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Traveling This Summer? Be Aware of the Signs of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking can happen anywhere, but transportation hubs such as airports, bus stations, truck stops, and travel centers are particularly vulnerable. Though the crime doesn’t always require a border crossing or act of movement, traffickers often take advantage of America’s transportation infrastructure to exploit their victims and hide them in plain sight. Members of the traveling public are in a unique position to recognize and report potential human trafficking situations. If you plan on traveling this summer, be sure to check out the resources offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Blue Campaign. Your awareness could save a life.
Remember: Do not attempt to confront a suspected trafficker or alert a victim to your suspicions. You can report suspected human trafficking to the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tip line at 866-347-2423 or submit a HSI tip form online. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or local authorities.
Follow Blue Campaign social media channels (@DHSBlueCampaign on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) for more travel-related awareness information and resources throughout the month of June.
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Multiagency Collaboration Results in Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Toolkit
Blue Campaign recently released its new human trafficking awareness toolkit for tribal gaming and hospitality professionals. The “Human Trafficking Response Guide for the Tribal and Hospitality Industry” is a joint effort of DHS, the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and marks the first interagency produced toolkit for these communities. This toolkit was created at the request of, and with input from, tribal leaders, tribal gaming employees, and indigenous communities, and provides culturally appropriate, survivor-informed tips and resources for front-line tribal gaming and hospitality employees at all levels. The guide contains specific definitions and examples of human trafficking, printable posters with role-specific indicators of the crime, appropriate reporting information, and more.
The “Human Trafficking Response Guide for the Tribal and Hospitality Industry” is available for free download at: go.dhs.gov/Zwn.
Blue Campaign’s Michael Camal Advances to Top 12 in Sammies People’s Choice Award Voting
DHS Blue Campaign and Blue Lightning Initiative (BLI) Senior Advisor Michael Camal has been named as one of 12 finalists for the Sammies People’s Choice Award. This award gives special recognition to one of the finalists for the 2023 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, for which Camal is nominated in the Emerging Leaders category. Camal is nominated for his dedication to spreading awareness of human trafficking and educating the aviation industry.
Voting remains open, and you can vote once a day. To cast your vote, visit: https://go.dhs.gov/44W. The Top 6 will be announced on Tuesday, June 20.
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CCHT Welcomes the Blue Campaign
In April, the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) officially welcomed the Blue Campaign as part of the CCHT team.
“We are pleased to have our Blue Campaign colleagues join us at the Center,” said CCHT Director Cardell Morant. “As the CCHT integrates the efforts of every component within DHS involved in combating human trafficking, it makes sense for DHS’s nationwide awareness campaign to be collocated with the Center. We look forward to learning from Blue Campaign’s outreach specialists and continuing to find ways of collaborating.”
The Blue Campaign was formerly aligned with DHS’s Office of Public Engagement. In December 2022, President Biden signed the Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021 which, along with codifying the CCHT into U.S. law, called for the Blue Campaign to be embedded in the CCHT.
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HSI Chicago, Department of Labor Investigation Results in Sentence of Over Six Years for Couple Convicted of Forced Child Labor
A suburban Chicago couple was sentenced to over six years in prison as a result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. In April and January 2023, Santos Teodoro Ac-Salazar and Olga Choc Laj, respectively, were each sentenced to 78 months in prison after pleading guilty to forced labor in the Northern District of Illinois. The sentences conclude a three-year investigation.
Ac-Salazar and Choc Laj, both citizens of Guatemala, used two children who were not their own to enter the Unites States and avoid prolonged detention by immigration authorities. Once here, they kept the children (girls aged 15 and 10 at the time) at a residence in Aurora, Illinois. The couple failed to enroll the girls in school, prohibited them from leaving the residence except in limited circumstances, and instructed them to provide false information to third parties, including law enforcement authorities. Ac-Salazar and Choc Laj also forced the two children to work as their domestic servants and childcare providers and would physically strike and threaten to strike them if they did not do as they were told. The 15-year-old girl was forced to work in various paying jobs outside the residence, while the couple took nearly all those earnings for themselves. The two children were not allowed to communicate with their families in Guatemala.
“Those responsible for committing these heinous crimes sought to benefit financially by abusing the most vulnerable members of our community,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Sean Fitzgerald. “Homeland Security Investigations will continue to work with our partners to prioritize the safety of children across the state of Illinois and beyond.”
In addition to the prison sentences, the couple was ordered to pay almost $100 thousand in restitution to the victims.
HSI and the Department of Labor conducted the investigation with substantial assistance from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Aurora Police Department, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
More information can be found in the Department of Justice press release announcing the sentencing.
For more information visit the Blue Campaign
To report suspected human trafficking: 1-866-347-2423
To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733)
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