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Make This School Year Safer with Resources from the Blue Campaign
#BackToSchool season is here, and students across the nation are returning to the classroom. Now is an important time to talk to the students in your life about #HumanTrafficking — a crime that poses unique dangers to young people. Making sure students understand the warning signs of human trafficking and how to protect themselves from the crime can prevent exploitation and save lives. That’s why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Blue Campaign created a variety of resources for young people, adults working with youth, and campus law enforcement professionals.
Whether you’re a student or someone who interacts with students, the following resources can help keep young people safe during the #BackToSchool season:
Blue Campaign materials are available for free download on go.dhs.gov/Z8c.
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Last Call for Blue Campaign’s “Concern” Course Registration
“Concern” is a DHS Blue Campaign interactive and asynchronous virtual training course hosted by Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) for state and local law enforcement officers and agents. This e-Learning simulation provides law enforcement, and those likely to encounter human trafficking victims, opportunities to practice victim-centered interviewing, which places equal value on identifying and stabilizing victims and on investigating and prosecuting traffickers.*
Those who complete this course will be able to:
- Advocate for the victim
- Develop a rapport and establish trust
- Interview victims without judgment
One session remains open for registration:
Visit the following link to register: go.dhs.gov/4Wh and enter BCAPT in the search bar.
Blue Campaign Partners with Covenant House New Orleans
Covenant House New Orleans (CHNO), a nonprofit organization providing shelter and supportive services for youth, recently joined Blue Campaign in the fight to combat human trafficking. Frontline workers, like those at CHNO, play a critical role in providing youth victims of human trafficking the services they need to find freedom and healing. Since 1987, CHNO has served thousands of young people experiencing homelessness. In 2022 alone, CHNO served 228 individuals surviving or experiencing human trafficking.
BLI Invites You to Become a Partner This National Aviation Week
National Aviation Week is observed Aug. 19-25. This year, the Blue Lightning Initiative (BLI) invites organizations to learn more about how they can combat human trafficking in the aviation industry. BLI partners gain access to training modules and associated print materials for personnel, with the ultimate goal of educating frontline employees on how to recognize and report potential human trafficking in aviation settings.
In carrying out its mission, BLI has trained more than 200,000 personnel spanning commercial airlines, regional and international airports, and aviation training institutes. This Aviation Week, learn more about the program and how to become a partner: go.dhs.gov/Z3L.
BLI Hosts Trainings at GRU Airport in Brazil
On July 26 and 27, in recognition of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, BLI hosted two human trafficking awareness trainings at São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU). While human trafficking does not require transportation to be a crime, many traffickers use commercial and private aviation to transport their victims. The trainings were a collaborative effort with the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), DHS, the U.S. State Department’s Mission to Brazil, and GRU to train aviation employees on how to recognize the signs of human trafficking and the role they play in the fight against this crime.
Sheltair Partners with BLI
The nation’s largest privately-owned aviation network, Sheltair, has pledged to help combat human trafficking by becoming a BLI partner. All 16 fixed-base operators of the family-owned company participated in training through BLI’s virtual module. Additionally, HSI led in-person sessions at Sheltair’s largest airport locations, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Orlando Executive Airport, and Tampa International Airport.
To learn more about partnering with BLI, send an email to bluecampaign@hq.dhs.gov and trafficking@dot.gov.
Blue Campaign Presents at Essence Festival of Culture
Last month, DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) Director Cardell Morant and staff from the CCHT, including the Blue Campaign, attended the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana. With tens of thousands of visitors from all over the United States, this annual event celebrating African American culture offered an opportunity to raise awareness about human trafficking. Blue Campaign Program Manager Brandi Bynum and Shamere McKenzie, a survivor leader and training manager for Polaris, spoke at the Essence Global Black Economic Forum about the common misconceptions regarding who can be vulnerable to trafficking, prevention methods, and best practices when assisting victims.
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CCHT and HSI New Orleans jointly staffed a booth at the event. Visitors to the booth were offered Blue Campaign materials and information on human trafficking indicators and the CCHT’s efforts to counter sex and labor trafficking. Many attendees indicated their awareness of human trafficking happening in their areas but were unsure where to find resources and training on how to respond. Program Manager Brandi Bynum's poignant conversation with Shamere McKenzie, coupled with the many requests for outreach materials and future training, made the Essence Festival of Culture a very successful event for the CCHT. Watch Brandi and Shamere’s presentation here.
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HSI Atlanta Investigation Results in Motel Manager Pleading Guilty to Human Trafficking
A Georgia hotel owner pleaded guilty in June to trafficking in connection with coercing a female employee into forced labor and sex acts. The plea was the result of a two-year investigation conducted by the HSI Dalton, Georgia office with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force.
Shreesh Tiwari, 70, an Indian national and lawful permanent resident, began managing the Budgetel Motel in Cartersville, Georgia in 2020. Tiwari hired his victim to work as a house cleaner at the motel. Knowing that the victim had experienced homelessness and heroin addiction, and had lost custody of her young child, he promised to help her regain custody by providing her with pay, an apartment, and an attorney.
Instead of keeping his promises, Tiwari monitored the victim’s interactions with motel guests and other motel employees and forbade her from speaking to them. He threatened to evict her from the room he had provided to her at the Budgetel, knowing that she would become homeless as a result. He also threatened to report the victim’s drug use to law enforcement or child welfare agencies. Eventually, Tiwari began to regularly “evict” the victim from her motel room and later required the victim to perform sex acts on him to stay at the motel. If she did not, Tiwari removed her from the property, causing her to be homeless.
“Prosecuting human traffickers and rescuing human trafficking victims is a top priority of this office and the Department of Homeland Security,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard of the HSI Atlanta Field Office. “This guilty plea highlights that commitment and serves as a warning to other predators that law enforcement is determined to find, arrest, and punish those involved in this heinous crime.”
Tiwari is scheduled to be sentenced in September of this year. He faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Tiwari will pay more than $40,000 in restitution.
More details on the investigation can be found in the Department of Justice press release announcing the plea.
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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