educational 

opportunities, and legal assistance. In addition, Catholic Relief Services and 

UNICEF will partner with the Ministries of Population, Tourism, and Education 

to conduct an in-depth study of sex and labor trafficking in Madagascar and 

launch a nationwide public awareness campaign. 

• In Uganda, DOS provided funding to the International Rescue Committee 

(“IRC”) to enhance reunification and follow up interventions for trafficking 

victims abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. IRC will 

accompany former abductees and ensure their safety during reunification with a 

team of social workers. The social workers will collaborate with families and 

communities to ensure reunification and reintegration for formerly abducted 

children and young adults. 

• With DOS support, the IOM Global Assistance Fund has helped 418 trafficking 

victims return home form various parts of the world. The program provides global 
23 

referral, assessment and rapid assistance to trafficked persons. Assistance 

packages include pre- and post-return help as well as tailored reintegration 

support. IOM field offices throughout the world are implementing this project 

with oversight and overall project management by the Counter-Trafficking 

Service at IOM headquarters. 

VI. Training and Outreach 

A. Domestic Law Enforcement Training

1. Department of Justice 

a. Civil Rights Division 

In FY05, the Civil Rights Division continued to build upon the July 2004 

national conference that brought together federal, state, and local law enforcement 

officials to establish anti-trafficking task forces throughout the United States. In 

February 2005, in Houston, Texas, Civil Rights Division attorneys participated in 

training sponsored by DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance for state and local law 

enforcement using the national curriculum on human trafficking developed in FY04. 

The training brought together multi-disciplinary teams from 20 anti-trafficking task 

forces. In addition, in FY05 the Office of Justice Programs (“OJP”) provided funding 

to establish new anti-trafficking task forces in Anchorage, Alaska; Lee County, Florida; 

Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; New 

York City, New York; Multnomah County, Oregon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and the 

State of Colorado. In all, DOJ has formed, and funded with $13 million, 32 task forces 

in 21 states and territories. (A full list of task force grants is included in the Appendix to 

this report.) This funding is primarily intended lead to the identification and rescue of 

more victims of human trafficking, by providing for support staff, training programs, 

interpreter/translator services, and liaisons with U.S. Attorneys’s Offices and other 

agencies concerned with the identification and rescue of trafficking victims. 

The Civil Rights Division has supplemented task force training with a “train the 

trainer” curriculum that is available to the task forces through the 27 locations of the 

Office of Community Oriented Policing’s Regional Community Policing Institutes. 

This training is designed to improve the skills of each component of the trafficking 

team, and it provides advice on interagency collaboration. Task force training 

emphasizes proactive investigations, victim safety and restoration, and the importance 

of conducting investigations across state and international borders. 

In addition, Civil Rights Division attorneys and victim-witness staff conducted 

more than seventy training programs for federal and local law enforcement agencies, 

non-governmental and health care organizations, business leaders and legal 

practitioners in Boston, Massachusetts; Indianapolis, Indiana; Columbus, Ohio; San 

Diego, California; Little Rock, Arkansas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis, 

Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New Orleans, Louisiana; Buffalo, New York; 
24 

Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; San Francisco, California; 

and Montgomery County, Maryland. Also, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys’ 

Office of Legal Education hosted several comprehensive training sessions for federal 

agents, prosecutors, and victim-witness coordinators at DOJ’s National Advocacy 

Center. The Civil Rights Division also actively participates in human trafficking 

training at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and as part of the regular curricula of the FBI, ICE, 

and DOS’s Diplomatic Security Service. 

Another important DOJ initiative in FY05 was the promotion of the Model State 

Anti-Trafficking Statute. The Civil Rights Division and the Office of Legal Policy 

wrote the statute, based on the TVPA and the lessons learned through DOJ’s trafficking 

prosecutions. The model statute seeks to expand anti-trafficking authority to the states 

in order to harness the almost one million state and local law enforcement officers who 

might come into contact with trafficking victims. It was presented at the July 2004 

conference, and the U.S. Senate subsequently passed a resolution endorsing the statute 

and encouraging states to adopt it. In FY05, Attorney General Gonzales wrote to the 

governors and legislative leaders of all 50 states and U.S. territories and 

commonwealths to encourage them to adopt the model law in order to promote 

enforcement uniformity and as part of a national strategy to combat human trafficking. 

Finally, the Civil Rights Division’s victim-witness staff contributed a chapter on 

human trafficking victims as part of the 2005 revision to the Attorney General’s 

Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. Civil Rights Division staff also trained 

federal victim coordinators and attorneys on those Guidelines. 

b. Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section 

 CEOS conducted its annual Advanced Child Exploitation course for federal 

prosecutors and agents at the National Advocacy Center in March 2005. In addition to 

covering topics relevant to the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation crimes 

involving the internet, the course included training on addressing the needs of child 

prostitution victims as well as effectively investigating and prosecuting child prostitution 

cases. (In 2004, CEOS’s annual training course included additional instruction on child 

prostitution and sex trafficking cases.) Further, in conjunction with the Innocence Lost 

Initiative, CEOS partnered with both the FBI and NCMEC to develop an intensive weeklong training seminar, held at and sponsored by NCMEC, solely dedicated to the 

investigation and prosecution of cases involving child prostitution. The ongoing program 

brings state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service 

providers to NCMEC, where the group is trained together. Although the pilot training 

program occurred during 2003, there were additional training programs in 2004 and 2005 

with approximately 350 key personnel trained by the end of 2005. This training has 

extended into 2006. 

 Other examples of CEOS’s efforts to train domestic law enforcement concerning 

human trafficking include: training FBI agents working on the Innocence Lost Initiative 

at a conference in Las Vegas in March 2005; training FBI agents on child exploitation 
25 

crimes in general, including sex tourism and child prostitution at Quantico in June 2005; 

and presenting training as part of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking 

Conference in Miami concerning the Innocence Lost Initiative and child sex trafficking in 

August 2005. 

 CEOS also provides numerous publications to prosecutors across the country, 

including a quarterly newsletter it prepares and distributes to each U.S. Attorney’s Office 

which provides practical tips as well as analyses of the most current legal issues and 

cases. In FY05, many articles in the quarterly newsletter focused on sex trafficking 

cases. For example, articles covered the jurisdictional reach of 18 U.S.C. § 1591 

(October 2004), a case study of a successful child prostitution investigation and 

prosecution involving drug trafficking offenses (January 2005), and whether sex tourism 

cases can be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. §2423(c) if the offender has traveled outside the 

United States before the enactment of the statute (April 2005). 

 

 CEOS attorneys also participated in the development of the 2005 revision to the 

Attorney General’s Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance, most notably with 

respect to the chapter on guidelines for child victims and witnesses. Additionally, CEOS 

attorneys trained federal prosecutors and victim witness coordinators on those guidelines. 

 

 Finally, a CEOS attorney presented at a Civil Rights Division trafficking 

conference in Miami, Florida in August 2005. The conference gathered law enforcement 

agents for training and information sharing on topics related to international and domestic 

human trafficking. The CEOS presentation provided background information about the 

Innocence Lost Initiative along with case examples to highlight investigative tactics and 

prosecution strategies. 

c. Federal Bureau of Investigation 

During FY05, at the request the Civil Rights Division, FBI participated in training 

of federal, state and local investigators, prosecutors and non-government organizations, 

and victim advocacy groups in the following cities: Portland, San Francisco, Atlanta, 

Houston, Columbia, St. Louis, El Paso, Philadelphia, New Haven, Orlando, Knoxville, 

Tampa, Chicago, Charlotte, Salt Lake City and Newark. 

 In addition, training on trafficking was given to new special agents of the FBI at 

the FBI National Academy and to FBI supervisory special agents from 54 field offices at 

a civil rights training conference held in Orlando, Florida in May 2005, and all special 

agents in field offices specializing in civil rights were given training in advanced human 

trafficking investigation, prosecution procedures, and best practices from June through 

September 2005. Finally, FBI special agents assigned as legal attaches to more than 30 

various foreign country posts were given anti-trafficking training. 
26 

2. Department of Homeland Security 

Three components of DHS conducted anti-TIP training either for their own 

officers or for state and local law enforcement officers in FY05. 

a. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

In FY05, ICE participated in a groundbreaking federal initiative to provide trainthe-trainer sessions to state police trainers, provided specific training sessions for federal 

law enforcement agents from other agencies, and continued in-service training for all ICE 

agents. In addition, ICE provides specific training to state law enforcement officers. 

 As noted above, OJP funded the development of a train-the-trainer curriculum in 

FY04. ICE staff assisted in drafting the curriculum, and the ICE Victim-Witness 

Coordinator was an instructor for first train-the-trainer course based on that curriculum, 

held in November 2004. ICE also provided training to participants at the February 2005 

Houston, Texas human trafficking task force conference described above. In addition, 

ICE conducted training on human trafficking and provision of victim services at 

statewide conferences of NGOs and federal and state law enforcement in Oregon in 

January 2005, in New Hampshire in July 2005, and in Alaska in July 2005. 

Finally, training of ICE agents continued in 2005. Hundreds of ICE agents were 

trained using the Division of Training’s internal Intranet-based training course, “Stop 

Trafficking,” which consists of training that covers the relevant statutes, conducting 

investigations, identifying and interviewing victims, and providing victim assistance and 

protections. (By publication of this report, all ICE agents will have been trained through 

this course.) Second, all new ICE agents receive a two-hour block of instruction on 

human trafficking at the basic course taught at the Federal Law Enforcement Training 

Center. Third, in September 2005, ICE staff and federal prosecutors provided 

information about federal investigations and prosecutorial aspects of human trafficking to 

VSC T-visa adjudicators. Finally, ICE’s SAC in Puerto Rico invited ICE Headquarters 

Victim-Witness Program staff to train all agents in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on 

human trafficking and victim assistance responsibilities. 

ICE training for other law enforcement agencies included ICE Victim-Witness 

Staff’s one-day training for all officers and detectives from Montgomery County, 

Maryland, in June 2005 and training for FBI staff on the difference between smuggling 

and trafficking and procedures for interviewing large numbers of potential witnesses, as 

well as lessons learned from several joint ICE/FBI investigations. In addition, ICE staff 

provided training on the impact of human trafficking on juveniles in the United States for 

the National Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council in September 2005. 
27 

b. Customs and Border Protection 

In FY05, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) provided training to all 

incoming CBP law enforcement personnel regarding how to identify and respond to cases 

of human trafficking. The training taught CBP law enforcement personnel how to 

identify victims and perpetrators of human trafficking and provided information about the 

non-immigrant visa classifications available to allow victims of human trafficking to 

remain in the United States to facilitate prosecution of human traffickers and/or protect 

the victims from extreme hardships they may experience if removed from the United 

States. A mandatory immigration law review course provided similar training for CBP 

agents and officers already deployed to the field. 

c. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

CIS has offered ongoing and advanced training to its personnel on identifying 

trafficking victims and on the statutory requirements to provide such victims with 

information regarding available services and assistance. T-visa adjudicators, officers 

from the Administrative Appeals Office, Asylum Officers, Supervisory Asylum Officers, 

and Immigration Information Officers all received in-person instruction on victim 

identification through a series of training courses involving CIS personnel, as well as 

federal law enforcement officials. Additional CIS personnel were trained using the “Stop 

Trafficking” web-based course described above. 

In FY05, CIS participated in several training sessions hosted by other federal 

agencies to provide training to service providers and law enforcement officers on 

immigration relief for crime victims, including the eligibility requirements for T 

nonimmigrant status, training regarding human trafficking, and continued presence. 

Examples of training sessions in which CIS has participated include presentations at the 

Trafficking Grantees Meeting co-sponsored by OVC and ORR, the Fourth National 

Symposium on Victims of Federal Crime offered by OVC, and the DHS Seminar for 

Victim-Witness Coordinators.

Furthermore, CIS held advanced training for its T visa adjudicators and 

Administrative Appeals Office officers. The training covered substantive training on 

human trafficking, T visa eligibility requirements and waivers of inadmissibility, as well 

as training on the psychological dynamics of trafficking, trafficking prosecutions, and 

cultural awareness. In addition to CIS personnel, speakers featured representatives of 

local law enforcement, federal law enforcement agencies, and national advocacy groups. 
28 

B. International Law Enforcement Training

1. Department of Justice 

a. Civil Rights Division 

In FY05, the Civil Rights Division continued to provide training and technical 

assistance to foreign officials both in the United States and abroad. In Washington, D.C., 

Civil Rights Division personnel met with officials from Japan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, 

Ukraine, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Taiwan, Guinea, Poland, China, Kenya, and Macedonia. 

Civil Rights Division personnel also traveled on outreach missions to Cambodia, 

Singapore, Malaysia, Austria, Mexico, India, Tanzania, Thailand, Germany, and El 

Salvador. Civil Rights Division attorneys also have been called upon to assist in the 

drafting of national anti-trafficking legislation in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Mexico. 

Finally, Civil Rights Division attorneys are detailed to Moldova and Colombia to assist 

the host governments in their efforts to combat human trafficking. 

 

In September 2005, DOJ’s team implementing President Bush’s $50 million 

initiative to combat trafficking that was announced at the U.N. General Assembly in 

September 2003 made a “best practices” presentation to the Mexican government. This 

well-received presentation resulted in a Letter of Agreement between the United States 

and Mexico that, in turn, led to an implementation plan that will exchange intelligence 

and produce collaborative efforts to combat trafficking through Central America, Mexico, 

and the United States. 

b. Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section 

 

 During FY05, CEOS attorneys engaged in significant efforts to train international 

law enforcement to address child sex trafficking effectively. CEOS attorneys presented 

training at least 14 times overseas in such countries as Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, 

Suriname, Honduras, Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Indonesia, Romania, Bulgaria, and 

Russia. Many of these training efforts are further described in the OPDAT/ICITAP 

section of this report. 

In addition to CEOS’s providing training overseas, it also provided training to 

foreign officials concerning child sex trafficking when those officials were in 

Washington, D.C. In FY05, CEOS provided training to officials or NGO representatives 

from Japan, Colombia, Italy, Ukraine, Thailand, Costa Rica, Guinea, Indonesia, the 

Czech Republic, a delegation with representatives from 21 countries, Russia, Brazil, 

Senegal, Germany, and Austria. 
29 

c. Federal Bureau of Investigation 

 During FY05, FBI conducted training in Washington, D.C., for visiting officials 

from Australia, Italy, the People’s Republic of China, Suriname, and the United 

Kingdom, and for a contingent of representatives from more than 31 different countries, 

including South Africa, Senegal, Sweden, the Dominican Republic, and Israel. 

d. OPDAT/ICITAP 

i. Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and 

Training 

DOJ’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training 

(“OPDAT”) strengthens foreign criminal justice institutions and enhances the 

administration of justice abroad. With funding provided by DOS and USAID, OPDAT 

prepares foreign counterparts to cooperate more fully and effectively with the United 

States in combating transnational crimes, including human trafficking, by encouraging 

legislative and judicial reform in countries with inadequate laws, by improving the skills 

of foreign prosecutors and judges, and by promoting the rule of law and regard for human 

rights. 

In FY05, OPDAT conducted 62 anti-TIP programs in 19 countries: Azerbaijan, 

Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, 

Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Nicaragua, Panama, Romania, Russia, 

Serbia-Montenegro, Suriname, and Thailand. 

Highlights of these programs include the following: 

• In late October 2004, OPDAT worked with Surinamese prosecutors and 

others to develop an anti-trafficking in persons operations manual for 

prosecutors and investigators and an information sheet for border officials. In 

April 2005, OPDAT provided assistance to prosecutors, police, foreign affairs 

officials, and NGO service providers on how to implement the TIP manual. 

In July 2005, Suriname – for the first time in eight years – successfully 

prosecuted a human trafficking case. The defendant was a high-level public 

official. Two more human trafficking arrests followed shortly, one in 

December 2005 and the other in February 2006. 

• In Russia, in June 2005, OPDAT worked closely with the Russian Parliament 

to conduct a program to train Russian prosecutors, law enforcement, local 

government officials and NGOs on the effective use of Russia’s new antitrafficking in persons and witness protection legislation. This was one in a 

series of eight regional anti-TIP programs implemented by the DOJ/OPDAT 

Resident Legal Advisor in cooperation with Russian officials. 
30 

• In September 2005, OPDAT conducted a program on child exploitation and 

pornography on the Internet for 50 investigators and prosecutors from the 

Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. OPDAT called on experts from CEOS, 

FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, and 

ICE’s Cyber Crimes Center to discuss American and Russian legislation 

addressing trafficking and child pornography on the Internet, the importance 

of assistance and support to victims, international cooperation in child 

trafficking/Internet pornography cases, and a case study of a successful 

transnational child pornography prosecution. 

ii. International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance 

Program 

DOJ’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program 

(“ICITAP”) is involved in outreach to, and training of, foreign law enforcement officials 

on methods to combat trafficking in persons. ICITAP activities focus on the 

development of police forces and the improvement of capabilities of existing police 

forces in emerging democracies. During FY05, ICITAP operated TIP programs in 

Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Macedonia, 

and Ukraine. 

For example, in Indonesia, ICITAP provided training designed to raise the 

proficiency of the Indonesia National Police (“INP”)’s investigative capacity through the 

designation of five pilot sites to combat trafficking. The pilot sites, established to 

determine the types of additional equipment and training necessary to investigate 

trafficking in Indonesia, have provided the model for future satellites. In addition, 

ICITAP trained more than 80 INP officers in extensive anti-trafficking techniques and 

strategies. Six officers from the Indonesian Department of Immigration and six 

investigators from the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration also 

received this intensive training. 

iii. Joint ICITAP/OPDAT Programs 

In Costa Rica, ICITAP and OPDAT continued their partnership in the 

development of an anti-child sexual exploitation program. In January 2005, OPDAT and 

ICITAP conducted their second and third phases of the program, during which instructors 

trained during the first phase trained other Costa Rican police and prosecutors. In 

addition, ICITAP and OPDAT called upon the expertise of CEOS to train Costa Rican 

cybercrime investigators on how to track perpetrators and purveyors of child 

pornography on the Internet. In April 2005, OPDAT teamed with an FBI child forensics 

interviewer, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and a juvenile court judge to present the final 

phase of the program—how to properly and effectively interview child and adolescent 

victims of child exploitation—to 40 Costa Rican judges, prosecutors, investigators, 

social workers, NGO representatives, and psychologists. In September 2005, ICITAP 

presented a case management course that focused on police and prosecutors working 

together on a specific case. As a result, Costa Rican police and prosecutors signed an 
31 

agreement to work more collaboratively on such cases. The Government of El Salvador 

sent four of its investigators to receive this training in Costa Rica, as well. 

In Azerbaijan, in FY05, OPDAT’s and ICITAP’s joint efforts, in conjunction with 

assistance from the Civil Rights Division, the IOM, the Organization for Security and 

Cooperation in Europe, and the U.S. Embassy in Baku, led to the drafting and passage of 

Azerbaijan’s first anti-TIP law in late June 2005 and the development of a standardized 

recruitment and testing mechanism for the selection of officers for a specialized TIP unit, 

including a full background check and financial disclosure. The law codifies important 

protections for victims of trafficking, such as decriminalization of victims’ offenses 

committed under coercion or intimidation. It also allows the use of pseudonyms to 

protect the identity of trafficking victims and provides for financial assistance and shelter 

for them. 

2. Department of Homeland Security 

ICE provides training and outreach through direct contact with foreign officials 

by ICE Attachés abroad. One of ICE’s most important international training missions is 

providing law enforcement training at the International Law Enforcement Academies 

(“ILEA”). The HSTU developed human trafficking training modules, which are part of 

the permanent curricula for the ILEAs in Bangkok, Budapest, and Latin America. ICE 

staff provided nine human trafficking training sessions at the ILEAs for 361 law 

enforcement personnel from 28 countries. Training modules included: investigation 

methodologies in human trafficking cases; human trafficking indicators; global networks; 

victim interviews; victim services; and task force methodology. Officials from the 

following countries attended: Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, 

China, Macao, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 

Uzbekistan, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 

Slovenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Colombia, Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. 

The ICE Cyber Crimes Center also participated in ILEA training by conducting 

child sex tourism investigations training classes at the ILEAs in Bangkok, Thailand and 

Budapest, Hungry. ICE Cyber Crimes Center staff provided information to foreign law 

enforcement officers/agents about the provisions of the PROTECT Act of 2003 relating 

to U.S. citizens traveling abroad to sexually exploit children. ICE is working with the 

government of Mexico as part of the DOS program and has provided training to the 

Mexican Federal Preventive Police (“PFP”) on child sex tourism investigations and ICE’s 

ability to assist in their investigations. ICE is assisting the PFP with establishing its own 

Child Exploitation Unit modeled after the ICE Cyber Crimes Center and the National 

Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Cyber Crimes Center is currently 

developing a computer forensic training course for foreign law enforcement that will be 

provided to Government of Mexico when it is completed. 

ICE staff also responded to requests for specific training and outreach. In October 

2004, ICE staff provided a presentation at a trafficking conference hosted by the 

Organization of American States. And, at the Forfeiting the Proceeds of Human 
32 

Trafficking Conference, also held in October 2004, in Prague, Czech Republic, ICE staff 

served as faculty at a conference on asset forfeiture and money laundering in trafficking 

cases. Countries participating included Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech 

Republic, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro (with participation of the 

United Nations Mission in Kosovo), Romania, and the United States. 

ICE also provided briefings for foreign dignitaries who visited the United States. 

In FY05, ICE personnel provided 16 training sessions for foreign teams of visitors from 

64 countries. Visitors represented the following countries: Albania, Angola, Argentina, 

Austria, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, 

Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican 

Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Hong 

Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, 

Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, 

Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Peru, Philippines, 

Poland, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Togo, Turkmenistan, United 

Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela. ICE staff discussed the 

following topics: the TVPA, smuggling and trafficking investigations, child sex tourism 

and child exploitation, victim assistance, and options for immigration relief. 

As part of the President's $50 million initiative to combat trafficking, ICE is 

providing technical assistance in training and on-site law enforcement expertise through 

the ICE Attache offices in Brazil and India. For Mexico, in December 2005, an ICE 

Project Coordinator arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City to serve a one-year 

temporary detail to the project. The Project Coordinator has initiated regular meetings 

between ICE and the PFP in order to implement the initiative and to define Mexican 

training, technical assistance, and equipment needs. The ICE Project Coordinator has 

been a conduit between Mexican federal and state law enforcement officials to establish a 

dialog among the various Mexican law enforcement agencies who have jurisdiction or 

authority regarding TIP violations. 

Through these projects, ICE anticipates the development of cooperative 

investigative efforts between Mexican, Brazilian, and Indian law enforcement that will 

lead to successful prosecution of TIP violations, both in those countries and in the United 

States. 
33 

3. Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center 

 In June 2005, the Center sponsored a bilateral meeting between U.S. and Russian 

prosecutors and law enforcement officers which focused on transnational human 

trafficking. The two-day event occurred in Washington and allowed both sides to explore 

respective TIP legislation and other issues. Delegates from the United States included 

representatives from DOJ’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, CEOS, the Asset 

Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, the Office of International Affairs, and 

OPDAT, along with FBI, ICE, and DOS’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The second 

meeting, which is again being organized by the Center, is planned for mid-2006. 

4. Department of State 

With PRM support, the IOM has developed the Counter-Trafficking Training 

Modules series in response to the need for practical, “how to” training materials for 

NGOs, government officials (including law enforcement), and other IOM partners 

engaged in counter-trafficking activities around the world. Designed to enhance 

understanding of some of the key elements necessary in building a comprehensive 

counter-trafficking strategy, the Modules series provides an introduction to essential 

components of a comprehensive counter-trafficking response, and is being translated into 

several languages. The Modules trainings were developed through a participatory, fieldbased approach involving IOM missions around the world. Topics include: Information 

Campaigns, Return and Reintegration Assistance, and Victim Identification and 

Interviewing Techniques. Some of the training modules were piloted in the Caribbean, 

Asia, and Southern Africa. 

C. Outreach to Nongovernmental Organizations

1. Department of Homeland Security 

 ICE victim assistance staff provided training on human trafficking at a national 

conference sponsored by the National Center for Victims of Crime in June 2005. There 

were over 1,000 participants representing victim services agencies throughout the nation. 

And in October 2005, ICE staff joined with Catholic Charities to provide a one-day 

training session on trafficking at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 

addition, ICE and NGOs such as World Vision have established partnerships to enhance 

the effectiveness of ICE’s child sex tourism investigations program. ICE has worked 

closely with World Vision, which is running public service announcements paid for by 

DOS and HHS to educate the tourism industry and international traveling public on the 

child sex tourism issue. 
34 

 2. Department of Health and Human Services 

In FY05, HHS participated in more than 25 speaking engagements before NGOs 

and other public service organizations, including: health care organizations, such as the 

American Academy of Family Physicians; social services organizations, such as the U.S. 

Conference of Catholic Bishops; ethnic affinity organizations, such as the League of 

United Latin American Citizens and the Ethiopian Development Community Council; 

child welfare organizations, such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited 

Children; law enforcement organizations, such as the National Sheriffs’ Association; and 

the legal community, such as the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the 

Louisiana District Attorneys Association, and the National Council of Juvenile and 

Family Court Judges. 

D. Department of Health and Human Services Public Awareness Campaign

and Outreach Grants

1. Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking Public Awareness Campaign 

 FY05 encompassed months seven through eighteen of the HHS public awareness 

campaign, Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking. The second year of the 

campaign targeted intermediaries – those persons or entities who are most likely to come 

into contact with victims, such as: local law enforcement officials (particularly vice 

squads); social service providers; health care professionals; faith-based organizations; 

domestic violence groups; ethnic organizations; refugee assistance professionals; 

homeless assistance professionals; drug rehabilitation organizations; child protective 

services officials; juvenile court officials; educational organizations; and legal assistance 

organizations. Outreach efforts included development of local coalitions, local and 

national media outreach, distribution of original campaign materials, and development of 

national partnerships. 

As a measure of success of the campaign, nearly 4000 calls were made to the 

campaign hotline through September 30, 2005 resulting in more than 120 case leads to 

law enforcement and nearly 20 percent of calls referred to local organizations for help to 

potential victims. In addition, local and national media outreach efforts have resulted in 

more than 173.3 million media impressions. 

a. Local Coalitions 

By the end of FY05, HHS anti-trafficking coalitions had been established in 17 

cities. These coalitions enlist local community organizations in the task of combating 

trafficking within their communities; more than 900 local and national organizations have 

formally partnered with the Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking public 

awareness campaign. The purpose of these coalitions is to disseminate information on 

the trafficking, to train appropriate organizations of intermediaries, and to otherwise 

galvanize the community to identify and rescue victims. 
35 

The campaign’s ten launches in FY05—Chicago, Las Vegas, Long Island, Los 

Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Portland, St. Louis, and Seattle—generated a 

significant amount of media coverage, resulting in increased community awareness of 

trafficking and services available for victims. 

By September 30, 2005, media impressions surrounding Year Two launches 

totaled more than 22.5 million. To ensure maximum coverage of HHS’s efforts to assist 

trafficking victims and on-the-ground efforts to identify victims in launch cities, HHS 

showcased the efforts of local coalition members and available resources for victims. By 

working with local coalition partners prior to launch, HHS was better equipped to provide 

media with market-specific information about human trafficking, as well as local 

resources to tap for interviews or additional information.

b. Local and National Media Outreach 

In addition to media outreach efforts in advance of city launch events, HHS 

worked with media in different regions to encourage coverage of local coalition and 

campaign-related activities. HHS generated media interest and coverage via local 

activities and angles, such as in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, where HHS’s public 

affairs team contacted local wire, print, and broadcast reporters prior to task force 

training events in order to raise awareness about human trafficking and to garner 

coverage of the events. Media were particularly interested in profiling victims, and 

HHS’s public affairs team worked with intermediaries and local organizations to help 

identify victims who would be willing to tell their stories on a national level. These 

efforts resulted in two Associated Press news briefs, an interview for Dr. Wade Horn, 

HHS Assistant Secretary for the Administration of Children and Families, with the 

Tucson Citizen, a radio piece on KJZZ-FM (NPR – Phoenix) and two television segments 

on KPNX-TV (NBC – Phoenix) and KPHO-TV (CBS – Phoenix). Similarly, in July 

2005, the Illinois Rescue & Restore coalition, in conjunction with HHS, hosted a series of 

regional action team meetings in Elgin, River Forest, and Springfield, Ill. In support of 

these meetings, HHS’s public affairs team conducted local media outreach to journalists 

throughout the state resulting in coverage by the Associated Press and articles in the local 

Beacon News, Elgin Daily Herald, and Courier News newspapers. Similar efforts 

garnered coverage of the training held in Yakima, Washington, on August 2005, 

including an article in El Sol de Yakima, and broadcast reports on KAPP-TV (ABC – 

Yakima), KNDO-TV (NBC – Yakima), KGW-TV (NBC – Spokane) and Northwest 

Public Radio, an affiliate station of the Northwest News Network, which operates 

throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho. 

 The HHS public affairs team also explored additional national media angles and 

capitalized on celebrity partnerships with, for example, singer Ricky Martin, to help raise 

awareness of human trafficking. HHS worked with Mr. Martin to produce television 

public service announcements (“PSAs”) in English and Spanish that were distributed to 

more than 150 stations across the country including national networks, cable news 

networks, cable entertainment networks and 15 campaign target markets. In addition, 
36 

English and Spanish radio PSAs were distributed via satellite to more than 300 stations 

across the country. Distribution of the Ricky Martin PSAs garnered more than 66 million 

radio PSA placements and 750,000 impressions for television placements both in English 

and Spanish media. The English radio PSA aired a total of 1,605 times in nine of the 

nation’s top-10 media markets and in 48 of the top 50. In addition, the Spanish radio 

PSA generated a total 167 airings in seven of the nation’s top-10 media markets and in 28 

of the top 50 markets. The television and radio PSAs were both played in seven of the 

top-10 markets throughout the county with total media impressions estimated to be more 

than 67 million. 

 In August 2005, HHS distributed a press release and pitched key national and 

Hispanic media outlets on the Rescue & Restore partnership with the Ricky Martin 

Foundation that generated extensive media coverage, with print and broadcast stories in 

more than 30 news outlets, including the Associated Press, People en Espanol, 

Telemundo, Univision, Yahoo! En Espanol, Washington Hispanic, and El Diario. 

 c. Original Campaign Materials 

Nearly one million Rescue & Restore materials—posters, brochures, fact sheets, 

and cards with tips on identifying victims—were distributed through the campaign's more 

than 900 national and local partners. The materials can be previewed on the HHS 

website, www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking. 

In addition, HHS produced a 10-minute video to help train intermediaries on how 

to recognize cases of human trafficking and learn how to initiate support services for 

those victims. The video showcases trafficking experts and victims in an effort to shed 

light on trafficking, as well as the resources available to help victims rebuild their lives. 

 The video was distributed via mailing in August 2005 to the then-more than 800 

Rescue & Restore coalition members across the country. It is also promoted via the 

campaign website, Rescue & Restore training sessions, booth exhibits and speaking 

engagements, as well as in campaign mailings to media and intermediary groups. 

To further increase awareness of the campaign and to drive more individuals to 

the Rescue & Restore Web site, the website address www.rescueandrestore.org was 

incorporated into campaign materials (such as the Ricky Martin PSA), where appropriate, 

and provided target audiences with a campaign resource that could be easily remembered. 

Given the security measures in place surrounding any government Web site, 

www.rescueandrestore.org serves simply as a placeholder site that directs visitors to the 

official campaign site, www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking, for more information. 

 The number of visitors to the Rescue & Restore website in FY05 tripled over the 

previous year. 

 
37 

d. National Partners 

In FY05, HHS focused on the expansion of current national partnerships and the 

development of new relationships to increase the level of awareness among these 

intermediary groups. 

• HHS provided speakers to participate in law enforcement trainings and internal 

staff meetings to educate National Center for Missing & Exploited Children staff 

on the issue of human trafficking. 

• HHS secured a partnership with recording artist Natalie Grant and worked with 

her on a human trafficking-focused radio PSA for distribution to mainstream and 

Christian music stations. 

• HHS developed articles for publications of the National Consumer League, 

American Medical Association, National Association of School Nurses, Forensic 

Nurse Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, and the National 

Association of Urban Hospitals. Additionally, HHS secured interest from the 

National Sheriffs’ Association that resulted in an HHS presentation at the 

association’s mid-winter conference and annual conference. 

• Other notable national organizations joining Rescue & Restore as national 

partners include World Relief, the National Immigration Law Center, Assembly 

of God Charities, the Protection Project of Johns Hopkins University, and Tibet 

House. 

2. Street Outreach 

In FY05 ORR awarded 18 grants for street outreach to organizations to help them 

identify victims of trafficking among populations among whom they are already 

operating. Because they are engaged in current outreach, the groups have expertise on 

those populations and have built a level of trust among them. Some of the vulnerable 

population groups to which the grantees provide outreach are homeless and at-risk youth, 

girls exploited through commercial sex, migrant farm workers, prostitutes, and women 

exploited by forced labor in beauty parlors and nail salons. 

Grantees include public, private for-profit (although HHS funds may not be paid 

as profit), and private nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations. 

Grantees qualify for the street outreach grant whether or not their current activities 

pertain to trafficking. The grants support direct, person-to-person contact, information 

sharing, counseling and other communication between agents of the grant recipient and 

members of a specified target population. 
Recipients of Street Outreach Grants 

Catholic Charities, Inc. 

City of Homestead 

Good Shepherd Corporation of Atlanta 

Crisis House, Inc. 

Refugee Women's Alliance 

Breaking Free, Inc. 

Catholic Social Services of Central and Northern Arizona 

Farmworker Legal Services of New York, Inc. 

Girls Educational & Mentoring Services 

West Care Nevada, Inc. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee 

Georgia Legal Services Program, Inc. 

The Salvation Army 

Rural Opportunities, Inc. 

The Door - A Center of Alternatives, Inc. 

Colorado Legal Services 

Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking 

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 

E. DOS Outreach to Foreign Governments

DOS's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons issued its annual 

Trafficking in Persons Report in June 2005. The report is the U.S. government's principal 

diplomatic tool used to engage foreign governments on the subject. It rates countries in 

tiers according to their efforts to combat trafficking and is used by DOS to encourage 

reform of laws and practices in order to more effectively combat trafficking. It also 

includes detailed information on U.S. Government policy covering prostitution, child sex 

tourism, child soldiers, involuntary servitude, and corruption in order to demonstrate U.S. 

commitment and to promote effective change. In 2005, the report was expanded from 

rating 131 foreign governments to 142 foreign governments. 

38 
39 

VII. Senior Policy Operating Group 

Congress authorized the creation of the SPOG in the TVPRA of 2003 to 

coordinate the international implementation of the TVPA and address emerging 

interagency policy, grants, and planning issues. The SPOG reports to the President’s 

Interagency Trafficking Task Force and is chaired by the director of DOS’s Office to 

Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (“G/TIP”). 

The SPOG meets quarterly and includes representatives from the Departments of 

State, Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Defense, as 

well as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Office of the Director of 

National Intelligence, and most recently, the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS 

Coordinator. The Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and 

the Department of Education also participate in SPOG meetings. In FY05, the 

President’s Interagency Task Force met once and the SPOG met three times. Several 

subcommittees have been established underneath the SPOG to further its work. The 

Subcommittee on Regulations is chaired by the Department of Justice. G/TIP chairs the 

Subcommittees on Grant-Making, Research, and Public Affairs. These subcommittees 

met or teleconferenced regularly during FY05. 

 

The work of the SPOG helped identify some weaknesses in interagency 

coordination. For example, in FY05, in an effort to better link TIP and HIV/AIDS 

policies, the SPOG initiated involvement of the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS 

Coordinator in SPOG activities. Due to concerns over the treatment of internally 

trafficked TIP victims, the SPOG created a Subcommittee on Domestic Trafficking in 

Persons led by the HHS Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and 

Families. The SPOG Subcommittee on Public Affairs improved coordination efforts on 

domestic media by identifying media strategies. The SPOG Subcommittee on TIP 

Research helped convene an international seminar on TIP research and compile a matrix 

of all U.S. government-funded TIP research projects for FY02 to FY05 to show where 

research has been conducted and identify gaps. This document is posted on G/TIP’s web 

at www.state.gov/g/tip. In FY05, DOS also promulgated a rule in the Federal Register on 

Sharing of Information and Coordination of Activities to reinforce the current mechanism 

for effective exchange of information on agency policies and programs. This rule 

implements Section 105 of the TVPA, as amended by the TVPRA. 

The SPOG also continued its coordination of the President’s $50 million initiative 

to combat trafficking. As described earlier, this multi-agency effort provided funding 

through DOS, DOJ, DOL, HHS, DHS, and USAID to eight foreign countries—Brazil, 

Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. 
40 

VIII. Conclusion 

 As this report has detailed, U.S. government departments and agencies provide 

trafficking victims with a range of social services, both directly and through grantees; 

vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking cases; and provide training, outreach, and 

assistance to domestic and international law enforcement and non-government 

organizations. The United States is aided by the modern tools created by the TVPA to 

address this ancient evil with a renewed and intensified vigor. 

 In his first policy address as Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales called 

trafficking “one of the most pernicious moral evils in the world today.” As Attorney 

General Gonzales stated, “This abomination does not exist only in other lands; it exists 

right here, on our shores. Today its victims are usually aliens, many of them women and 

children, smuggled into our country and held in bondage, treated as commodities, 

stripped of their humanity.” 

 The U.S. government is committed to combating this moral evil with all the 

resources available to it. The fight against human trafficking is one of our highest 

priorities for ensuring justice in the United States and around the world.