MEXICO CITY: The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its immigration agency hosted an anti-human trafficking seminar in Mexico with dozens of representatives from the country plagued with reoccurring drug, kidnapping and gun violence.
DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Attaché Office in Mexico City partnered with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) for the three-day anti-human trafficking event. According to ICE, nearly 55 representatives from Mexico and the country’s federal police participated for the state-level training, which was the first of its kind in Mexico.
Special agents from HSI presented lessons on key human trafficking indicators, including how to help identify victims and alleged traffickers. Among those susceptible to trafficking are undocumented migrants, runaways and the youth.
Human trafficking victims often go unnoticed by the general public,” noted ICE. “They are voiceless and scared. In a blink of an eye, they do not control their possessions or money and have found themselves in an unfamiliar culture without identification documents. They are afraid for their safety and the lives of their families.”
Based on HSI statistics, special agents conducted 987 human trafficking investigations and recorded 1,770 arrests, which led to 1,028 indictments and 828 convictions.
The U.S. State Department identified Mexico as a “large source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.” The State Department further noted the “vast majority” of trafficked victims in Mexico are from Central and South America, especially El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Undocumented migrants are still at risk as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency with the DHS, disclosed more than 8,000 undocumented immigrant children were apprehended from crossing the Mexican border into the U.S. between Oct. 1, 2014, and Dec. 31. The unaccompanied undocumented immigrant children, from the CBP data, are primarily from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
“The Government of Mexico does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so,” the U.S. State Department stated for its “Trafficking in Persons Report 2014.
