Organized criminal groups profit from sex trafficking and force Mexican and foreign men, women, and children to engage in illicit activities, including as assassins, lookouts, and in the production, transportation, and sale of drugs. The government maintained protection efforts, but identified fewer victims for the second consecutive year. Transgender Mexicans in commercial sex are vulnerable to sex trafficking. Authorities convicted 95 traffickers involved in 40 federal and state cases, compared to 228 traffickers involved in 127 federal and state cases in 2016 and 86 traffickers involved in 36 federal and state cases in 2015. NGOs reported some shelters relied on the prosecutor’s office to identify victims and received funding based on the number of victims housed, which some observers suggested could create an incentive to hold victims pending the conclusion of a case and potentially compromise the shelter’s independence and sustainability of operations. Human Trafficking, 2019, is the seventh report from the national Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s Human Trafficking data collection. Some NGOs alleged corrupt local officials allowed child sex tourism to occur in isolated incidents, but the government did not take action in these cases. NGOs reported child sex tourism remains a problem and continues to expand, especially in tourist areas and in northern border cities. MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission says 85% of the country’s human trafficking victims between 2012 and 2017 were women and girls. The inter-secretarial anti-trafficking commission coordinated with more than 30 government agencies and institutes; established cooperation agreements with state and local governments and the National Human Rights Commission, which coordinated regional committees to address human rights issues, including trafficking in persons; and monitored the implementation of the national anti-trafficking action plan for 2014-2018 and published a report of its anti-trafficking efforts for 2017. The government, the UN, international organizations, NGOs, and the media reported increased participation by organized criminal groups in trafficking and the creation of complex alliances with federal, state, and local government officials in at least 17 of 32 states to commit trafficking and related crimes. Human trafficking in the United States has been banned since the passage of the 13th Amendment. The government operated several hotlines to report emergencies, crime in general, for victims of crime, for crimes against women and trafficking crimes, and promoted the reporting of trafficking tips to an NGO-run national anti-trafficking hotline. – The Huffington Post, https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg, 10 Facts About Human Trafficking in Mexico, 50 percent of those individuals being minors. Human trafficking is a $150 billion dollar industry. The government demonstrated increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Mexico remained on Tier 2. The NHTH works closely with service providers, law enforcement, and other professionals in New Mexico to serve victims and survivors of trafficking, respond to human trafficking cases, … The government maintained law enforcement efforts. The 2012 law obligated states to have a dedicated human trafficking prosecutor; 27 of 31 states had established specialized anti-trafficking prosecutors or units by the end of 2017. While victim services vary, in general, federal and state agencies offered victims emergency services, such as medical care, food, and housing in temporary or transitional homes; and long-term victim services, such as medical, psychological, and legal services. The government provided anti-trafficking training to the federal police, federal prosecutors, immigration officials, medical professionals, federal child and family protection workers, federal tourism officials, and state government officials. (ILO, 2017) 16 million people are trafficked for forced labor in the private economy. Human trafficking is a seriouscrime and violation of human rights, involving force, coercion, or fraud to exploit a person into slave labor or sexual exploitation.. Human trafficking can happen to people of all ages and genders and any race or religious background.Women are often used for sexual exploitation, while men are usually used for forced labor. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that occurs in every state, including Hawaii. The commission’s definition covers a range of 26 crimes from sexual and labor exploitation to organ trafficking. The government provided anti-trafficking training for its diplomatic personnel. They include, but are not limited to: A summary of research on human trafficking globally with some sections specific to North America: Gozdziak, Elzbieta M, and Elizabeth A Collett. Trump's vivid descriptions of human trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border have, more and more, become a regular part of his argument for a border wall. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that occurs in every state, including New Mexico. An NGO in the State of Puebla continued to operate the country’s only public-private shelter. The Special Prosecutor’s Office for Violence Against Women and Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA) continued to operate a high-security shelter in Mexico City and provided shelter to 52 trafficking victims. NGOs and the media challenged the government to continue to improve its ability to accurately identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers and individuals in prostitution. The government conducted outreach to foreign migrant workers to inform them of their rights and responsibilities and inspections of worksites to detect irregular activity, including underage workers who may be vulnerable to trafficking. MEXICO - The Anti-Human Trafficking Workshop for Media and the Entertainment Industry Seminar was held in Mexico in December 2005. The National Children and Family Services System (DIF) provided assistance to 78 victims. That’s why Polaris has partnered with Consejo Ciudadano to support Mexico’s first national human trafficking hotline. The Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare used an inspection protocol in federal job centers with agricultural activities, which included a requirement to identify victims of forced labor and to report such crimes to law enforcement officials. The data set at The Latino Face of Human Trafficking and Exploitation in the United States spans 2007 to 2018 and additionally introduces the figure of individuals in situations of trafficking and exploitation from 2015 to 2018 to what was available in the original 2017 Typology release. The government inspected and prosecuted few complaints of forced labor in agriculture, in part due to a lack of resources. According to that report, law enforcement officials, NGOs and the UN say organized criminal groups are not only involved in human trafficking, they've got help: In at least 17 of Mexico… Some government officials and NGOs expressed concern humanitarian visas were not granted as often as they should be due to a failure to identify eligible foreign trafficking victims and the waiting time for processing requests for immigration relief. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, California consistently has the highest number of human trafficking incidents reported in the United States. The vast majority of foreign victims of forced labor and sex trafficking in Mexico are from Central and South America; some of these victims are exploited along Mexico’s southern border. Without accurate data on the number of human trafficking incidents, victims, and offenders in the state, Texas cannot efficiently dedicate resources to anti-trafficking efforts. In June 2016, the government completed a lengthy transition to an accusatory criminal justice system at the federal and state level, which impacted the overall number of convictions. ; At any given time in 2016, an estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage. Many traffickers use Mexico as a route to smuggle children into the United States and Canada. (Private economy includes: private individuals, groups, or companies in all sectors except the commercial sex industry). Twenty-eight out of 31 states had state-level anti-trafficking committees. In the 2018 fiscal year, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified 308 victims of human trafficking and made 1,588 related arrests, 1,543 of which were for sex-trafficking violations, per the White House. NGOs, many with foreign donor or private funding, also provided specialized shelters and assistance. Human trafficking in Mexico takes many forms, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking. The government reported sentences ranging from two years to 99 years imprisonment. CNS hosted the first summit for law enforcement from countries in the Americas to exchange best practices, offer training, and promote international cooperation on trafficking resulting in the signing of a declaration by representatives of 33 police forces. NGOs also reported officials often re-traumatized trafficking victims due to lack of sensitivity. The National Institute of Migration (INM) provided assistance to 31 potential foreign trafficking victims and issued temporary immigration relief in the form of humanitarian visas to 25 victims in 2017, compared to four victims in 2016. State human trafficking investigations in Mexico rose by a third last year, but academics and activists said that many parts of the country appeared to be struggling to tackle the crime. Observers noted links between women’s disappearances and murders and trafficking in persons by organized criminal groups. National Human Trafficking Statistics. NGOs and the media report victims from the Caribbean, South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa have also been identified in Mexico, some en route to the United States. The government increased prevention efforts. Groups considered most vulnerable to human trafficking in Mexico include women, children, indigenous persons, persons with mental and physical disabilities, migrants, and LGBTI individuals. There are many ways in which women and children are trafficked. The Secretary of Tourism implemented a program to prevent trafficking and sex tourism, which included a “code of conduct” for travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, tourist guides, training centers, and transportation providers; training for students pursuing careers in this sector; and the distribution of awareness materials to prevent trafficking and reduce the demand for commercial sex acts from children in tourism destinations. The NHTH works closely with service providers, law enforcement, and other professionals in Hawaii to serve victims and survivors of trafficking, respond to human trafficking cases, and share information and resources. Humanitarian visas enabled foreign trafficking victims to remain in the country up to 60 working days or 90 calendar days, and may be extended. Inconsistent with the definition of trafficking under international law, the law established the use of force, fraud, or coercion as aggravating factors rather than essential elements of the crime. The National Institute of Social Development (INDESOL) provided 598,500 pesos ($30,370) to two NGOs to provide victim services to 76 trafficking victims. Twenty-three of 31 states, compared to only 14 in 2016, had aligned their trafficking laws with the federal law, which could address inconsistencies among those states’ laws and improve interstate investigations and prosecutions. In May, the three women were found in the neighborhood of San Pedro de los Pinos, after a friend reported the case to the police. The NGO-run hotline received 981 calls in 2017, resulting in the identification of 103 calls with trafficking indicators and 22 investigations. The inter-secretarial anti-trafficking commission provided funding to an international organization to develop a national information system to track the number of victims identified, referred, and assisted across the country; the government completed the first phase of installation in 2017 and began incorporating additional data with the goal of full implementation in 2018. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) provided victim services to 98 trafficking victims who were participating in the legal process against their exploiters. Many traffickers use Mexico as a route to smuggle children into the United States and Canada. NGOs noted weaknesses in the government’s application of the law, including misuse or misunderstanding of the law, an overly broad legal definition of trafficking, failure to perform official functions, and improper identification of and inadequate support for victims. The government collaborated with an international organization, which had developed specific state-level protocols in 17 of 31 states for victim identification and assistance, to train government officials. International observers denounced the murder in November 2017 of a Veracruz state attorney specializing in violence against women and human trafficking cases noting the extreme levels of violence that permeate the country and the risks taken by public officials to defend vulnerable individuals. The National Security System (CNS) provided assistance to 126 victims. Mexican women and children, and to a lesser extent men and transgender individuals, are exploited in sex trafficking in Mexico and the United States. Although diplomatic engagement on human trafficking occurs year-round, the process for drafting the TIP Report begins in the fall, when the Department of State’s TIP Office requests information from U.S. embassies regarding the profile of human trafficking in that country and efforts of … Despite these efforts, services for male, adolescent, and forced labor victims and victims in rural areas remained inadequate. In 2017, inspectors conducted 132 inspections, identifying 54 children working in agriculture in violation of the law, and issued 5,667 protection measures, although the government did not specify how many were related to forced labor or trafficking. Authorities initiated 127 federal and 298 state investigations in 2017, compared to 188 federal and 288 state investigations in 2016 and 250 federal and 415 state investigations for trafficking in 2015. Groups considered most vulnerable to human trafficking in Mexico include women, children, indigenous persons, persons with mental and … Mexico participated in several international fora on trafficking in persons, including the fourth annual trilateral trafficking in persons working group meeting with Canada and the United States and shared best practices in the area of monitoring financial transactions potentially linked to human trafficking. Exploitation could mean prostitution, forced labor or practices similar to slavery and servitude. In 2018, it was determined that the government of Mexico was not meeting the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking. The commission’s definition covers a range of 26 crimes from sexual and labor exploitation to organ trafficking. The federal statute outlawing trafficking is Title 18 of the United States Code, particularly section 1584 which makes it a crime to make someone work against their will, and section 1581, which makes it illegal to work in “debt servitude.” 24.9 million people are victims of forced labor. One study from the Department of Health and Human Services estimated the number between 240,000 and 325,000, while a report from the University of Pennsylvania put it at between 100,000 and 300,000. The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), with the support of the government, continued to promote a national awareness campaign in airports and bus terminals, and conducted anti-trafficking training and awareness sessions for a range of audiences. These cases, in what are supposed to be resort paradises, highlight Mexico's not-so-secret human trafficking issue. The Government of Mexico does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Polaris’s data makes very clear that migration – both internal and to another country, legally and otherwise – is a key vulnerability for human trafficking because migrants so often fall outside of the full legal protections of their countries of origin, countries of transit, and countries of … 1 in 4 slavery victims are children. The State of Mexico opened three trafficking-specific shelters in 2016; and the City of Mexico opened a trafficking-specific shelter, which provided medical, legal, psychological, and social services to victims during pending cases. But human trafficking statistics … In 2017, the federal government dedicated at least 6.7 million pesos ($340,030) for investigations and prosecutions; this figure included funding for the Special Prosecutor for Violence against Women, but not the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime and overall represented a decrease in funding from the previous year. Human Trafficking in Mexico Sources. Strengthen efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses and convict traffickers, especially for forced labor crimes; fully implement victim identification and referral protocols; develop and implement a national strategic action plan on victim services in consultation with international organizations and NGOs to include specialized trafficking victim services and shelters funded by the government; increase funding for law enforcement efforts and victim services; increase the capacity of state-level anti-trafficking committees and specialized anti-trafficking units to respond more effectively to trafficking cases, through increased funding and staff training; increase efforts to protect victims and witnesses testifying against traffickers, while ensuring they are not coerced into testifying or inappropriately misidentified as traffickers; train officials to seek restitution for victims as provided by law; strengthen the labor inspection system, particularly in the agricultural sector, and enforce laws to hold fraudulent foreign labor recruiters accountable; increase efforts to hold public officials complicit in trafficking accountable through effective prosecutions and stringent sentences; amend anti-trafficking laws at the federal and state levels to incorporate the definition of trafficking in international law; strengthen data collection efforts; and improve coordination mechanisms among federal, state, and local authorities. Observers also expressed concern over recruitment of recently deported Mexican nationals by organized criminal groups for the purpose of forced criminality. Trafficking-related corruption and complicity among some public officials, including law enforcement and immigration officials continues to raise concern. The UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights expressed concern over the recruitment and use of torture and murder by organized criminal groups of indigenous children and youth to exploit them in forced criminality. Human Trafficking and the U.S.-Mexico Border. The government collaborated with an international organization to develop a consular protocol for the protection of Mexican national trafficking victims, completing a field study of nine Mexican consulates in 2017. Federal officials have jurisdiction over all international trafficking cases, all cases that take place on federally administered territory involving organized crime, and all cases involving allegations against government officials. Many child sex tourists are from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe; Mexicans also purchase sex from children who have been subjected to sex trafficking. While Mexico is making strides in the number of prosecutions made and the amount of support given to victims, in 2018 the government obtained fewer convictions than in previous years, identified fewer victims, provided more limited services to victims and maintained a disproportionately low amount of shelters compared to its magnitude of the human trafficking industry. The United States, along with Mexico and the Philippines, was ranked one of the world’s worst places for human trafficking in 2018. In these cases, it is beneficial for both the U.S. and Mexican authorities to partner together during the investigation and prosecution of the members of such criminal organisations. The Ministry of Foreign Relations identified and provided support to 196 Mexican forced labor victims abroad, including 180 in the United States and 16 in other countries, compared to 20 in 2016. The number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions include cases that would not be defined as trafficking under international law. 24.9 million people are trapped in forced labor. Women were allowed to have their children with them at the shelter. An official website of the United States government, Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues, Office of the U.S. MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission says 85% of the country’s human trafficking victims between 2012 and 2017 were women and girls. Twitter. Mexican authorities maintained law enforcement cooperation with the United States, partnering on three joint law enforcement operations, which resulted in the arrest of at least 14 alleged traffickers. The State Department’s 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report found the Department of Justice opened significantly fewer human trafficking investigations in 2018 compared to … The state governments identified 527 victims, compared to 691 in 2016 and 938 in 2015. Corruption and complicity remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action. Some judges’ and prosecutors’ lack of understanding of trafficking led to traffickers being prosecuted for more minor offenses or to being acquitted when prosecuted for human trafficking, but at least one recent Mexican Supreme Court opinion revealed an understanding of Mexican trafficking law as related to international trafficking law. The New Mexico Human Trafficking Task Force is a coalition of local, state, federal, tribal, and citizen organizers committed to the prevention of human trafficking in the State of New Mexico through education, outreach, and collaboration. International organizations and NGOs estimated more than 375,000 people exploited in forced labor in Mexico, placing the country at the top of the list for countries in the Americas; however, observers surveyed government and NGO statistics finding fewer than 1,500 forced labor victims identified from 2013 to 2017. However, in its 2019 report, the State Department found the top three nations of origin for human trafficking victims were the United States, Mexico and the Philippines. The 2012 anti-trafficking law criminalized sex and labor trafficking, prescribing penalties ranging from five to 30 years imprisonment; these penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. It is estimated that between 15,000 to 50,000 women and children are forced into sexual slavery in the United States every year, and the total number varies wildly as it is very difficult to research. Women were not allowed to leave the shelter alone; NGOs expressed concern that this arrangement re-traumatized some victims, but officials maintained it was critical for ensuring their safety. Since 2007, more than 49,000 cases of human trafficking in the US have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which receives an average of 150 calls per day. Government officials used several procedures or protocols to proactively identify victims: immigration officials used the “Process for Detection, Identification, and Attention to Foreign Trafficking Victims;” federal officials used the “Protocol for the Use of Processes and Resources for the Rescue, Assistance, Attention and Protection of Trafficking Victims;” and Mexican consular officials abroad operated special windows in consulates in the U.S. to identify situations of vulnerability among migrant children, women, and indigenous persons. Of those, 16 million can be found in the private sector, especially domestic work, construction and agriculture. The government reported identifying 667 trafficking victims in 2017—429 for sex trafficking, 103 for forced labor or services, eight for forced begging, eight for forced criminality, four for other purposes, and 115 unspecified—compared to 740 victims in 2016 and 1,814 in 2015. As reported over the past five years, Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. The rescue of three Venezuelans forced into sex trafficking in Mexico City has once again shone a spotlight on the ongoing violent treatment and deaths of Venezuelan migrants in the country. The following 10 facts about human trafficking in Mexico provide further insight into its expansive presence in the country. Earlier this week, The White House released a statement that uses the complex issue of human trafficking as another reason to justify building a wall across the country’s southern border, a claim the President repeated in his State of the Union address to Congress. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Office of the U.S. Day laborers and their children are particularly vulnerable to and are the primary victims of forced and child labor in Mexico’s agricultural sector; migrating from the poorest states to the agricultural regions to harvest vegetables, coffee, sugar, and tobacco; receiving little or no pay, health care, or time off, and in the case of children, being denied education. The government had laws to facilitate the investigation, prosecution, or conviction of child sex tourists, but did not report any such cases. “The Borgen Project is an incredible nonprofit organization that is addressing poverty and hunger and working towards ending them.” So kudos to … The federal government identified 140 victims, compared to 194 in 2016 and 876 in 2015. Out of 150,000 children living on the streets in Mexico, it is estimated that 50 percent are victims of trafficking for sexual purposes. It is believed that the number of victims of human trafficking in Mexico would decrease with strengthened law enforcement, acknowledgment of the expansivity of the problem and additional training for victim identification. Facebook. (Note: males are indeed sometimes used in sex traffi… The national anti-trafficking law provided for restitution to be paid from a victims’ fund, but the government did not report whether the courts awarded any trafficking victims restitution. Mexican men, women, and children are exploited in forced labor in agriculture, domestic servitude, child care, manufacturing, mining, food processing, construction, tourism, forced begging, and street vending in Mexico and the United States. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that occurs in every state, including Hawaii. According to the Bureau of Justice, of the human trafficking cases reported between January … While Mexican law criminalized fraudulent labor recruiting, authorities did not report efforts to regulate or hold accountable fraudulent labor recruiters. Statistics and Facts. With U.S. government support, the federal government launched a national awareness-raising campaign called Blue Heart Campaign 2.0 in July 2017, including targeted messages for repatriated migrants, indigenous communities, disabled persons, women, children, and youth. The NHTH works closely with service providers, law enforcement, and other professionals in Hawaii to serve victims and survivors of trafficking, respond to human trafficking cases, … Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, or transfer of humans using any form of threat for the purpose of exploitation. February 6th, 2019, by Tim Isgitt . NGOs report some Mexicans are held in debt bondage in agriculture, and are indebted to recruiters or to the company itself. According to NGOs, authorities conducted very few inspections in major farming states, investigated few complaints, and imposed only modest fines, although a few high profile cases resulted in criminal prosecutions; and inspectors lacked resources and faced technical difficulties in carrying out inspections. Linkedin. The law defined trafficking broadly to include labor exploitation and illegal adoption without the purpose of exploitation. The government reported identifying 667 trafficking victims in 2017—429 for sex trafficking, 103 for forced labor or services, eight for forced begging, eight for forced criminality, four for other purposes, and 115 unspecified—compared to 740 victims in 2016 and 1,814 in 2015. The 2019 report shows a total of 1,883 incidents of human trafficking were reported: 1,607 were in the category of commercial sex acts, and 274 were instances of involuntary servitude. Human trafficking amounts to 6.6 billion dollars annually each year for the State of Texas, and human traffickers make 600 million dollars in profit from their illegal slave trade.