By Al Benson
What is human trafficking?
FBI Chicago field office special agents explained Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Aurora Navy League Council 247’s monthly dinner meeting at Riverview Diner in Montgomery. Approximately 10 members and guests endured a subzero Arctic deep freeze for the event. Photography during the event was not allowed.
Presenting “Human Trafficking 101: The Challenges of Human Trafficking in America and Locally” were John Dougherty, supervisory special agent and Nicole Cina, special agent.
Dougherty said he, Cina and other federal agents are part of the FBI’s Safe Streets taskforce based at the agency’s South Resident agency in Orland Park. The taskforce investigates violent crimes across Cook, Will, Grundy, and LaSalle counties. Included are robberies, gangs, narcotic offenses, fugitives and kidnappings.
According to Dougherty, “Human trafficking is the illegal exploitation of a person. Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking, and it can occur in any U.S. community—cities, suburbs, and even rural areas. The FBI works human trafficking cases under its Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking program. We take a trauma informed, victim-centered approach in investigating these cases.”
Cima added that in the U.S., both U.S. residents and foreign nationals are being bought and sold like modern-day slaves. Traffickers use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to exploit victims. Victims are forced to work as prostitutes or to take jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay. Human trafficking is a heinous crime that exploits the most vulnerable in society.”
Cima said main types of trafficking the FBI investigates are:
•Sex trafficking: When individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts. Sex trafficking of a minor occurs when the victim is under the age of 18. For cases involving minors, it is not necessary to prove force, fraud, or coercion.
•Labor trafficking: When individuals are compelled by force, threats, or fraud to perform labor or service.
•Domestic servitude: When individuals within a household appear to be nannies, housekeepers, or other types of domestic workers, but they are being controlled and exploited.
“See something, say something” Cima said. She said human trafficking victims or someone with information about a potential trafficking situation should call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733. NHTRC is a national, toll-free hotline, with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tips can also be submitted on the NHTRC website.
If a child is involved in a trafficking situation, submit a tip through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline or call 1-800-THE-LOST. FBI personnel assigned to NCMEC review information that is provided to the CyberTipline.
Dougherty stressed that the FBI investigates human trafficking through a collaborative, multi-agency approach with federal, state, local, and tribal partners.
Over the past decade, the FBI’s human trafficking investigations have arrested thousands of traffickers and recovered numerous victims. According to the agency website, “The FBI will continue to take part in multi-agency efforts to combat the threat.”
—Al Benson