Fact Sheet - The Trump Administration Is Committed to Combating Human Trafficking and Protecting The Innocent
October 20, 2020
COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: President Donald J. Trump has prioritized fighting for the voiceless and ending the scourge of human trafficking across the Nation.
- In January 2020, President Trump recognized the 20th Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and signed an Executive Order on Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States.
- Through this order, President Trump created the first-ever White House position focused solely on combating human trafficking.
- Since taking office, the President has signed nine pieces of bipartisan legislation to combat human trafficking, both domestically and internationally.
- Today, President Trump released his National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking to direct the Federal Government's efforts to end human trafficking within the United States.
LEVERAGING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RESOURCES: The Administration is committed to eradicating human trafficking by leveraging every resource of the Federal Government.
- The President approved the largest Department of Justice (DOJ) grant package in history to combat human trafficking, including the first-ever grants for safe housing for survivors.
- President Trump doubled the amount of DOJ funding to combat human trafficking that existed during the previous administration and prioritized funds to enhance prosecutions and frontline efforts in the states.
- In Fiscal Year 2019, Federal law enforcement agencies initiated more than 1,600 new investigations into human traffickers, and DOJ-funded human trafficking task forces at the State and local level reported opening more than 2,500 new cases.
- The Trump Administration signed bilateral agreements with El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to help curtail labor exploitation.
A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION: The Administration is focused on implementing a whole-of-government approach to fighting human trafficking.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently created the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), establishing a centralized location for subject matter experts to coordinate and expand its efforts in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor.
- Agencies are focused on preventing human trafficking through increased awareness and education, curtailing demand, and decreasing imports of products resulting from forced labor.
- The Department of Health and Human Services, DHS, and DOJ have worked to train more than 95,000 professionals to enhance their capacity to respond appropriately to suspected instances of human trafficking.
- These professionals include civil society, law enforcement, and government officials.
- Through the President's Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, his Administration is working in coordination with tribal communities to better understand the impact of human trafficking in Indian Country.
Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Fact Sheet - The Trump Administration Is Committed to Combating Human Trafficking and Protecting The Innocent Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/346727