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Stay Cyber Safe This October and Beyond
Did you know that traffickers use social media, video games, virtual chatrooms, and other digital platforms to target potential victims? Even seemingly harmless online interactions can be weaponized for exploitation. Staying cyber aware is the best line of defense you have against exploitative situations online, including those that can lead to human trafficking.
October marks the 20th annual Cybersecurity Awareness month. This year’s theme is “Secure Our World.” All month long, Blue Campaign, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Project iGuardian and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), will be highlighting online safety information on their social media platforms. Follow us @DHSBlueCampaign on X, Facebook, and Instagram, and protect the people in your life by sharing the resources below:
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Blue Campaign Publishes New Educational Video on Forced Labor
The International Labour Organization estimates that 27.6 million people are in forced labor across the globe. As part of its mission to raise awareness of this crime, Blue Campaign recently released a new educational video featuring a subject matter expert on labor trafficking. The video defines what forced labor is, who it affects, environments where it occurs, tactics traffickers use (e.g., debt bondage), and barriers to exiting exploitative labor situations. Watch the full video here.
Save the Date: The Countdown to #WearBlueDay Is On
Have you marked your calendars for January 11 yet? As of October 3, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, also known as #WearBlueDay, was officially 100 days away. Each year, Blue Campaign recognizes #WearBlueDay by inviting communities to wear blue — the international color of human trafficking prevention. When you share photos of yourself wearing blue on social media with the hashtag #WearBlueDay, and encourage others to do the same, you are stating your commitment to help end human trafficking. Stay tuned for more information from Blue Campaign as #WearBlueDay gets closer.
CCHT Expansion Enhances Counter Human Trafficking Mission
The Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021 codified the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) into U.S. law, established funding, and set minimum staffing levels for the Center. Since the Act was signed into law in December 2022, the CCHT has endeavored to recruit and hire subject matter experts from across the country to support its mission of advancing counter human trafficking law enforcement operations, protecting victims, and enhancing prevention efforts by aligning DHS’s capabilities and expertise.
The CCHT, formerly made up of an Operations and a Programs Unit, is now comprised of subject matter experts in four specialized units:
- The Sex Trafficking Investigations Unit is responsible for programmatic oversight of HSI's domestic and international sex trafficking-related investigative and operational activity.
- The Forced Labor Investigations Unit supports both domestic labor trafficking investigations and the enforcement of the prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor through its two sections, Forced Labor and Forced Labor in the Supply Chain.
- The Programs Unit is made up of two sections:
- Victim Protection section, dedicated to advancing the victim-centered approach, engaging survivors, improving screening and identification by all DHS components, and expanding law enforcement's use of Continued Presence as well as support for T visas and U visas; and a
- Training Section, which provides extensive internal DHS training on human trafficking, focused either on identification, investigations, and enforcement actions or victim protection.
- The Strategic Communications Unit includes:
- The DHS Blue Campaign, leading DHS’s efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking through targeted messaging, educational materials and initiatives, and partnerships; and
- The Partnership and Engagement section, which handles internal and external communications and seeks out partnerships to spread awareness of the CCHT and its mission.
“The CCHT has come a long way since our establishment in 2020,” said CCHT Director Cardell T. Morant. “The funding and staffing levels established by the Act and the fiscal year 2023 budget have allowed us to enhance and refine our ability to support human trafficking investigations through investigative and intelligence support, victim protection, and training and outreach aimed at preventing further victimization. We are excited to see our impact grow even more as we continue to expand and evolve.”
For more information on the CCHT, visit the CCHT landing page at DHS.gov.
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Continued Presence Webinar for Law Enforcement
As part of a quarterly series, CCHT is offering live webinars on the Continued Presence program for the community. The webinars will focus on:
- Why and how requesting Continued Presence strengthens a human trafficking investigation;
- How to prepare and submit a Continued Presence request; and
- Recent improvements to the Continued Presence program.
Continued Presence (CP) is a temporary immigration designation provided to individuals identified by law enforcement as trafficking victims who may be potential witnesses. CP allows trafficking victims to lawfully remain in the U.S. temporarily and work during the investigation into the human trafficking-related crimes committed against them and during any civil action under 18 U.S.C. § 1595 filed by the victims against their traffickers. When you click here, you will be directed to a Microsoft Teams Webinar page to sign up. You will receive a follow-up email containing instructions and a meeting link.
If you have any questions or difficulty registering, please contact ContinuedPresence@ccht.dhs.gov.
Final Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison in HSI Norfolk Labor Trafficking Investigation
Note: This is a follow-up to the April 2023 article on the guilty plea of defendant George William Evans in connection with this investigation. Evans received a sentence of 30 months. Details can be found below.
In early August, the final two defendants in an investigation into labor trafficking at a laundry business received prison sentences for each of their roles in the trafficking scheme. The sentences were the result of an investigation by HSI Norfolk and the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force.
“The subjects of this investigation perpetuated a labor trafficking enterprise where children were forced to work long hours in inhospitable conditions,” said HSI Norfolk ASAC Jim Stitzel. “These criminals operated a family-based labor trafficking venture where they smuggled their workforce into the United States from El Salvador."
According to the HSI-led investigation, Ana Patricia Landaverde, a citizen of El Salvador; Jeffrey Dean Vaughan, of Williamsburg, Virginia; George William Evans, of Midlothian, Virginia; and Salvador Jeronimo-Sis, a citizen of Guatemala, engaged in a conspiracy to harbor, transport, and benefit from employing undocumented noncitizens at their commercial laundry business, Northstar Holdings of Virginia, LLC, d/b/a Magnolia Cleaning Services, LLC.
The defendants referred prospective employees lacking U.S. work authorization to Jeronimo-Sis, who supplied fraudulent identification documents such as permanent resident and Social Security cards.
The investigation revealed that one victim was brought to the United States at the age of 13 and forced to work nights while attending school during the day. The defendants threatened another victim with deportation and physical violence while forcing her to pay rent to live in a commercial laundry facility with no access to a kitchen, shower, or bath.
Victims were told that their smuggling fee was a debt owed to the business. One victim revealed that from age 14 through age 16, they were forced to work 11-hour overnight shifts before attending high school classes.
Jeronimo-Sis received a 20-month prison sentence, Evans received a 30-month prison sentence, Vaughan received a 51-month prison sentence, and Landaverde received a 57-month prison sentence. The perpetrators were also ordered to pay restitution to victims and forfeit $4.1 million.
This was an HSI Norfolk-led investigation in cooperation with the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force. Significant contributions were made by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, the Williamsburg Police Department, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, the James City County Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
CCHT also assisted with the investigation.
More details can be found in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release announcing the sentences.
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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