DHS leading fight against human trafficking, White House report shows

According to a report released Friday by the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is leading the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to combat human trafficking.

DHS helped the White House develop a whole-of-government National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the department said.

“The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking is grounded in an integrated federal response to human trafficking. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration across government when investing resources in anti-trafficking policies and programs. Because human trafficking is a complex issue that cuts across many federal agencies’ mandates, the National Action Plan is focused on actions and directs resources to where they are most needed. The Action Plan also emphasizes collaboration with state and local governments, the private sector, and non-governmental partners,” the White House report said.

The department focuses on four critical U.S. and global anti-trafficking efforts – prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships.

DHS said it has supported and implemented the Action Plan by building DHS capacity and bolstering partnerships with industry to prohibit forced labor in supply chains; strengthening efforts by DHS personnel to identify and respond to human trafficking they may encounter in daily work; and, increasing coordination with law enforcement agencies and the social media and technology industry to hold traffickers accountable and to dismantle human trafficking networks, among other steps.

This year DHS established the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) dedicated to aligning the department’s capabilities and expertise to advance law enforcement efforts to counter human trafficking, as well as protect victims and enhance prevention efforts, as well as increasing the number of human trafficking arrests, and shipments of goods made through forced labor.