Attorney General Merrick B. Garland delivered remarks at the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, emphasizing the urgency of their work in combating human trafficking. He began by sharing a few stories that illustrate the horrors of this crime.
Highlighting the Justice Department's efforts, Garland mentioned a recent case in Louisiana where an individual was sentenced to 35 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution for using sexual abuse, violence, and other forms of abuse to compel minors into forced labor. Another case involved a mother and son who lured vulnerable victims from Mexico, some as young as 16, into commercial sex at the mother's bar. They were sentenced to 30 and six years respectively and ordered to pay over $840,000 in restitution. Additionally, Garland mentioned a case where an individual who forced women struggling with homelessness or substance use disorders into commercial sex received six life terms in federal prison and was ordered to pay $68,000 in restitution.
"These cases represent a small fraction of the work we have done to combat trafficking crimes and pursue justice for the victims," Garland acknowledged.
He went on to discuss the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to implement the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. Over the past year, the department has secured almost 300 convictions on both sex trafficking and labor trafficking charges. The U.S. Attorneys have also formed a Human Trafficking Working Group to guide their efforts in combating human trafficking in their respective districts. The FBI has established a specialized anti-trafficking team to provide victim-centered expertise to its field offices, and the Civil Rights Division's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit has led the interagency Forced Labor Initiative Steering Group in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting forced labor crimes.
Garland also mentioned the release of the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, which focuses on child sex trafficking and complements the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. The Department's Office for Victims of Crime has issued over $95 million in grant funding for victim services, legal assistance, and specialized training for labor trafficking victims.
Looking ahead, Garland expressed the department's commitment to expanding their work across components and throughout the country in the coming year. He emphasized that the perpetrators of human trafficking exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, undermining their sense of safety and dignity. The Justice Department will use every available tool to combat human trafficking and to protect the rights of victims and survivors.
Garland concluded by expressing his gratitude for the collaborative efforts of all those involved and his commitment to continuing to work together to combat human trafficking.