Movies and other media tend to give the impression that human trafficking occurs mainly in other countries, like southeast Asia, or in large cities, like New York City or Los Angeles. But it happens in the U.S. — in urban, suburban and rural areas, and even on community college campuses.
“It’s a tough crime to talk about, but I want you to know it’s happening in the U.S — and it’s highly likely that they are happening in your community,” said Adam Sorelle, a management and program analyst at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking.
Sorrelle recently gave a presentation on human trafficking at the fall meetings of the American Association of Community Colleges, where he provided information on what indicators college employees can look for, as well as resources available to administrators, support staff and campus public safety/law enforcement.
A big industry
Human trafficking is the second-fastest growing crime in the U.S. based on revenue, behind drugs, Sorelle said. It involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. For example, agriculture is one industry where unscrupulous employers will take advantage of immigrants by taking their passports or threatening families in the victims’ home country in order to get them to work for free.
Human trafficking also happens in healthcare, hospitality, restaurants, and domestic work — and college campuses, too. Sorelle gave an example of a student at a Wisconsin community college who raises red flags with college staff when she would have to check in with her boyfriend every 10 minutes on her phone.
International students on campus are particularly vulnerable to being exploited, Sorelle said.
“They don’t always know the laws and customs of the United States,” which criminals exploit, he said.
But victims aren’t just immigrants, low-income or less-educated individuals. Sorelle showed an educational video featuring an interview with a four-year university student who was lured in a club under the guise of being a modeling agency. The criminals groomed the student — whose mother was lawyer and father a pastor — by asking about her dreams and goals and telling her they could help her reach them. They used information she provided on a W-9 tax form to obtain information about her family. When she realized what was happening and tried to back out, they threatened to harm her family.
Venturing onto campuses
College students appeal to human traffickers for several reasons, Sorelle said. College students usually live away from home, are financially unstable and lack support networks at the campus. Colleges also have higher concentrations of international students and students who are LGBTQ+, who traffickers tend to target more often.
Traffickers will even come to college campuses to scout and recruit victims. What has been a particularly good deterrent is when they see signs of human-trafficking awareness on campus, such as posters on campus and public service announcements.
“When the traffickers see these posters all over campus, they run away,” Sorelle said.
College employees can look for certain red flags for potential human trafficking. They include when a student doesn’t have control over his or her own ID or travel documents, or when they defer to another person to speak for them. The latter typically happens in healthcare settings.
Sorelle noted that victims won’t necessarily seek help when in public because they are worried about the consequences, such as the threat of being deported or having family members hurt.
Resources for colleges, victims
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a tip line (866-347-2423) staffed by victims assistance professionals who take information on suspected trafficking.
“Call us when you see something a little weird. Our jobs is to look at this, talk to campus police and investigate,” Sorelle said.
He emphasized not to confront suspected traffickers.
“These people typically threaten the victim, threaten a family. We don’t want the victim to flee. Please do not take it upon yourselves to alert the trafficker if you see something weird,” Sorrell said.
DHS has plenty of information and resources avalaible on its website, including offering free posters. The department also has a free, eight-page “Human Trafficking Awareness Guide for Student Leaders on College Campuses” that provides more physical, behaviorial and social indicators of human trafficking, details on how traffickers operate, and ways to spread awareness on campus. In addition, DHS will provide briefings and trainings upon request, either in person or virtually.
There is also a National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888) that provides support counseling and social services support for victims. It is staffed by non-government organizations.
