Indigenos People

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Department of Justice Will Not Collect DATA on Native Human Trafficking Victims!

Delana,

There is a storm brewing, and I'm concerned you may not be prepared for it. Today is MAJOR.

President Biden is empowering anti-Christian forces to severely deplete your religious liberty. It's a surreptitious war that could destroy everything we've fought for.

Kicking pro-life students out of federal buildings, threatening to arrest a pastor for praying in front of the Chinese Embassy, banning churches from using their own property, attacking religious liberty in the military, and calling Christians "criminals" – this is just the beginning.

We just filed a critical brief at the Supreme Court YESTERDAY to stop Biden's attempt to strip away your right to attend church on Sunday. And our next deadlines are looming.

I've never seen anything like this. We MUST act now, or we could lose it all. We're your last line of defense in court. But to have the resources we need to defeat Biden's relentless attacks on your faith at the Supreme Court, we need your support.

I know times are tight, but without YOU, our rights will be eviscerated. We've fought together too long to let that happen.

The white man is still trying to whip out everyone who doesn't look like them.



Native America; Human Trafficking in Native Communities.

 

Since the Presidential Proclamation of 2010, we have annually observed January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Despite all the media attention and many worthy organizations fighting this problem, there are still over 40 million slaves in the world today. Women and girls account for 71% of those victims.

Before the colonization of the U.S., Native Americans held women in high regard as life bearers and the future of their people. They were the political, spiritual, and ceremonial leaders and violence against women was) forbidden. 

Department of Justice won’t collect DATA on Native Human Trafficking Victims,


Resist calls to collect more data on trafficking of Native Americans despite pressure from advocates for Native Women and key members of Congress.

According to the department of federal authorities prosecuted just two trafficking cases in Indian county between 2013 and 2016. Only one of them resulted in a conviction.

The number pales in comparison to the 1,000 – plus cases that were prosecuted in other jurisdictions during the same time. It also flies in the face of a consistent stream of reports which show that Native Americans, especially women and girls, are victimized at a higher than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States.

Yet the department isn’t able to explain the disparity because federal agents aren’t required to determine whether a trafficking victim is Native American. And it doesn’t plan on collecting that data anytime soon.

“If it’s voluntary information, great, but we’re not going to mandate that,”

Tracy Toulou, a descendant of the Colville tribes who serves as the director of the Office of Tribal Justice, told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 

According to Toulou, finding out whether a victim in Native American could end up hurting Native Americans. Service providers that receive federal funds shouldn’t be forced to collect the data because he said it would have a “chilling effect” by making people more reluctant to come forward.” WE don’t want to do anything that’s going to keep a victim from coming to our victim services providers and getting the services they need,” Toulou said, who is a career employee, not a political appointee of the Trump administration, which did not send a higher-level official to the long-planned hearing.

The explanation stood in contrast to the stance taken by another federal agency. Jason Thompson, the deputy director of the Office of Justice Service at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said he hasn’t heard concerns about collecting data on Native Trafficking victims.  “BIA-OJS, as of 2014, collects that information in our basic crime reporting,” said Thompson, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Like Toslow, he is a career employee of the federal government. 

The lack of data limits the way in which the federal government can help a victim, according to Nicole Matthews, the executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition, she said it was “disturbing” to learn that, officially, only 2 Indian Co. Trafficking cases were prosecuted by federal authorities between 2013 and 2016, because her research indicated a wide spread problem, both on and off the reservations. “There is a need for culturally specific programs – by and for American Indians and Alaska Native women – to specifically address sex trafficking, "said Matthews, who is a citizen of the White Earth Nation. OF the 45th Department of Justice grant programs that can address trafficking, only two are geared towards tribal communities, she noted. The low level of support makes it harder for service providers to reach out to Native victims, she said.

“If you ask someone, are you a victim of trafficking, are you Native American, and you don’t have services to follow up, then it can potentially cause more harm,” Matthews told the committee. 

Cindy McCain, the co-chair of Arizona Human Trafficking Council, also believers more data will help, not hurt, victims. She said service providers need to be able to tailor their programs to the communities where they work. “I think you would find our victims perhaps a little more willing to talk about where they are from,” said McCain, who is the wife (to the late), Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), a former two-time chairman of the committee. In recent reports, Government Accountability office has called on the Department of Justice to collect data- “where (not) possible” -- on Native trafficking victims, said Gretta L. Goodwin, a director at the agency, which services as the watchdog arm of Congress. Such basic information can help justify the need for more grant programs and other resources, she asserted.

“If you don’t have the data it can sometimes be really difficult to determine what services can be provided to a particular population,” Goodwin said. Members of the committee agreed with the need for additional data. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), who served as North Dakota's top prosecutor for 8 years, said trafficking in Indian Country goes significantly underreported, which in turn contributes to a lack of resources.

“it’s clear that the federal government can and must do a better job of tuning into the true extent of the challenges that can endanger our most vulnerable in Indian Country,” said Heitkamp. “We’ll keep working to sound the alarm bells both the ground in the halls of Congress until every Native community is protected by the full extent of the law, and have the resources they need to stay safe from these hideous crimes.”

Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), the chairman of the committee, is taking a step forward in providing more resources with the introduction of S.1870, the Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment Act, or SURVIVE Act. The Bill, which has bipartisan support, mandates a tribal set-aside from the Crime Victims Fund at the Department of Justice.

“It is critical for tribal communities, which experience some of the highest crime rates in the country, to have greater access to victim resources under the Crime Victims Fund,” Hoeven said. “The SURVIVE Act will increase these vital resources and provide tribes with the flexibility to determine the programs and services that best meet local needs of their communities. This will help ensure crime victims have the support they need to heal.”

The Set-aside would amount to 5% of the fund if the bill becomes law. That’s significant because existing data shows that barely 0.7% of the money gets the Native victims, said Hoeven, who also supports the call for the Department of Justice to collect more data. “Without knowing the extent of the problem, it is difficult to adequately address it,” the chairman said at the hearing. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice: Oversight Hearing on “The GAO reports on human trafficking of Native Americans in the United States” (September 27, 2017)

Government Accountability Office Reports: Action needed to identify the number of Native American victims receiving federally-funded services (July 24, 2017)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Report:

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult Women and the Role Intimate Partner Violence- United States, 2003-2014 (July 21, 2017)


January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month:


I campaigned on Border Security, which you cannot have without a strong and powerful Wall. Our Southern Border has long been an “Open Wound,” where drugs, criminals (including human traffickers) and illegals would pour into our Country.

Donald J. Trump


In the United States, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month. In support of this occasion, the Human Trafficking Search weekly blog to examine areas of the human trafficking crisis that do not typically make the headlines. It focuses on the disproportionate impact of human trafficking on Native American communities. 

Native American are victimized by human trafficking at rates higher than that of the general population. Though statistics are few and far between, testimony from experts, activists, and tribal leaders – as well as independent investigations – have revealed a disproportionate impact. In a study conducted at four sites in the U.S. and Canada, “an average of 40% of women involved in sex trafficking identified as an AI/AN or First Nations,” yet Native women represent 10% or less of the general population in the studied communities. Lisa Brunner of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, summarized the program to Congress in 2013 as such:

“Native women experience violent victimization at a higher rate than any other U.S. population. Congressional findings are that Native American and Alaska Native women are raped 34.1%, more than 1 in 3, will be raped in their lifetime, 64%, more than 6 in 10, will be physically assaulted. Native women are stalked more than twice the rate of other women. Native women are murdered at more than ten times the national average. Non-Indians commit 88% of violent crimes against Native women. Given the above statistical data and the historical roots of violence against Native women, the level of human trafficking given the sparse data collected can only equate to the current epidemic levels we face within our tribal communities and Nations.”

Though sex trafficking is the primary concern of both Tribal Nations and the U.S., it is believed that labor trafficking and exploitation occurs as well, with the victims primarily men. Additionally, there have been a number of allegations of trafficking Native babies for adoption, most notably a 2013 Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple vs. Baby Girl.


Why is human trafficking more prevalent among Native populations?


Native Americans are considered a vulnerable population. Statistics from 2010 U.S. Census, National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, and GAO Foster Care report illustrate that Native Americans experience higher levels of poverty, rape, and entry into the foster system – all risk factors for trafficking. The proliferation of the fracking industry also contributed to a ride in sex trafficking of Native girls and women as “man camps” were established in remote areas of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, creating a high-demand for sex in an environment rampant with drugs, alcohol, and limited supervision. While there was widespread media coverage of the rise of sex trafficking in Bakken, discussion of its impact on Native girls and women were limited. Cindy McCain, co-Chair of the Arizona Human Trafficking Council and wife of (late) Senator John McCain, argues that “Native Americans are largely overlooked as victims,” further compounding the issue and reinforcing the belief among tribal communities that the U.S. government provides little protection and support. Additionally, some believe the presence of casinos on tribal lands contributes to the demand for sex trafficking; McCain has stated that she has “witnessed with my own eyes six little girls lined up against a wall in a casino outside of Phoenix on display for customers.”

The prevalence of sex trafficking of Native Americans is not solely based on the multiple risk factors associated with the community; it is, in many ways, a continuation of the marginalization of Native populations in the United States. Native women have been fetishized, bought, sold, and traded since initial European colonization of the American continent. The trauma experienced by Tribal Nations at the hands of the U.S. government has contributed to high levels of poverty and substance abuse, as well as isolation and distrust of authority that can both increase the likelihood of trafficking and complicate the legal response.

There are number of challenges to addressing human trafficking in tribal communities that are unique to the Native American experience. As with all human trafficking, the covert nature of the crime makes statistics difficult to ascertain. This is further complicated by a lack of disaggregated data, which limits agencies from identifying the magnitude of the issue, “of the four federal agencies that handle human-trafficking cases, only one records the race or ethnicity of the victim.” There are also overlapping jurisdictional issues between tribal, state, and federal governments that allow perpetrators to slip through the cracks and create gaps in communication between agencies. For instance, tribes can not arrest or prosecute non-Native Americans–intend they fall under federal jurisdiction – allowing non-Native traffickers to operate with little risk. A 2012 UN Report estimates that almost 80% of rapes of Native women occur at the hands of non-Native men, highlighting this dangerous gap in enforcement. Support services for at-risk individuals and survivors are also limited for Native American girls and women due to a lack of resources. For example, a 2016 survey identified a large gap in access to services; over two-thirds of the 650 tribal lands reviewed experienced a significant dearth of access to sexual assault examiners and sexual assault response team programs, while 381 reported no service coverage within an hour’s driving distance.


Combatting trafficking of Native Americans


In recent years, human trafficking of Native Trafficking has received increased attention by both federal and tribal governments. Tribal Nations- such as the Navajo Nation – have begun implementing anti-trafficking laws, raising awareness in their communities, and training initiatives. The State Department’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report highlight a number of actions undertaken by the U.S. government to combat sex trafficking of Native Americans, among them, increased funding, collaboration with Tribal Nations on training programs, increased funding efforts to identify victims, human trafficking training at all National Indian Gaming Commission regional conferences, and increased resources, training, and technical assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, the Department of Justice recently announced that it would expand the Tribal Access Program that provides tribes access to national crime information to help with sex trafficking, the opioid crisis, and other critical issues.


Here is a major update:

Washington D.C., January 14, 2019

Despite the gridlock of a partial federal government shutdown, both houses of Congress overwhelmingly passed an anti-human trafficking Bill signed by President Trump on January 8, 2019.

Washington (BP) -- Amid the gridlock of the partial government shutdown, President Trump and lawmakers came together across party lines to enact anti-human trafficking legislation named for the 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Travis Wussow, vice president for public policy with Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, voiced gratitude “for the leadership of Congressman Chris Smith [a New Jersey Republican who sponsored the legislation] and all those who worked to see the Fredrick Douglass Bill become law.”

“this Act brings new resources to the tireless fight of seeking freedom for captives and justice for perpetrators of this grievous evil,” Wussow said. “We pray that our government’s efforts will honor this Bill’s namesake by abolishing the terror of slavery both here and abroad.”

Signed into law on Jan. 8 by Trump, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act passed the House 368-7 and the Senate by voice vote.

The bill authorizes some $430 million over four years to combat sex and labor trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. It focuses on prevention education, help for trafficking victims, facilitating trafficking-free supply chains in U.S. commerce, and training U.S. airline employees to recognize trafficking. 



Trump signed three additional anti-trafficking Bill’s between Dec. 21, 2018, and Jan. 9, 2019.


“This is an urgent humanitarian issue,” Trump said, according to a White House release. “My administration is committed to leveraging every resource we have to confront this threat, to support the victims and survivors, and to hold traffickers accountable for their heinous crimes.” The latest SBC resolution on trafficking, adopted in 2013, estimated that 27 million persons worldwide were being held in some form of slavery, including forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The resolution encouraged support of “agencies and ministries which help rescue and rehabilitate trafficking victims.” It also” call[ed] upon Southern Baptists to support public policies” that combat trafficking.

Key Bennett, a SEND Relief missionary in New Orleans for the North American Board, has worked with human trafficking victims for a decade. She said helping those who are trafficked requires churches both to advocate just public policy and engage in hands-on ministry.

“It's about being Jesus to the people that come our way,” said Bennett, executive director of the Baptist Friendship House, a joint ministry of NAMB and the New Orleans Baptist Association that ministers to homeless women and children. Jesus “would minister to the human trafficking victim,” she said.

Bennett partners with local law enforcement officials to give trafficking victims basic supplies like food and clothing as well as housing, protection, and transportation back to their homes. The SEND Relief website lists at least 15 ways each church can help trafficking victims. Among them: teach life skills, assisting with financial planning, offering counseling services, and encouraging lawmakers to pass legislation against human trafficking.

“It takes all of our churches [and] our Southern Baptist entities... working together to make a difference in regard to human trafficking,” Bennett told Baptist Press.

Douglass (1818-95) - the namesake of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act—was a Maryland slave who found faith in Christ during his teen years and escaped from slavery at the age of 20 in 1838. He became an author and speaker in the abolitionist movement.

Douglass rebuked the hypocrisy of Christians who supported slavery, which he believes was inconsistent with the Gospel. “I love that religion,” Douglass wrote in his 1855 autobiography, “that is based upon the glorious principle of love to God and love to man; which makes its followers do unto others as they themselves would be done by.”

Kenneth Morris, a descendant of Douglass and president of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, said upon Trump’s signing of the Bill, “if my great ancestor were here today, I believe he would be driven to lead the struggle against contemporary forms of slavery,” according to a release from Smith’s office. “In the fight to end modern-day slavery, my law honors the extraordinary legacy of one of the greatest Americans who ever lived,” Smith said of Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became a prominent abolitionist after being freed. The law provides resources for trafficking prevention education for children: shelter, therapies, and reintegration assistance for trafficking survivors; the facilitation of trafficking-free supply chains in the United States; training off government officials as well as airline industry employees to identify trafficking cases; and oversight to ensure that government purchases are not employing traffickers. The Bilk of the allocations will go to the State Department to fund their educational and diplomatic efforts against trafficking. 

The new legislation provides funding to the International Megan’s Law, which was also authored by Smith.

The International Megan’s Law, which was names in memory of Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old who was murdered in 1994 by a convicted pedophile, established country-to-country notification about convicted pedophiles who may be traveling to an area for the purposes of sex trafficking or child exploitation.

Since the International Megan’s Law was enacted in February 2016, nearly 3,500 convicted pedophiles have been denied entry to a country. This new Bill allocates $18 million in funding to the Department of Homeland Security spread over three years.


A recent United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report found that there has been an

Increase in the number of trafficking victims, particularly girls, over the last decade. The total number of people detected as victims of human trafficking has increased by 40% since 2011, but the UN says that this could be because of improvements in detection.

In 2016, the most recent year statistics were available, 23% of all detected trafficking victims around the world were girls under the age of 18. In 2004, we made the first statistics available, only 10% of trafficking victims were girls. Boys under the age of 18 accounted for 8% of detected trafficking victims. 

The UNODC found that 94% of sex trafficking victims were female. Males accounted for 65% of labor trafficking victims. Vulnerable populations, such as Syrian and Rohingya refugees, are at an increased risk of being preyed upon by human traffickers.


If you’re in the US (or planning to be) this year, and you know you’ll be struggling to make a living, it would be best if you stayed away from these 16 top US cities for human trafficking in 2019! The USA is definitely a home of the brave, but as for the “land of the free” part, we can’t say we can vouch for it anymore. At least not for the cities on our list.

I considered the US to be the most developed country in the world, with human rights secured and defended (it does belong to the Tier 1 group – countries that are successfully dealing with human trafficking, according to Trafficking in Persons Report). However, it is still struggling with modern-day slavery. The answer to the following question gives you an idea about the situation. How many trafficking victims are in the US? According to the Global Slavery Index, there were 403,000 slaves in the US in 2016 (it takes a while to collect and analyze the data, so we are still waiting for 2018). Basically, there are almost half a million people in the states who are barely surviving. They are not free to live their lives. Instead, they are limited by fear, exhaustion, violence, and all kinds of abuse.

ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock.com

The most common victims in the top 10 states for human trafficking in 2018, as is the case with the rest of the world, are unprotected women and children. Due to the migrations on a global level, it is often assumed that migrants make the most of the victims, too. Nevertheless, this does not have to be the case. There are plenty of American citizens suffering in top US cities for human trafficking, but what we can say with certainty is that the lack of language fluency is a limiting factor in fighting for one’s rights and negotiating freedom.

As for the most common type of crime in the worst states for human trafficking, our data shows sex trafficking is the most common reason for reporting criminal activities. Still, labor trafficking is not to be neglected either. A lot of people don’t realize they are the victims of human trafficking, which is absolutely shocking. This is probably the reason why we got so many top cities for human trafficking. A huge number of people are working in unsafe conditions, with meager salaries and in fear of leaving the employer, as their chances of finding proper employment in these top cities for human trafficking are minimal.

In order to find out the top cities for human trafficking, we first checked which states have had the highest number of calls reporting human trafficking, as reported by the National Human Trafficking Hotline statistics. However, since only individual cities are mentioned as having high numbers of trafficking victims, and there is no overall, complete data about every city in America, we had to rely on the assumption that the most populous cities are also the most tempting for both potential victims and traffickers. We collected information about the population from World Population Review.

As for what the top 10 states for human trafficking are, we answered the question in our article about 12 states for human trafficking in 2018, and for greater details, you can also take a look at 15 top US cities for human trafficking in 2018.

Without further ado, here is our list of 16 top US cities for human trafficking in 2019. You’ll also find some extra information on the cases.

As of January 2019; Toledo, Ohio is between Columbus, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan;


Is said to be the 3rd largest hot spot for human trafficking in the United States. Since I knew Toledo for human trafficking, it’s cited by the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for trafficking children into commercial exploitation. I know Toledo as the “Toledo Getaway” as a getaway from mostly Las Vegas. It’s just one of the getaway cities; others are Pasco, WA, Portland, OR; or Miami, Fl. Many of the females that are trafficked are runaways from parents who abuse drugs. 1,000 victims of human trafficking whose parents were drug addicts were from Toledo.

Most of the ages are between 18-24

Anti-Trafficking Efforts in Ohio: Trafficking Laws Overview

According to the United States, Human trafficking has three components: act (what is done), means (how it is done), and purpose (why it is done). Trafficking is a $150 billion-dollar global industry, with millions of 20.9 million victims worldwide (Polaris Project, 2017). The majority are victims of forced labor, about a quarter are children, and more than half are women and girls (Polaris Project, 2017). The trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) OF 2000 set the stage for federal trafficking laws, with more legislation varying state-to-state.

Where Ohio Stands:

Federal law states that anyone under the age of 18 charged with any type of prostitution offense is a victim. Ohio differs from this by changing the age to 16. Anyone above 16, and even still a minor, has to prove compulsion to be seen as a victim of trafficking. More specifically, in Ohio, the trafficker has to be proved to be in a position of authority for proof of compulsion to not be needed. This is problematic, as most Ohio Trafficking victims are victims of “boyfriend trafficking” (Jordan, 2018). This type of trafficking occurs when a girl’s boyfriend gives her attention, money, love Etc., and then traffics here. Most of these victims don’t actually see themselves as victims, but more adults with their own free will. A large percentage of trafficking victims are sexual abuse survivors. (National Human Trafficking Hotline n.d.), which creates further issues surrounding bodily autonomy and what abuse is and is not. 

Much of the reported trafficking in Ohio happens in low-income communities, where the victims feel the push and pull factors of trafficking. The push factors are but are not limited to poverty, foster care, being a runaway, and interaction with the juvenile court system (Jordan, 2018). In Ohio, 63% of reported victims of trafficking experienced some sort of abuse throughout their lives. (Haggerty, n.d.). The child victims are mostly 17 years old or younger and are almost equally white and Black, and a smaller percentage is Hispanic (Jordan, 2018). Their age of 17 is difficult, as we could charge them as an adult and not receive the benefits of the Safe Harbor laws.

In 2010, the Attorney General’s office determined that 1,000 minors are victims of sex trafficking each year (Ohio AG 2010). The majority of human trafficking in Ohio is sex trafficking, which includes commercial sex, survival sex, child porn, and massage parlor trafficking. However; there is labor trafficking in the state, mainly in the agricultural communities and through magazine sales (Jordan, 2018). In 2017, we charged four people for labor trafficking in Marion, Ohio. They took teenagers from Central America and were forced to work in poor conditions on an egg farm (Torry, 2017). Trying to help foreign-born victims has always been difficult because of their distrust of law enforcement and fear of deportation if undocumented. The current political climate has only made this issue worse.

Ohio’s Anti-Human Trafficking Policy:


Ohio’s first stand-alone anti-human trafficking law was Senate Bill 235 in 2011. This added the crime of trafficking is similar to thaw the TVPA defines it. Ohio explicitly states that in order to be trafficked there has to be proof of compulsion, which means “force, fear, duress, or intimidation” (Haggerty, n.d. overcame them). In 2012, they introduced House Bill 262. It raised the penalty for trafficking from a second-degree to a first-degree felony and set mandatory prison time for 10-15 years. It also required traffickers to register as sex offenders and obstruction of justice in trafficking cases is a more serious offense.

Many states prohibit minors from being charged with prostitution offenses. Ohio is not one of those states, and children as young as 11 years old have been charged with prostitution in Ohio. This is especially concerning considering the age of consent is 16, so how an 11-yer-old could consent to sexual activities without compulsion is puzzling. The Safe Harbor Law is one Of Ohio’s most progressive laws that attempt to help victims recover from trauma instead of face punishment for it. It works through abeyance, which basically takes the prostitution-related offense and pushes it “to the side” for holding.

Then, the juvenile victims go through diversion services, where they are placed in a safe environment with supervision and trauma services. They focused the services on counseling and medical treatment, but also work to help the victims be children through exercise and education. Mentorship, volunteerism, and more. A major benefit to the law is that the victim does not have to cooperate with law enforcement. Many times, law enforcement and prosecutors will want victims to testify against their trafficker (and)or traffickers. In one instance, Jim Jordan spoke about an Ohio teen victim who was forced to travel across the country to testify against her trafficker (Jordan, 2018).

Toledo, Ohio is in the middle of two major cities that a linked to human trafficking, Columbus, Ohio which is number 4, and Detroit, Michigan that’s number 6. Both cities are fighting drugs and sex trafficking. As of 2019 Michigan officials have announced new initiatives against child trafficking, but at times will show if they are to be successful.

  • The United States Southern Border is overwhelmed with illegal immigration, gang violence, the crime of all kinds, drugs, and human trafficking.

  • President Trump has requested a modest amount of funding to address these issues while Democrats continue to resist in the name of (so-called) politics.

  • We cannot keep our country safe without adequate funding for Border security, including physical barriers and increased funding for law enforcement. 


Any government funding bill must address the security and humanitarian crises on our Southern Border. The Administration has requested additional funds — relative to the FY2019 Homeland Security funding Bill that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee (Committee) — to address these priorities.


Published: Jan. 6, 2021, at 12:42 PM EST

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition is doing a series of seminars throughout the month to educate the public about human trafficking. The coalition is hosting four free Human Trafficking 101 presentations on Zoom this month. The seminars will go over what human trafficking is, what it looks like in our area, who is fighting against it here, and how you can get involved. According to the coalition’s co-chair, Sandy Sieben, I often think human trafficking off as someone approaching you in a dark alley late at night and kidnapping you, but that’s not the reality. In actuality, 90-95% of all human trafficking happens at the hands of someone you know. “Those who are recruiting for trafficking, they look like you, they walk like you, and they talk like you,” says Sieben. “They’re going to know what your interests are, they’re going to know what makes you smile. And that’s what will lead you to them and lead them to you. And then it becomes a relationship, and then it turns into trafficking.”

ADVERTISEMENT: People also tend to associate human trafficking with child sex trafficking, but that’s only one small piece of what trafficking is. People of any age, gender, or sexual orientation can be a victim, and sex is not always involved. People can be labor trafficked when they’re forced to work for little or no pay with no chance of escape. That can be common in our area.

Native American Poverty in the State of Ohio:

By Delana Forsyth-Zakrzewski 1/2019


As of 2018, Ohio has an estimated 11,694,664 million people. Ohio sits in the US, Midwest, linking the country's Northeast to the Midwest. The state has one of the most central locations in the country with the 10th largest highway networks in the country. Its also just a days drive within 50% of all of North America's populated 

Department of Justice won’t collect DATA on Native Human Trafficking Victims, 

Resist calls to collect more data on trafficking of Native Americans despite pressure from advocates for Native Women and key members of Congress. 
According to the department of federal authorities prosecuted just two trafficking cases in Indian county between 2013 and 2016. Only one of them resulted in a conviction. 
The number pales in comparison to the 1,000 – plus cases that were prosecuted in other jurisdictions during the same time. It also flies in the face of a consistent stream of reports which show that Native Americans, especially women and girls, are victimized at a higher than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. 
Yet the department isn’t able to explain the disparity because federal agents aren’t required to determine whether a trafficking victim is Native American. And it doesn’t plan on collecting that data anytime soon. 
“If it’s voluntary information, great, but we’re not going to mandate that,” 
Tracy Toulou, a descendant of the Colville tribes who serves as the director of the Office of Tribal Justice, told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.  
According to Toulou, finding out whether a victim in Native American could end up hurting Native Americans. Service providers that receive federal funds shouldn’t be forced to collect the data because he said it would have a “chilling effect” by making people more reluctant to come forward WE don’t want to do anything that’s going to keep a victim from coming to our victim services providers and getting the services they need,”  Toulou said,  who is a career employee, not a political appointee of the Trump administration, which did not send a more higher-level official to the long-planned hearing. 
The explantion stood in contrast to the stance taken by another federal agency. Jason Thompson, the deputy director of the Office of Justice Service at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said he hasn’t heard concerns about collecting data on Native Trafficking victims.  “BIA-OJS, as of 2014 does collect that information in our basic crime reporting,” said Thompson, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Like Toulow, he is a career employee of the federal government.  
The lack of data limits the way in which the federal government can help a victim, according to Nicole Matt 

Welcome to the Ya-Native Social Network @ YaNative.com: The Ya-Native Social Media Network is designed to uplift our Native Cultures and share our inherited traditions with the World. Hundreds of our First Nations and most of our First Nations Cultures will sustain irreversible damage as we enter into the seventh generation. No matter how hard we try to sustain our traditions, time is taking a toll on our oral history of legends, song, dance, and art--which encompasses our First Nations culture.  









 

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