[Senate Hearing 108-639] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] S. Hrg. 108-639 EXAMINING U.S. EFFORTS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY ======================================================================= HEARING before the SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND PROPERTY RIGHTS of the COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION __________ JULY 7, 2004 __________ Serial No. J-108-86 __________ Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 96-285 WASHINGTON : 2004 _________________________________________________________________ For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts JON KYL, Arizona JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware MIKE DeWINE, Ohio HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois JOHN CORNYN, Texas JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina Bruce Artim, Chief Counsel and Staff Director Bruce A. Cohen, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director ------ Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights JOHN CORNYN, Texas, Chairman JON KYL, Arizona RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois James C. Ho, Majority Chief Counsel Robert F. Schiff, Democratic Chief Counsel C O N T E N T S ---------- STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Page Cornyn, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas........ 1 prepared statement........................................... 94 Durbin, Hon. Richard J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois....................................................... 31 prepared statement........................................... 109 Feingold, Hon. Russell D., a U.S. Senator from the State of Wisconsin...................................................... 4 prepared statement........................................... 110 Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont, prepared statement............................................. 112 Schumer, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of New York........................................................... 34 WITNESSES Dougherty, Sister Mary Ellen, Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C................................................ 13 Mattar, Mohamed Y., Co-Director, The Protection Project, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.................................... 20 Mettimano, Joseph, Child Protection Policy Advisor, World Vision, Washington, D.C................................................ 16 Patten, Wendy, Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C............................................................ 24 Shelby, Michael, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Texas, Houston, Texas................................................. 10 Song, Charles, Staff Attorney, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, Los Angeles, California........................... 21 Sutton, Johnny, U.S. Attorney, Western District of Texas, San Antonio, Texas................................................. 7 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Responses of Mohamed Y. Matter to questions submitted by Senator Durbin......................................................... 39 Responses of Johnny Sutton and Michael Shelby to questions submitted by Senators Cornyn, Durbin and Feingold.............. 43 Responses of Sister Mary Ellen Dougherty to questions submitted by Senator Durbin.............................................. 91 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Dougherty, Sister Mary Ellen, Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C., prepared statement........................... 98 Mattar, Mohamed Y., Co-Director, The Protection Project, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C., prepared statement............... 114 Mettimano, Joseph, Child Protection Policy Advisor, World Vision, Washington, D.C., prepared statement........................... 126 Patten, Wendy, Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C., prepared statement....................................... 131 Shelby, Michael, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Texas, Houston, Texas, prepared statement............................. 136 Song, Charles, Staff Attorney, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, Los Angeles, California, prepared statement and attachment..................................................... 142 Sutton, Johnny, U.S. Attorney, Western District of Texas, San Antonio, Texas, prepared statement............................. 153 EXAMINING U.S. EFFORTS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY ---------- WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2004 United States Senate, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights, of the Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:04 p.m., in room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Cornyn, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. Present: Senators Cornyn, Feingold, Schumer and Durbin. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CORNYN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS Chairman Cornyn. This hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights shall come to order. I first want to thank Chairman Hatch for scheduling today's hearing, and also the distinguished Ranking Member of this Subcommittee, Senator Feingold, and his staff for working with us to make this hearing possible. This Subcommittee is expressly chartered to oversee both constitutional and civil rights issues across America. Just last month, for example, the Subcommittee examined the pervasive problem of hostility to religious expression in public squares across America, and I think the hearing was beneficial regardless of whether you perceive there to be a problem or not. Today's hearing will examine U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking and slavery across America. As we continue to fight to protect the American way of life in our war against terrorism, we have also been fighting another war to protect American ideals and principles, a war against an old evil-- human trafficking and slavery. Most Americans would probably be shocked to learn that the institutions of slavery and involuntary servitude, institutions that this Nation fought a bloody war to destroy, continue to persist today, not just around the world, but indeed hidden in communities across America. It has been nearly two centuries since the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and well over a century since the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Yet, to this day, men, women and children continue to be trafficked into the United States and coerced into lives of forced labor and sexual slavery. The stories they tell are tragic, disturbing and heart-rending, and the acts that they endure are not just unconstitutional, not just criminal, but profoundly evil. Today, we will hear tales of human suffering from across America. The experiences that we will hear recounted amount to a modern-day form of slavery. The stories are not easy to hear, but we must hear them and we must face up to them if we are to finish the work of the 13th Amendment and truly expel the institution of slavery from our midst. We will hear the witnesses' testimonies, and then we will learn what the administration has been doing in this area. Specifically, we will examine the Justice Department's efforts to protect the victims of human trafficking and slavery, to punish the evildoers, and to prevent other innocent human beings from ever having to suffer the same fate. On March 21, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the creation of a comprehensive Justice Department initiative to combat human trafficking in America. Since that announcement, the Department has undertaken an aggressive campaign to eradicate slavery in America, an effort led by the Civil Rights Division and joined by other components within Main Justice, as well as U.S. Attorneys across the country. The 13th Amendment states, and I quote, ``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.'' This is a unique provision in our Constitution. Many constitutional amendments protect individual rights against actions by Federal, State and local governments. Other amendments alter the structure of government. But the 13th Amendment is different. It protects fundamental human rights by abolishing an entire institution of society. The 13th Amendment is unique because under it, slavery and involuntary servitude cannot exist in public and private spheres alike. Yet, the institution of slavery continues to exist even today. In communities across America, human beings are trafficked, literally bought and sold into lives of forced labor or sexual slavery. The trafficking of human beings is evil, immoral and wrong. Yet, most Americans are unaware of even its existence, let alone its magnitude. According to some estimates, approximately 800,000 human beings are bought, sold, or forced across the world's borders each year. Moreover, Americans may be particularly alarmed to learn that at least 15,000 human beings are trafficked into lives of slavery in the United States each year. Indeed, according to some estimates, that number could be as high as 50,000 a year. We cannot grasp the true, horrifying nature of human trafficking and slavery with numbers alone. We must not simply count the victims; we owe it to them to hear their stories. Just recently, the Justice Department obtained convictions in the largest labor trafficking case it has ever prosecuted. Kil Su Lee, a Korean businessman, transported over 200 workers from China and Vietnam to the United States. He detained them and forced them to work in his American Samoa garment factory under slave-like conditions, enforcing his will by ordering beatings by his henchmen using sharpened pipes, florescent lights, chairs and fists. Civil Rights Division attorneys successfully prosecuted Mr. Lee and his partners under the Federal criminal slavery and peonage statutes. Mr. Lee's sentencing is pending, and two of his thugs are already serving substantial time. Consider another tragic example, this one from my home State of Texas. An international trafficking operation known by local prosecutors as the Molina organization promised young women a better life and employment in the United States as either housekeepers or waitresses in restaurants in the Fort Worth area. Once they arrived in the area, however, they were coerced into lives of prostitution and forced labor. More than 200 young women were trafficked from Honduras into the United States by this operation. The U.S. Attorney's office in the Northern District of Texas, working in conjunction with the Civil Rights Division, shut down the operation by bringing charges against nine defendants. Six defendants eventually pled guilty, while three others are fugitives from justice. I recently received a letter from the Justice Department detailing numerous examples of forced labor and sex slavery cases across the country, from California to Maryland, Hawaii to New Jersey, Georgia to New Hampshire. Without objection, that letter will be made part of the record. We are honored to have before the Subcommittee today two distinguished U.S. Attorneys from Texas who will bring tragic tales to tell from their respective districts. We also have a distinguished panel that will address many other aspects of this problem and what we need to do or need to be doing better in America to combat it. Thankfully, the Congress and the administration have been working closely together in recent years to combat this scourge. Congress has enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to strengthen Federal criminal slavery statutes, to provide victims with basic human needs so that they can begin down the road to recovery and encourage their cooperation with law enforcement so that others will not suffer a similar fate. Just last fall, we enacted legislation to reauthorize and strengthen that Act. The administration has responded to the call by dramatically increasing efforts and devoting substantially more resources toward combating human trafficking. Under the Civil Rights Division, the Justice Department has prosecuted and convicted three times the number of traffickers over the past three fiscal years as in the preceding 3 years. The Department has created the Office of Special Counsel for Trafficking Issues to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts, published educational and awareness-raising materials and circulated them to officials across America, and provided assistance to victims by installing a toll-free hotline. In addition, the Department has already established State and local task forces in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Phoenix and Tampa to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts of Federal, State and local governments and non-governmental organizations in those areas. Clearly, the Department realizes that the support of local officials in government and in the private sector alike is absolutely essential to any successful effort to uncover the evil of human trafficking and slavery that are so carefully hidden in pockets across America. I look forward to working with the Department to begin establishing such task forces in the State of Texas later this year. Next week, the Justice Department is sponsoring a historic national conference on human trafficking in Tampa, Florida, bringing together Federal, State and local officials, social service agencies and NGOs to provide training for coordination of anti-human trafficking efforts across the country, as provided in the fiscal year 2004 appropriations bill. I also applaud Congress--by the way, a Congress that I was not yet a part of--for recognizing this problem. Today's hearing is certainly not the first Congressional hearing to bring attention to the deeply disturbing problems of human trafficking, and it should not be the last. My colleagues and I must continue to vigilantly monitor this situation and to consider whether further legislation is necessary to bolster the Department's efforts. For example, if further improvements to our Federal criminal slavery and peonage statutes would assist prosecutors and facilitate legitimate prosecutions, so be it. If Federal legislation is needed to ensure that immigration T visas and other important and compassionate protections are provided to true victims of human trafficking and slavery, let's do it. If more State laws are necessary to ensure that Federal efforts are accompanied by robust efforts at the local and State level, let's encourage it. My home State of Texas, as well as the States of Washington and Florida, have led the way by enacting State criminal laws against human trafficking. Other States might consider joining the cause. Human traffickers peddle in human misery. They smuggle innocent human beings into this country and condemn them to lives of forced labor or sex slavery. For a countless number of victims, the American dream quickly became an American nightmare. Such tales of human suffering should not exist anywhere in the world, and especially not in the United States of America. The American commitment to eradicating human trafficking and, slavery from our midst is a solemn vow, reflecting the highest traditions of our Founding Fathers and the drafters of the 13th Amendment. It is a commitment to the principles of freedom and liberty that Americans have fought and died for, a commitment that Americans across the Nation commemorated just a few short days ago. And it is a profoundly moral commitment not just to punish violators of our criminal laws, but to repel an assault on our Nation's core beliefs about the fundamental worth and dignity of every human being. With that, I will be glad to recognize the distinguished Ranking Member of this Subcommittee, Senator Feingold. STATEMENT OF HON. RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN Senator Feingold. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank you for holding this hearing on human trafficking and the U.S. Government's efforts to combat this deplorable practice. I look forward to hearing from our distinguished witnesses about the work they are doing to prosecute traffickers, provide services to victims, and raise awareness of this issue. Human trafficking is one of the more pernicious violations of global human rights. It is also one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. According to its 2004 Trafficking in Persons report, the State Department estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 victims of human trafficking are transported across international borders each year. Estimates of the number of people trafficked in the United States each year range from 14,500 to 17,500. Victims of trafficking include men, women and children who are trafficked for forced farm labor, domestic servitude, sweat shop labor, forced prostitution, construction work, restaurant work, or adoption. The U.S. Department of Justice, as well as State and local law enforcement, are confronting this international human rights problem by prosecuting traffickers and providing services to victims. I look forward to exploring these efforts with the witnesses today. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to see a bipartisan effort to confront human trafficking and a commitment to this issue by both the current Bush administration and the Clinton administration. I also think that we cannot review our Government's efforts in this area without recognizing the contributions of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. I know this was an important issue to my dear friend and colleague and his wife, Sheila. Senator Wellstone was one of the first legislators to recognize this escalating abuse of human rights, just as the U.S. Government and international organizations were beginning to identify trafficking in human beings as a serious international problem. Senator Wellstone brought his unique passion, zeal and integrity to this issue. His efforts culminated in a resolution introduced in 1998 calling human trafficking a global human rights problem, and directing the State Department to review it and report to the Congress on its findings. Senator Wellstone continued his efforts in 1999 by introducing the first comprehensive anti-trafficking bill in Congress. Working with his colleague, Republican Senator Brownback, his efforts resulted in enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in 2000. That law, I believe, is one of Senator Wellstone's greatest achievements and one of the most important pieces of his legacy to our Nation and to unknown numbers of victims of trafficking for years to come. I was proud to support both pieces of legislation. I know Senator Wellstone would welcome our efforts today to explore a human rights problem he was so passionate about years ago. President Clinton also recognized the horror of this global human rights abuse and the need for the United States to make every effort to combat human trafficking. In March 1998, President Clinton issued a directive establishing a U.S. Government-wide anti-trafficking strategy to prevent human trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and protect and support victims. The Clinton administration suggested the need for programs to increase economic opportunities for potential victims, legislation to provide services to victims, and increased penalties for traffickers. Additionally, the Clinton administration created the Workers Exploitation Task Force, chaired by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the Labor Department's Solicitor's office, which was charged with investigating and prosecuting cases of exploitation and trafficking. The State Department spearheaded the creation of a database on U.S. and international legislation on trafficking. And, of course, the Clinton administration worked with Congress on legislation to combat trafficking, culminating in the passage of the victims of trafficking law in 2000. I am pleased that President Bush has continued this commitment to combatting human trafficking. I hope we can continue to work in a bipartisan fashion. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how effective our efforts have been in fighting this global human rights menace and what suggestions they might have for making improvements. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Senator Feingold, and thank you for mentioning the contribution of Senator Wellstone to this important effort. This is something that we can all agree on, regardless of political affiliation or other stripe. This is something we need to work on together, and indeed we have and we will continue to do so. The members of the panel have already taken their seats, and we are pleased to have a distinguished panel of government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations with us today. They will discuss their views and experiences on U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking and slavery. I will introduce the panel and I will give them each 5 minutes to make an opening statement. Of course, any longer written remarks that you may have will be made a part of the record. If you will try your best to confine it roughly to 5 minutes, we will have rounds of ten minutes of questioning each per member of the Committee, and depending on how many of our colleagues show up, we may have more than one or two rounds, depending on how we go from there. First, we are honored to have before the Subcommittee two distinguished U.S. Attorneys from my State, both distinguished graduates of the University of Texas Law School and both of whom have overseen prosecutions of disturbing cases of human trafficking within their districts. Johnny Sutton is the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, which encompasses San Antonio, El Paso and Austin, a huge chunk of Texas. He previously served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department as Policy Coordinator for the Bush-Cheney transition team assigned to the Department of Justice, and as the Criminal Justice Policy Director for then-Governor George W. Bush. He is a longtime prosecutor, having served in the Harris County District Attorney's office for 8 years. Michael Shelby is the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, another large district that covers Houston, Brownsville, Laredo, Corpus Christi and Huntsville. He, too, is a career prosecutor, having worked for 5 years in the Harris County district attorney's office before becoming a U.S. Attorney in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as Houston. He is also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve who served during Operation Desert Storm and most recently in Bosnia. We are honored today to hear testimony from representatives of five non-governmental organizations, individuals with experience and expertise in this area. Sister Mary Ellen Dougherty is the program manager for outreach, education and technical assistance in the trafficking in persons program operated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Office of Migration and Refugee Services. She is a frequent speaker and writer on this subject, most recently before the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome just last month. Joseph Mettimano is the child protection policy advisor at World Vision. He also serves as the director of World Vision's Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project. World Vision is one of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world with operations on six continents, all devoted to the protection of children. Before joining World Vision, Mr. Mettimano served as deputy director of public policy and advocacy for the United States' arm of the United Nation's Children's Fund, or UNICEF USA. Dr. Mohamed Mattar is an adjunct professor of law and co- director of The Protection Project. The Protection Project is a legal human rights research institute based at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Dr. Mattar has taught courses on human rights and human trafficking law, and has published several articles in the area. He holds numerous law degrees from universities in the United States as well as Egypt. Charles Song is a staff attorney with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking based in Los Angeles. CAST, as it is called, provides legal services to combat human trafficking. Mr. Song previously served as a human rights fellow and staff attorney at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Our final panel member is Wendy Patten, the U.S. advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. She has worked on human trafficking issues at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she served as special counsel for trafficking in persons in the Civil Rights Division, chief of staff in the Violence Against Women Office, and senior counsel in the Office of Policy Development. She has also served as director of multilateral and humanitarian affairs at the National Security Council in the White House. Thank you all for being here and for your commitment to combatting human trafficking and slavery. I would like to now ask each of you to start with your opening statements. Mr. Sutton, I will recognize you first for that purpose. Let me remind each of the panelists you have a microphone with a button it and when the button is lit, that means we can hear you. So, please punch the button. STATEMENT OF HON. JOHNNY SUTTON, U.S. ATTORNEY, WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Mr. Sutton. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the invitation to discuss this important topic, the horrible crime of human trafficking. It is important to distinguish at the beginning the difference between the crime of human trafficking and the more common crime of human smuggling. Trafficking is a particularly brutal offense because it involves the treatment of human beings as commodities who are forced to work in deplorable conditions in factories, fields, and sometimes as commercial sex workers. Trafficking in persons is not a crime, it is a violation of the most basic human rights. It has been reported that some 15,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year. The trafficking profits feed organized crime, and trafficking is linked to a wide variety of criminal activities, including document fraud, money laundering, prostitution and drug trafficking. The Department of Justice has made the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking a top priority, and our effort has been greatly enhanced by the efforts of Congress. I want to thank you all especially for all you have done to improve our ability to prosecute these cases. Congress' passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the TVPA, essentially did three things. First, it provided a range of new protections and assistance for victims of trafficking. Second, it expanded the crimes and enhanced punishments that are available to Federal investigators and prosecutors to go after these traffickers. And, third, it expanded U.S. activities internationally to prevent victims from being trafficked in the first place. Mr. Chairman, as you know, last year President Bush signed into law the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003. This new law not only reauthorized the 2000 Act; it improved it by mandating new information campaign to combat sex tourism and added a new civil action provision that now allows trafficking victims to sue traffickers in Federal court. The TVPRA also requires that the Attorney General report to Congress every year on the U.S. Government's efforts to combat trafficking. The first report was submitted in May of this year and included details of information on what the U.S. Government has done in the past year to address this problem. In a moment, my colleague, Mike Shelby, will provide a summary of the Department's recent activities in this area. As United States Attorney in a district that shares over 600 miles of border with Mexico, I have seen firsthand how traffickers prey on the most vulnerable and desperate victims. Coyotes or the smuggling rings that they work for have long exploited the remote and informal crossings on the Rio Grande River. For years, a large number aliens have entered into the U.S. through these remote regions and then traveled to other parts of the country. In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that significant numbers of these aliens face the risk of physical harm trying to enter the U.S. These aliens face not only harsh weather and terrain, but unsafe vehicles and reckless drivers. They are also increasingly held hostage to the payment of high smuggling fees, in some cases being forced into virtual slavery as farm workers and prostitutes. To address this problem, my office has joined with 30 other entities in central Texas, as well as the Homeland Security Department, to create the Coalition Against Human Trafficking. This is an informal group that meets monthly and it is made up of law enforcement agencies, social service providers and other non-governmental organizations all dedicated to working together to provide assistance to victims of these crimes. The coalition has recently put on a training conference to train people on the intricacies of human trafficking. Human trafficking cases are difficult to investigate and prosecute, with victims typically unwilling or unable to contact the authorities. My district, like every other district in the country, has nevertheless made these cases a priority, and I am pleased to report that by using the cooperative efforts discussed above, we have had at least some successes. I would like to briefly talk about two cases from my district to highlight what has gone on in some of the cases that we see in west Texas. The first one is a case that my office prosecuted in 2002 where an assistant professor, a research assistant at the University of Texas at El Paso and his wife would recruit women from their home country of Uzbekistan, from their home city, to come to the United States under the false pretenses that they would receive lucrative jobs as models, that they would live extravagant lifestyles, that they would be able to bring their families at some later date. The defendants in this case obtained visas by falsifying what these ladies would be doing, and they were recruited to the United States saying they were brought to do scientific research at UTEP. But when they arrived in the United States, they immediately had their documents confiscated. Many of these women did not speak English, were not prepared to live in the United States or El Paso, and they were turned into dancers in a strip club. They were forced to do that demeaning work, and then all the profits derived from having to do that went to the two defendants in this case. My office was able to prosecute and prove up the trafficking in this case. We were able to discover that these women were held in a slavery-like situation and prosecute the defendants in this case and send them to the Federal penitentiary. We were also able to recover--they were fined $700,000, which was an enormous profit they were making from the money they were taking from these women. Both defendants were convicted and sent to Federal prison and ordered to pay over $500,000 in restitution to the victims in this case. I would like to also briefly cover one other case that occurred in Austin, Texas, a town you are familiar with. My office, in 2003, convicted a 32-year-old woman of human trafficking-related offenses. This woman would go into the remote villages in Mexico. She would speak to poor Mexican families who had young teenage girls in the house and she would convince them that they would take their daughter, take care of their daughter, take them to the United States to get them a better life. In fact, she went so far as to sign a written contract saying that I will care for your daughters. They will have a job in my restaurant in the United States. They will pay a fee of $1,500. When these young girls, two of them age 16 and one of them age 17, arrived in the United States, their documents were removed. They were immediately forced to have sex for money in Austin, Texas. They were held at a location not far from a place you may know, the Arboretum, which has a Pottery Barn and a Gap. One mile from there, these young Mexican girls were held in virtual slavery, being forced to have sex with up to 15 men a day for money. Eventually, two of them ran away. They were threatened with death if they did run away, and when they did, kidnappers went out and kidnapped them and brought them back. The only reason we found out about it is we got an anonymous 911 call to the Austin Police Department and we were able to track back and break this case and prosecute that woman who was holding those women in bondage and send her to Federal prison. These cases are but two examples of a criminal growth industry, the true scope of which is still unknown. However, through this unprecedented cooperation between Federal, State and local governments, we are making significant strides in fighting this difficult but important battle. We are committed to increasing our efforts in this area and we will do the best we can to knock down this terrible problem. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your leadership on this issue. I thank you for having this important hearing today and I would be happy at the end of our discussion to answer questions that you or the other Subcommittee members may have. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Sutton appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. Sutton. I appreciate your statement. Mr. Shelby, if you would give us your statement, please. STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL SHELBY, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, HOUSTON, TEXAS Mr. Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to join my colleague, Johnny Sutton, in thanking you for inviting us both here to discuss this very significant problem, and to personally thank you again for your continued commitment to the people of the southern portion of Texas. The last two times you and I have spoken a bit in Laredo and Brownsville, where you were engaged in a discovery of the intricacies of these issues in both human trafficking and in smuggling, in general, and I appreciate your concern for all of the people in Texas and the United States in that regard. As you indicated, in March of 2001 the Attorney General announced the creation of an anti-trafficking initiative that was designed to fully engage all of the personnel and the resources of the Department of Justice and to focus those people on this very significant problem area. I am pleased to report that in the 3 years since that initiative has been underway, the Department of Justice has taken some substantial and in some cases some unprecedented steps to combat this very difficult problem. For instance, over 200 new cases have been opened during that 3-year period, and that number is particularly significant because it represents a two-fold increase over the previous 3-year period. 110 different defendants have been convicted or charged with trafficking-related offenses, which represents a three- fold increase over the previous 3-year period. Finally, we have had 77 convictions, including 59 sex traffic-related convictions, that have been obtained by the Department during that remarkable 3 years. While I think it is easy to point to those results as the most tangible results of our commitment, I want to assure you that they are by no means the only measure of that commitment. Because these cases necessarily involve the most susceptible and the most vulnerable of victims, victims who are not likely to seek out law enforcement to answer their specific needs, they are extraordinarily difficult to identify and distinguish from the traditional smuggling-type operations. To overcome those obstacles, the Department of Justice has significantly increased the training opportunities that are made available to local, State and Federal law enforcement officials and prosecutors wherever they may find them. In fact, you just alluded to an unprecedented conference that will be held next week in Tampa, Florida, where the Department is bringing in all of the different participants in this extraordinary endeavor, bringing in Federal and State prosecutors, bringing in local and State police agencies, bringing in the extraordinary non-governmental organizations that help us in this regard, all to focus on this significant problem and come up with a strategy that can help us defeat those who would enslave other people. That combined approach, as you well stated in your opening remarks, is absolutely essential to our success in this effort because the Department has overseen the creation of these anti- trafficking task forces that are presently located in just four cities, in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa and Phoenix. With your help, they will be extended to dozens more cities in the near future, and I am hopeful that your statement was actually a promise that Johnny and I will see one of those in Texas, as well, that we can benefit from and our colleagues can. Lastly, because certainly the most effective way to combat this problem is to stop the movement of human beings before it ever starts, the Department of Justice has engaged in a round- the-world effort to send out representatives to the countries that act as sources of these people and try to educate and train their law enforcement people and their prosecutors in ways that they can identify and disrupt the organizations that bring about this human trafficking. Those efforts are significant, they are substantial, and in many ways they are unprecedented. But they are also absolutely essential, given the incomprehensible tragedy that the victims of these cases suffer. While in my prepared remarks I have laid out for you many--in fact, too many examples of the tragedies associated with the victims of these cases, I want to share with you this afternoon just one of those examples. From July 2002 to April 2003, three brothers in south Texas--Juan, Armando and Hector Soto--controlled and operated a large-scale smuggling operation that was based right there in McAllen, Texas. During the nine-month period that we were able to identify, these individuals recruited hundreds of people in northern Mexico who had come to northern Mexico from all over Central and South America all for the purpose of wanting to illegally enter the United States. For a fee of $1,500, the Soto brothers and their organization would cross those people across the Rio Grande into southern Texas and then would house them in a trailer compound that they had acquired solely and completely for the purpose of housing these individuals. Once they were there at this trailer compound located near Edinburgh, the Sotos would demand additional money from each of these smuggled individuals. If you could pay, if you complied with their demands for additional money, you were sent on to Houston and then wherever else you wanted to go in the United States. If you could not pay, you were literally held captive at that trailer park until they had no further use for your labors. People there were forced to work for the various members, to cook for them, to clean for them, to do their chores, to do their housework, to do all the menial labor associated with keeping this organization on track. Most significantly, the women that were unable to pay this additional extortion fee were forced into forced-labor acts with Mr. Soto, his two brothers and their entire crew. So throughout their captivity, they were beaten, they were sexually assaulted, they were threatened at gunpoint on a daily basis with death. In sum, they were enslaved with absolutely no chance that they would ever gain their freedom in the land of freedom that they had come to. So after 36 days of this brutal treatment, one very brave, very courageous woman, a Honduran national, attempted to contact a neighbor of this trailer park for help. She saw one opportunity, she took it, and she was discovered in her attempt. She was taken to a remote area in south Texas by six men. She was forced to strip naked. She was kicked, she was beaten to near death, she was repeatedly raped, threatened with death on a number of occasions, and then abandoned in a lonely location literally in the middle of nowhere. But through her remarkable force of will and her remarkable perseverance, she made it to a house, contacted the local sheriff's department and set in motion through her outcry on February 7 an international, multi-agency, Federal and State task force that came together for the purpose of identifying what this horrible tragedy was all about. So the Hidalgo County sheriff's office, the McAllen P.D., the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service all came together to find out what the problem was and how they could disrupt this organization. Their investigation disclosed the full extent of the Soto organization's depravity, and that is truly the only word that fits this. They discovered four additional women, each of whom had undergone a similar fate. They had been forced into labor, they had been repeatedly threatened and beaten, and they had been repeatedly raped by their captors for their own sexual pleasure. It is difficult for anyone, even a career prosecutor like me or like Johnny, to imagine a more profound or more intentional violation of the dignity of one human being by another human being. Our office worked extensively with each of the victims of that case through our victim witness coordinators to ensure that the full nature of their story was brought to the attention of the Federal judge when these individuals were indicted. As a result of their courage and their ability to come forward and tell this horribly embarrassing tale that happened to them, six of the seven Soto conspirators were sentenced to significant terms of Federal incarceration, and the seventh member is a fugitive from justice that we seek today. Significantly, Juan Soto, who was the leader of the organization, was sentenced to 14 years in Federal prison without parole, which at that time represented one of the most significant sentences for this type of activity. Equally significantly, the court used the provisions that you have provided to us to order the Sotos to make restitution to all of their various victims. Mr. Chairman, the trafficking and the enslavement of any human being is a direct affront to the dignity of every human being. Without doubt, the Soto case illustrates the very worst aspects of this very terrible crime. The physical abuse, the forced labor, the sexual enslavement aspects--all of those come to light in this one terrible case. But Soto also illustrates the Department of Justice's unshakable commitment to use all of the tools that you and your colleagues have given to us to combat this very serious offense. We are going to identify, we are going to apprehend and we are going to hold accountable all those individuals who would subjugate another human being. Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this opportunity to testify to you and for your commitment to this very serious issue. [The prepared statement of Mr. Shelby appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. Shelby, for your opening statement and for your work, as well as that of Mr. Sutton, in investigating and prosecuting these cases. Now, as I stated earlier, we have a number of representatives of non-governmental organizations to talk about their good work in this area. At this time, Sister, we would be glad to hear from you. STATEMENT OF SISTER MARY ELLEN DOUGHERTY, UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS, WASHINGTON, D.C. Sister Dougherty. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank you for the opportunity to be here. It is certainly a privilege, as it is also a privilege as far as I am concerned to be able to work on this global issue. I share the enthusiasm of Mr. Shelby and Mr. Sutton for what the U.S. Government has tried to do in its efforts to combat human trafficking. I have been in this work for not quite 2 years, since October of 2000, and I have seen major, major strides, and I am grateful for that. However, we have one significant failure, and it is a steady failure, and that is a failure to identify victims. We know, by count, that we have approximately 500 victims identified since the law was implemented in 2000. That is not the fault of any Federal agency, that is not the fault of any one person, but it is a failure to educate our communities and to educate ourselves to the discovery of victims. That is much of my concern in the work that I do. At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I work toward education and outreach for human trafficking. We also have somebody who works on providing services among our networks for adult victims and for child victims. Last summer, I was at a wedding in southern Maryland and there was a man there whom I have known for about 20 years, but did not know him well. He asked what I was doing, if I was still teaching, which I had done for years. And I said no; I was administering a grant to combat human trafficking. And he said to me, my biological mother used to do that. And I said, do what? And he said, she trafficked people. He went on to tell me about his mother, who was a Mohawk Indian, deceased at the time he was talking to me for a few years. From the time she was 70 until her death in 1976, she picked up Asian women, primarily Chinese women, in Canada. She got them across the border through an Indian reservation in the trunk of her car and she would deliver at a designated place in Albany at $800 a head. A 75-year-old Mohawk woman. Whether that would deconstruct into trafficking or smuggling, we know, depends on what happened to them when they were finally taken to New York. It was Michael's belief that it was trafficking, that they were then going to be forced into labor until at least they could pay the debt. That is right next door to us. That is somebody's mother, and yet we fail to see it. So I applaud also the efforts of the Office of Refugee Resettlement for rescuing and restoration to help us identify victims. We have a major concern at USCCB around the area of victims, and that is the concern of the child victim. If we have approximately--and I say approximately 500 victims because we just uncovered, as you know, Justice did, and Homeland Security, a large case in Long Island which is another 69 victims or so. But if we have approximately 500 victims, we have only--and this is a fact--we have only 34 child victims identified since this law was implemented in 2000. Now, 34 child victims identified since this law was implemented--if we look at our records of the exploitation of children both for labor and for sexual purposes across the world, we know that a number of 34 is absolutely unacceptable. And the failure, again, is a failure to identify them. So toward that end, we are working for the identification of the child victim. We had a major national conference-- attendees were there by invitation only--in Houston at the end of April. It was not just for Texas. It was for people from across the country, but we capitalized on expertise from Texas, so that we had local law enforcement there. We had Border Control people, we had Catholic Charities, we had child protective services, and we recognized the problem, if we can solve it. The problem is articulation across the board so that the trafficked child is recognized. So problem number one is recognizing the trafficked child. The second problem we see with the trafficked child is a problem that I think the Department of Justice can help us address, and that is immediately, when a child is identified as a trafficking victim or a probable trafficking victim, bringing in a professional child care welfare person, not waiting until the child is officially declared eligible, but immediately bringing in somebody who will look at the best interests of the child. I would like to move on from there, in the interest of time, to another concern that we have about trafficking, and this is a concern that represents the difference between perception and reality, or I might say intent and effect. I agree that we have a good law and I agree that we are working hard to implement it, and I see a lot of good work and a lot of collaborative work between NGOs and the Government. I have felt very well-supported by the Department of Justice and by other Federal agencies in this work. There is a popular perception that human trafficking is about sexual exploitation. Any time I get a call from the media--and I can tell you I have had three calls from major media in the past six weeks wanting information about trafficking--they only want to talk about sexual exploitation. What they really want me to produce are victims whom they can interview. I think we need to combat this popular perception. We know that there are prosecutions for labor. We have more victims of labor trafficking than we have sexual exploitation, although we probably have more incidents of sexual exploitation. We need to combat this for a lot of reasons and keep the labor piece in front so that any time we talk about it, we need to talk about it with both prongs. I was very pleased last September that President Bush mentioned human trafficking in his speech to the UN. However, he too mentioned it in the context of sexual exploitation and there was no mention of labor there. That is a concern. Finally, in closing, I would like to cite one particular avenue of improvement I have seen as we have been working on this in 2 years, and it concerns the Department of Justice and their collaboration with NGOs. When I came on board with this work, there was a very concrete tension between NGOs and the Department of Justice around prosecution versus victim, and it is the right and the responsibility of DOJ to prosecute and it is the right and responsibility of NGOs to take care of the victims. Sometimes, I thought the twains would never meet. I have seen major leaps in the dialogue around that, and I have seen the Department of Justice move in the direction of being as victim-centered as their role would allow them to be. Again, I allude to the conference that is coming up next week that is particularly to enable the victims. Finally, in closing, I would like to share with you one short incident that happened to me a few months ago. I was in the Perry Family Health Center here in D.C., in a very, very poor neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is an offshoot of Providence Hospital. I have great respect for the work they do there with poor neighborhood people of all ethnic communities. I was a little early for my meeting. I was going to do a training with the medical staff there. I deliberately went early so that I could spend a little bit of time in the waiting room and get a feel for the place, and I did just that. It was a very crowded waiting room and a man from the middle of the room looked up and said to me, you have a mission. And I stopped; I wasn't expecting that in the middle of the Perry Family Health Center. Then he said, it is a spiritual mission; I can tell. And then I went over and talked to him for a while and I talked to him about himself and about his neighborhood, and eventually about trafficking. What that says to me any time I come to any trafficking event is I think we all have a mission, and I think any mission that is the mission of the care of people is a spiritual mission. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in it. [The prepared statement of Sister Dougherty appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Sister Dougherty. I appreciate that very much. Ms. Dunham [audience participant.] I am a victim, okay, and I want to present this. Chairman Cornyn. It is out of order at this time. Ms. Dunham. I really don't want to stop you, but-- Chairman Cornyn. We need to proceed to hear from the rest of the panel. Ms. Dunham. I have been a victim of this Government. The Government has used me. This isn't a planned thing because I truly--I want to put this under oath that the letter I have right here is true. And I don't want to be on the camera because that is not my point. And I do think-- Chairman Cornyn. This hearing will stand in recess until the police can restore order. [The Subcommittee stood in recess from 2:55 p.m. to 3:02 p.m.] Chairman Cornyn. The hearing will come back to order. I apologize for the disruption. I trust that the woman will get the help that she needs if, in fact, she needs help. We wish her well, but obviously no one should be disrupting hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee or anywhere else. But, we will wish her well. Mr. Mettimano, we were coming to you. So, if you would care to go ahead with your opening statement, I would appreciate it. STATEMENT OF JOSEPH METTIMANO, CHILD PROTECTION POLICY ADVISOR, WORLD VISION, WASHINGTON, D.C. Mr. Mettimano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would like to thank you and the Subcommittee for inviting me to participate in this important hearing. It is a great encouragement to see this issue be made a priority of this Subcommittee. My name is Joseph Mettimano and I serve as the child protection policy advisor with World Vision. World Vision is a 54-year-old Christian humanitarian organization with programs in 100 countries served by a staff of 20,000 people worldwide. World Vision is a child-focused organization and, as such, it is a witness to the impact of child trafficking and child sexual exploitation both here in the United States and in many countries abroad. My remarks will focus on the impact of trafficking and sex slavery on these, the most vulnerable victims, children. The practice of human trafficking is as old as slavery itself. Each year, nearly 1 million people, predominantly women and children, are trafficked from one country to another for the purpose of servitude in the commercial sex trade, forced labor, or domestic service. It is a problem impacting nearly every country on the planet, including the United States. Traffickers, pimps and brothel owners target vulnerable children, particularly those living in poverty. Each year, millions of children fall victim to some form of sexual exploitation or abuse. Many of these children are abducted, forced or coerced into sexual slavery by strangers, while others are sold in prostitution to pay off family debts or are forcefully recruited on the streets, where many runaways are trying to escape abuse in the home. Frequently, children are trafficked out of one country and into another, where they are beaten and forced to work in brothels. Driven by supply and demand, these abhorrent practices comprise a multi-billion-dollar international business, and the impact on children is catastrophic--long- lasting physical and psychological trauma; disease, including HIV/AIDS; violence; abuse; drug addiction; unwanted pregnancy; malnutrition; social ostracism; poverty; and in many cases death. Outside of the United States, many factors have contributed to the increase in commercial sexual exploitation of children, including poverty, inadequate or non-enforced laws, government corruption, lack of political will, and the low status of girls in many countries. Recent growth in the number of prostituted children can also be traced to the spread of HIV/AIDS. You see, Mr. Chairman, the spread of HIV/AIDS has encouraged predominantly local men in developing countries to seek young children for sex, with the erroneous belief that children are less likely to carry or transmit the disease. As you may know, the opposite is true. Statistics suggest that the highest concentrations of prostituted children are found in Asia and Latin America. For example, it is estimated that one-third of the prostitutes in Cambodia are children under age 18. In Eastern Europe, Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic have experienced an increase in child prostitution as well. World Vision has learned through its work in many of these countries that the average age of a child exploited in the commercial sex trade is 14 years old, but some of these children are as young as 5 years old. Many of these children have acquired sexually-transmitted diseases. The practice of child sex tourism wherein men from wealthy countries travel to have sex with children predominantly in poor countries is especially on the rise in countries in Asia and Latin America. This has resulted in a greater supply of child victims to meet the increased demand. A survey conducted in December 2001 by World Vision and the Cambodian government indicates that Westerners, including Americans, account for about 38 percent of all child sex offenders in Cambodia. In Latin American countries such as Costa Rica, estimates are as high as 80 percent. An organization called ECPAT, which provides most of the ground- breaking research on this issue, estimates that 25 percent of child sex tourists worldwide are from the United States. Mr. Chairman, these statistics, while sobering, do not come close to fully revealing the depth of this scourge, nor in telling the story of the victims. I am reminded of a 13-year- old girl that I met in Phnom Penh about a year ago. She was sold to a brothel owner because her father desperately needed medical care that her impoverished family could not afford. Her parents were faced with the nightmare decision to sell their child for the money to pay for the medical treatment or the father was going to die. Closer to home, in 2001 I met a 19-year-old woman from the Chicago area who had been prostituted since she was 15 years old. Earlier, she was sexually abused at home by her stepfather, which caused her to run away. She later met a man at a bus station who offered her food and shelter, but she was later raped, beaten and forced into prostitution. These stories, while shocking, are not unusual. A 1996 survey of World Vision national offices revealed that 70 percent of our offices overseas were dealing with some form of exploitation of local children. Through World Vision's vast network, we have been involved in programming aimed at preventing children from being drawn into the sex trade and helping those already victimized. Our work has focused on prevention programs such as skill training designed to prevent children from being sold into the sex trade; residential treatment facilities to provide exploited children with ongoing medical care, counseling and skill training; training of local law enforcement officials; and most recently a program that is deterring Americans from participating in child sex tourism and assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their work by helping to identify child sex tourists from the United States and providing key information that can be used in their prosecution. Fortunately, sir, organizations like World Vision are no longer fighting this problem alone. In recent years, the U.S. Congress has made several important advancements in international trafficking and slavery. The Mann Act of 1910, which banned the transportation of prostitutes beyond State lines, provides the underpinnings of child sexual exploitation law in the U.S. The Act was strengthened in 1994 with the passage of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act, which was part of the 1994 crime bill, and most recently by the passage of the PROTECT Act of 2003, which imposes a fine and prison sentence of up to 30 years for any U.S. citizen who is convicted of participating in or attempting to participate in child sex tourism overseas. One of the most comprehensive pieces of trafficking legislation passed by Congress is the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. This important law contains several strong provisions to both combat trafficking and assist victims. All of these measures have not only made advancements in combatting international trafficking and slavery, but have set a leadership example for the rest of the world in addressing these issues. Mr. Chairman, in recent years much attention has rightly been drawn to the plight of trafficking and sexual exploitation victims outside of the United States. However, this problem is not limited to poor countries, nor is it limited to perpetrations by foreign criminals. The problem is very real in the United States, and notably, sir, the exploitation that happens outside of the U.S. is made worse through the participation of U.S. citizens in sex tourism. Research conducted by experts such as Dr. Melissa Farley of Prostitution Research and Education and Dr. Richard Estes of the University of Pennsylvania have provided the American public with just a snapshot of the commercial sex trade in the U.S. Dr. Estes' research revealed that between 244,000 and 325,000 American children are at risk of being victimized by the commercial sexual exploitation trade every year. Further, Dr. Farley's interviews with 130 people working as prostitutes in just the San Francisco area revealed a number of things, including 82 percent of them had been physically assaulted, 68 percent had been raped, 84 percent reported past or current homelessness. 88 percent truly desire to leave prostitution, and 50 percent of these were sexually abused as children. All too often, these women and children are exploited as a result of difficult circumstances, previous abuse, homelessness and other vulnerabilities. Pimps and brothel owners prey on people such as these in order to fulfill the demand of their customers, known as ``johns.'' The use of the Internet has only exacerbated the problem by providing a forum for pornography, prostitution on demand and chat boards. Markedly, the U.S. Department of State estimates that between 14,500 and 17,500 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for service in the sex trade as well. The U.S. Department of State, the Department of Justice and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE, have made much progress in recent years to combat sex crimes against children. For example, in the past year more than 3,000 sex offenders and predators have been arrested in the U.S. due to the great work of Operation Predator, an ICE initiative that has just completed its first year in operation. The work of these agencies, along with local police, non-governmental organizations and many other organizations, should be praised for their significant work. Needless to say, the opportunity for additional measures to combat trafficking and slavery are abundant. In the United States, a greater emphasis on preventing women and children from being vulnerable to the sex trade, along with increased measures to identify and prosecute the abusers themselves, including pimps, brothel owners and johns, is greatly needed. State and local police need to be better equipped to address these issues. Innovative programs such as ``john schools'' and amnesty support programs for victims who testify against their pimps are needed as well. Cracking down on international child sex tourism through better information exchange among law enforcement agencies is imperative. And, in general, we need to have an increased emphasis on the demand side of this problem. Finally, sir, your leadership on this issue is greatly needed. As you know, a number of non-governmental organizations, including citizens groups, faith-based groups, feminist groups and human rights organizations have worked with this Congress in the past on historic measures such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the Sudan Peace Act, the International Religious Freedom Act and the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Organizations and individuals from across the political spectrum have found common ground on these very issues, and for good reason. These are issues that strike at the core of human decency. We stand prepared to work with you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership on this issue and I would be glad to answer any questions. [The prepared statement of Mr. Mettimano appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Thank you very much, Mr. Mettimano, for your opening statement. Professor Mattar. Did I pronounce that correctly? Mr. Mattar. That is correct. Chairman Cornyn. Good. Thank you very much. You may proceed, sir. STATEMENT OF MOHAMED Y. MATTAR, CO-DIRECTOR, THE PROTECTION PROJECT, PAUL H. NITZE SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D.C. Mr. Mattar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am really privileged to speak to you today on the United States current legal responses to combat the problem of trafficking in persons on the Federal, State and international levels. But, first, according to the official Government statistics, there seems to be a decline in international trafficking, as well as trafficking into the United States. One may question, however, whether this decline in the number of trafficking cases is because of recent efforts to combat the problem or simply because victim identification has become more difficult, as Sister Mary mentioned. Recently, the United States has adopted a number of Federal laws that address these problems. The significance of these legislative measures is that they expanded the rights of victims of trafficking. And, to me, the Federal law has expanded four main rights--the right to be heard in court, the right to civil compensation, the right to receive social and economic benefits, and the right to seek residency in the United States. However, it remains to be seen how courts will interpret the provisions of the Federal law. Would a victim of a case of trafficking that was prosecuted under the Mann Act be entitled to the benefits granted under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act? How would the courts define a commercial sex act? Would sex trafficking involve cases of mail order brides? Would we consider massage parlors, strip clubs and other sexually-oriented establishments that may be involved in illicit sexual activities as forms of sexual exploitation? I understand that such adult expressions are protected as free speech under the First Amendment. I also understand that they are subject to zoning requirements. But what is more important is that States take steps to curtail the activities of these establishments when they facilitate acts of trafficking. I would also like to see an expansion in the interpretation of what we consider labor trafficking, especially cases that involve child labor. Corporations that are involved in such illegal acts must be held accountable. I want to make a reference to the newly enacted Trade and Development Act of 2000 that prohibits importation of products made with the use of forced labor. On the State level, it is encouraging to learn that, in addition to Texas and Washington State, legislators from Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, North Carolina, Minnesota and Florida are considering enacting specific anti-trafficking legislation. State resources should be used to prosecute cases of trafficking, and anti-trafficking legislation in the criminal code of a State would make prosecution of a case of trafficking easier, instead of struggling to prosecute the case under existing laws. This would ultimately have the effect of identifying more victims of trafficking. However, a number of issues must be resolved in establishing the relation between the Federal law and the State laws. In addition, State legislation should not be limited to the criminalization of trafficking as a crime. The creation of a task force that mobilizes efforts to combat trafficking in a particular State is imperative. Finally, on the international level, the Department of Justice has been assisting foreign countries in drafting anti- trafficking legislation, but at least 62 countries still lack legislation that specifically makes trafficking a crime. This year, I have been part of a training program that was conducted by the War Against Trafficking Alliance, where Shared Hope International, The Protection Project and the Department of Justice have cooperated in training law enforcement officials in the countries of Moldova, the Dominican Republic, India and South Africa. Prosecution rates in countries of the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are still very low, and further efforts are needed to not only assist in drafting anti-trafficking legislation, but to train investigators, prosecutors and judges to effectively consider cases of trafficking. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for holding this very important hearing. [The prepared statement of Mr. Mattar appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Professor, for your statement and your participation. Mr. Song, we would be glad to hear from you. STATEMENT OF CHARLES SONG, STAFF ATTORNEY, COALITION TO ABOLISH SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Mr. Song. Chairman Cornyn, Ranking Member Feingold and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you very much for the privilege to testify today on behalf of the hundreds of survivors of trafficking and their families. I have the honor of directly serving as the staff attorney at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking and as a member of the Freedom Network, a group of 22 community-based organizations that provide direct services to survivors of trafficking throughout the United States. I would also like to thank this administration, Congress and the American people for rightfully taking a leadership role in the global struggle to eradicate one of the most egregious human and civil rights violations known to humankind by courageously championing the most advanced anti-trafficking legislation in the world--the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 and Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003--which have literally saved the lives of hundreds of survivors of trafficking and their families. As you know, and as Mr. Sutton already discussed, the VTVPA and TVPRA provided comprehensive Federal legislation to address the problem of human trafficking through a holistic, three- pronged approach of protection, prosecution and prevention. This legislation has dramatically improved the ability of prosecutors to punish traffickers, while providing the critical protections survivors need to cooperate with law enforcement. By creating new trafficking crimes and increasing sentencing requirements, these laws ensure that traffickers are punished for the full panoply of offenses associated with trafficking and given appropriately severe sentences. Most importantly, the VTVPA, recognizing that effective prosecution of human traffickers requires survivors to risk their lives and their families' lives to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, provides greater protections for trafficked persons by creating new immigration benefits--T non-immigrant status and continued presence. It also guarantees victims specific services and enumerates legal rights that include the right to social services and benefits available to refugees, the right to appropriate shelter not incompatible with their status as victims of a crime, the right to receive medical care, the right to witness protection, the right to access information about legal and translation services, and the right to mandatory restitution and civil action. Make no mistake about it, survivors of trafficking risk their lives and their families' lives to assist in the investigation and prosecution of their former captors, and legislators' primary intent in passing the VTVPA was to protect victims of those violent crimes. Representative Chris Smith, one of the authors of the VTVPA, unequivocally confirmed this was the case in his keynote address at the State Department Conference on Trafficking in February of 2003. Speaking for the American people, he stated, ``While it was the intent of the VTVPA that victims of trafficking should help in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases, there should be no doubt that the T visa was primarily intended as a humanitarian tool to facilitate the rehabilitation of trafficking survivors.'' In narrow circumstances, the VTVPA saves the lives of survivors of trafficking and assists them in rebuilding their lives, as the American people intended. For example, I am pleased to announce that due to the collaborative efforts of local law enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and many other dedicated individuals, CAST recently obtained a T visa for a woman sold into sexual slavery at the age of 16 and later wrongfully imprisoned because of her trafficking situation. When she finally obtained a T visa, this woman took her first breath of freedom in almost 27 years. Additionally, she is also receiving other urgent social and legal services through the VTVPA. However, nearly 4 years after the enactment of the VTVPA, which authorized 5,000 T visas per year, or nearly 20,000 over 4 years, only 371 T visa applications have been granted since 2000. Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that only 34 children have been identified as eligible for services by the unaccompanied refugee minors program as trafficked minors. These statistics are extremely disturbing particularly in light of the fact that experts have estimated anywhere from 14,500 to 50,000 men, women and children, just like our own sons and daughters, are being trafficked and enslaved in the United States every year. What these numbers indicate is that survivors of trafficking are not being provided the critical protections they need in order to assist in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, as Congress intended. A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from a woman who informed me her brother had been tricked into coming to the United States and was being physically and illegally forced to work. I advised the woman that her brother's life may be in imminent danger and recommended immediately contacting the proper authorities. I also advised her of the Federal protections available to her brother and the legal and social services CAST could provide him. She asked if I could guarantee he would not be deported or if she reported to law enforcement, because he would be seriously injured or murdered if he was deported. I told her I could not guarantee anything, but based on the information she had provided me, he would be permitted to remain here legally and provided many other benefits to help him recover from his enslavement if he cooperated with law enforcement. After discussing these issues further, she concluded the telephone call by saying that she was terrified of subjecting him to the risk of deportation and would think it over and contact me as soon as possible. I never heard from the woman again. Fortunately, concerned legislators such as yourselves and Government officials such as Assistant Attorney General Acosta are asking why survivors such as these are not coming forward. In my view, United States efforts to combat human trafficking and slavery are being thwarted by unintentional yet overly restrictive barriers to critical victim protections. Relatively speaking, there is tremendous benefit and very little risk and cost associated with the United States providing life-saving protections and services to human beings who have narrowly escaped from violent criminals with their lives. Conversely, survivors of trafficking are confronted with the highest possible cost and risk--theirs, their parents', their siblings' and their children's lives. On behalf of the thousands of men, women and children who are enslaved in the United States and whose constitutional and civil rights are being violated as I speak to you today, I urge you to review the critical victim protections contained in the VTVPA that were unintentionally drafted too narrowly out of an abundance of caution and ensure survivors of trafficking can more easily access these protections and assist in investigating and prosecuting their traffickers. Due to the brief period of time I have to speak with you today, I have not discussed the specific legislative amendments I am recommending. However, I and other members of the Freedom Network would be more than happy to provide detail briefing papers on specific recommendations, as well as review these important changes with members of the Subcommittee. The recommendations include amendments to the threshold requirements for benefits, amendments to make it easier to protect family and reunite family members with trafficking survivors, and the addition of a requirement that trafficking survivors have access to legal counsel. I look forward to continuing to work with members of Congress to eradicate all instances of human trafficking in our country and the world, and I am confident that with your support, the VTVPA can be amended to more fully realize the goals and intentions of the American people when they passed the VTVPA. Thank you for your attention and for the invitation to appear here today. I look forward to your questions. Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. Song, for your opening statement, and we will take you up on your offer to give those proposals to us and to work with us to look at any changes that may be required. Mr. Song. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Song appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Ms. Patten, we would be glad to hear from you. STATEMENT OF WENDY PATTEN, U.S. ADVOCACY DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, WASHINGTON, D.C. Ms. Patten. Mr. Chairperson and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to provide testimony on behalf of Human Rights Watch. It is an honor to testify before you today and we thank you for focusing on this important human rights problem. For over a decade, Human Rights Watch has documented and monitored trafficking of persons around the world. We have published reports on trafficking of women and girls from Burma to Thailand, Nepal to India, Thailand to Japan, Eastern Europe to Greece, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to post- conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the trafficking of children in West Africa. In 2001, we reported on the abuse of domestic workers here in the United States with special employer-based visas. Trafficking flourishes throughout the world, aided by corruption and neglect by governments. Seeking better lives and opportunities, trafficking victims migrate, only to find themselves trapped in debt bondage, forced labor and slavery- like conditions. The United Nations has estimated that 700,000 people are trafficked around the world each year, and recent U.S. Government estimates are consistent with this figure. Both the International Protocol on Trafficking in Persons and the U.S. trafficking law cover all forms of trafficking in persons. As our research has shown, trafficking occurs for a variety of pernicious purposes, ranging from bonded labor to forced prostitution. Women and men, girls and boys, are trafficked and forced to work or provide services on farms and in factories, restaurants, homes, brothels and bars. Despite the varied settings into which people are trafficked, the common element in all trafficking cases is the ongoing violation of the person. The goal of traffickers is to exert total control over the victim in order to extract labor or services from her. Traffickers around the world use a common set of tactics to track their victims in exploitative situations--physical force, threats of physical force, deception, intimidation, isolation, debt bondage, threats of deportation and threats to family members. It is vital for the U.S. Government to address trafficking in all of its horrific forms. Trafficking in persons is in many ways a quintessential 21st century crime problem. In an era of globalization and enhanced technology, small networks of criminals can operate internationally, preying on those who would migrate in search of work or a better life, and subjecting them to horrible abuse. As governments map out anti-trafficking strategies, they must see this problem not only in law enforcement terms, but also in human rights terms. They need to understand that trafficking in persons is a serious human rights abuse and that governments have an obligation to protect victims and to provide redress. While much has been done here in the United States, much more can and should be done to better prosecute traffickers and protect victims of trafficking here in the U.S. I would like to focus now on four issues. First, the United States should ratify the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. Proposed by the United States and Argentina in January 1999, this is the first international protocol to require governments to criminalize trafficking in persons and to provide a framework for enhanced protection of and assistance to victims. The protocol establishes a global standard for government action, which is particularly important given the transnational nature of many trafficking networks. The protocol entered into force in December 2003 and now has 62 states party and 117 signatories. The U.S. Government was among the first countries to sign the protocol in December 2003, and earlier this year President Bush transmitted the protocol to the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee had a hearing on the protocol in June. We urge the Senate to promptly provide its advice and consent to ratification of the Trafficking Protocol. Second, the U.S. Government should enhance its capacity to provide meaningful witness protection and victim protection for victims of trafficking in the United States. Witness protection is a subset of the broader category of victim protection, and it is not limited to the safety of witnesses involved in criminal proceeding. To be sure, prosecution is a core obligation of states in protecting the rights of trafficking victims and in holding traffickers accountable for their crimes. But despite the critical importance of prosecution, it would be a mistake to talk about protection for victims and witnesses only in the context of testimony at trial. Victims need protection in order to break free from the control of their traffickers and to avoid falling back into the hands of traffickers. They also need a range of support and assistance in order to rebuild their lives without fear of reprisal from those who traffic them. Specifically, victims need counseling; medical and psychological services, including specialized services in support for sexual assault; legal assistance; employment authorization and training; and safe and secure shelter. The U.S. Government should also ensure that all trafficked persons are allowed to remain in the U.S. throughout the duration of any criminal or civil proceedings against their abusers and ensure full implementation of measures that enable victims who fear retaliation upon return to their home country to apply for permanent resettlement on that basis. In particular, it should ensure that victims who fear retaliation can seek to remain in the United States even if they are unable to comply with law enforcement requests for assistance. The Government should also ensure special protections for child victims of trafficking who are under the age of 18. In emphasizing the witness protection issues today, I want to emphasize a crucial reality. Governments cannot effectively fight trafficking unless they develop and implement comprehensive protection policies and programs. Third, the U.S. Government should expand and intensify its efforts to train Federal law enforcement, prosecutors and victim witness personnel, and to conduct outreach to State and local police, prosecutors and service providers. Such training and outreach is critical in identifying trafficking victims and in ensuring that community-based networks are established to provide support for victims when a case occurs. Proactive community-wide work is needed before Federal prosecutors or local police encounter a large trafficking case with multiple victims who have urgent needs for shelter and services. This kind of effort echoes a key recommendation that the Department of Justice itself made in its June 2004 assessment of U.S. activities to combat trafficking in persons. Its efforts to expand training and local task forces are necessary steps that we urge the U.S. Government to undertake in a comprehensive and sustained way. Fourth, the Senate should not enact the Homeland Security Enhancement Act which would have serious consequences for trafficking victims and for trafficking investigations and prosecutions. If enacted, this bill and its House counterpart, the CLEAR Act, would require State and local officials to enforce Federal civil immigration laws, which would in turn deter trafficking victims from contacting local police about the abuses they had suffered. Finally, the United States should above all else return control to the victims of trafficking. The greatest challenge for governments around the world is seeing and respecting at the most basic level the humanity of all survivors of trafficking, and therefore working with survivors in a way that demonstrates their commitment to protecting the equality and dignity of all human beings. Because violation of human dignity lies at the core of trafficking in persons, the affirmation of the dignity of trafficking victims must be at the center of any effort to address and solve it. To conclude, trafficking in persons is a profound human rights abuse, and women are particularly vulnerable to this practice due to the persistent inequalities they face in status and opportunity. With the passage of domestic legislation and the entry into force of the International Trafficking Protocol, important advances have been made in developing a framework for action. Governments now need to take concrete steps to prevent trafficking, punish traffickers and provide human rights protections for victims. It is imperative that the United States demonstrate its leadership on this critical human rights issue by doing all it can to provide protection and redress for victims of all forms of trafficking here in the United States. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions. [The prepared statement of Ms. Patten appears as a submission for the record.] Chairman Cornyn. Thank you, Ms. Patten. We appreciate all of the opening statements. We will proceed to a ten-minute round of questioning and I will begin. Mr. Sutton and Mr. Shelby, I would like to direct this to both of you. First of all, I understand the distinction between trafficking and smuggling, but it seems to me that many of the problems that we are talking about--that is, people operating in a lawless environment--is what makes victims of human trafficking the most vulnerable, and that a lot of the concerns that we have about border security post-9/11, concerns we have about drug trafficking into the United States, money laundering--you can go down the whole list--that this is another element of that and maybe something that we can't totally separate and look at as an isolated sort of problem. I would be interested in your reaction and comments. First, Mr. Sutton, and then Mr. Shelby. Mr. Sutton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, thank you for the opportunity to be here today to address this. I think you are exactly right. As you listen to all these witnesses and the statistics and the numbers, you realize that this is a big problem. The Department of Justice takes it seriously, the President takes it seriously. It is a priority for us, but obviously we need to do more. The real difficulty in these cases is identifying the victims. Usually, we find about them--someone will call 911, or a lucky break; someone runs away. But like we have said over and over again, these victims often don't speak the language. They are usually far from home, like that example. I can't even think of a worse scenario to be a 16-year-old Mexican girl from a small village in Mexico, brought to America with who you thought was a trusted family friend, a women who was going to be like your mother, and then she gets you here thousands of miles from home and turns your life upside down in the most horrific of ways. What I can say is hearings like this matter. It is important that we educate law enforcement, that we get the NGOs and law enforcement together to work together to identify these cases, because oftentimes we may see something going on and not recognize at the time that it is a trafficking case because it is under the surface. They keep this very quiet, but somebody is making a lot of money in this. And in my mind it is not that different than any organized crime, other than it is so much more horrific to the victims. I think you are exactly right. We need to look at it an in overall way of protecting the border, having secure laws and enforcing our laws, and getting cooperation at the Federal, State and local levels. Chairman Cornyn. Mr. Shelby, I would be interested in your response. Mr. Shelby. Mr. Chairman, I agree that the most effective way to approach this would be through a task force concept. And I don't say that believing that task forces are necessarily a panacea for all kinds of investigative approaches, but because within that task force element is this notion of education, where you bring in a number of different people to look at facts that they may see before them everyday, but not realize what it is that they are looking at. In the area specifically of human trafficking, there are no victims making outcries. They are not allowed to by the very nature of the crime itself. But there are indicia that those people are being victimized, and if we can pick up on that through the education of the State, local and even the Federal agencies who see those indicia but don't realize them for what they are, then I think that we can have a significant impact. But I would also--and you and I have had this discussion in Laredo--I would also urge you to look at these as two separate crimes, because in the trafficking-related offenses the offense itself is clearly a victimizer against a victim. An individual's rights are being violated and being subjugated for the purpose of some sort of financial gain. But in a smuggling scenario, typically, the smugglee, the person who wants entry into the United States, is himself part and parcel of this. He wants the smuggler to succeed, he wants to be part of a successful effort to enter into the United States. Although they certainly can be victimized at some point during a smuggling operation gone bad, those people are not traditionally victims in the same sense. I don't think, in fairness, they should be treated as victims because really what it would do is encourage everyone to participate in a smuggling operation as a smugglee and then claim the protections of some specific Act that is designed for people who are more closely victimized. Chairman Cornyn. Thank you. We have heard from a number of you about the importance of having cooperation not just at the Federal level. The Department of Justice is to be congratulated, and I think everyone here did, for the leadership that has been shown from top to bottom and where the rubber meets the road, where you gentlemen and your staff operate. But, it seems like we have got to do something to get local and State law enforcement more involved. I know, because I have participated in hearings, that getting local law enforcement involved in immigration-related matters is somewhat controversial. As a matter of fact, Ms. Patten mentioned one bill that suggests that State and local law enforcement officers get involved in perhaps apprehending people who are here illegally in the country. So, I would just maybe ask you, Ms. Patten, how do we get State and local officials involved unless we enact some sort of legislation that authorizes them, or at least authorizes them to enter into memoranda of understanding to investigate and pursue these crimes? Ms. Patten. Well, I think that the approach that the Department has taken and that has been outlined today by the U.S. Attorneys in terms of creating local task forces or local cooperation is really incredibly important, and it is one that I am glad to see is being furthered and expanded. We already see that many local law enforcement on the ground have an understanding of what this problem is. They may vary in terms of whether they are familiar with all of the language that describes it, or know it as trafficking in persons or understand that there is a Federal law. But they see and live with the on-the-ground reality of how these traffic networks operate in their communities, and in my experience they are often eager to learn about and coordinate with Federal officials in order to help support and in many ways plug gaps in their ability to really address the problem. I recall speaking with local law enforcement who understood that they might be able to deal with a couple of victims that they found working on a street corner in one city in the Midwest. But they knew that three weeks later, there would be other victims to come and replace them and they wanted some way to address the broader network that was involved. So I think that the kinds of cooperative efforts that have been described are really, really important in terms of bringing together all the players in a community who have a piece of this, from local law enforcement to victim service providers with a range of different kinds of expertise, to those who understand linguistically- or culturally-appropriate services for the victims in question, as well as the local offices of the Federal Government--the FBI, the INS, the U.S. Attorney's office, et cetera. So, I think the way to do is to pursue more of that kind of training and outreach work so that we raise awareness of the problem and people learn who to work with in their local communities when they see a case. Chairman Cornyn. So, let me see if we are on common ground here. Would you have any concerns about local and State law enforcement officials being authorized or allowed to enter into memoranda of understanding for purposes of perhaps investigating and prosecuting violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, or obviously State statutes against human trafficking? Ms. Patten. Well, as I have already explained, we have concerns about deputizing local law enforcement with enforcing immigration violations. We have sent a separate letter to all of the members of the Committee with our concerns about the CLEAR Act and the HSEA. We have broader concerns that they will go beyond the trafficking problem, but for purposes of this hearing I wanted to focus on the concerns we had about how doing that would impact the broader immigrant community, and in particular victims of trafficking. In terms of local law enforcement collaborating on Federal prosecutions of trafficking, I think that can be helpful especially when local police may have done some of the initial investigative work. Chairman Cornyn. Well, I guess my concern is maybe a local police officer or highway patrol who makes a traffic stop and identifies someone who is not legally in the country who may be in a situation where they have been unable or simply afraid of reporting a violation of human trafficking laws. So, it seems like the line gets a little fuzzy. Let me ask for a quick reaction from the rest of the panel who I have not had a chance to ask questions of yet. We have heard estimates of the number of people in this country who are victims of human trafficking, but I wonder how in the world we have any confidence in those numbers, given the nature of the crime and given the reluctance of the victim to come forward. Sister, do you have any observations along that line? Sister Dougherty. I share your reservations about the credibility of the numbers. Nevertheless, they are the numbers we have in terms of State Department reports, and they do the research. It is interesting to me that in 1999, the study that was put out by the State department--I think it was commissioned by the CIA of Amy O'Neill Richard as an independent researcher-- that study that was behind the passing of the law said 50,000 people. And 2 years later, we drop from 50,000 people to 20,000 people, and now we have dropped from 20,000 people to 17,000 people being trafficked into the United States. When we questioned the State Department about that radical change in numbers, their response last June at the issuing of the TIP report was that there has been a change in methodology. I don't know exactly what that means, but I think it is safe to say that the numbers are certainly underestimated. And I can guarantee you that 34 identified children in the United States is certainly nothing--the estimate of every credible analyst in terms of children is that at least a third of the people trafficked into the United States are children. So that, by anybody's numbers, would increase those radically. Chairman Cornyn. Professor Mattar, you specifically mentioned the apparent decline. Mr. Mattar. Yes. I have a problem with the Government statistics. When the Trafficking Victims Protection Act passed and was signed into law on October 28, 2000, Section 102 referred to 700,000 victims of trafficking being trafficked globally and 50,000 being trafficked into the United States. This last year, in 2003, the State Department told us, well, the number now is between 800 to 900, and in the United States between 18,000 and 20,000. This last report made reference to 14,500 to 17,500 trafficking victims into the United States, and between 600 to 800 annually. I am not sure that we have a reliable basis, a credible basis for this number. That is why I want to bring to your attention that the reauthorization Act calls for conducting research, and I think that we have to do more research to find out what are the exact numbers we are talking about here so we can define the appropriate responses. Chairman Cornyn. Thank you. Mr. Mettimano. Mr. Mettimano. I share the frustration with my colleagues, but after working on these issues for 10 years, I have come to the conclusion that hard numbers pertaining to any aspect of this crime simply do not exist. And the reason is this, because it is largely a black-market crime that does not readily lend itself to conventional measurement. It is like asking how many spouses in the United States are battered. It is not like people stand up to be polled. Much of this goes unreported. I have found that the diversity and the range of estimates on everything from the number of trafficking victims to the number of children that are involved vary greatly from agency to agency. The only consistency that I have seen typically either on an international basis or on a country-by-country basis is going to be the ratio. I find some level of consistency in the ratio of children that are involved in the sex trade. As far as the overall numbers, though, sir, I think just because of the nature of the crime and often because it goes largely unreported, it is very difficult to come up with hard numbers. Chairman Cornyn. My time is up, and at this time I will recognize Senator Durbin for any questions he may have. STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD J. DURBIN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS Senator Durbin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for this hearing. I just have a couple of questions, and thank you all for your testimony. I am sorry I was in the Senate Intelligence Committee and had to come a little late, but I have reviewed your testimony. First, let me say that I think it is worth noting that the first time that this issue was raised on the Senate floor was by our late colleague, Paul Wellstone, who really was outspoken on this issue. I am glad that we are continuing our efforts to look into it. I also want to note that John Miller, a former colleague of ours from the House of Representatives, is now heading the State Department's anti-trafficking office, and I met with him to talk about some efforts underway there. I think he is a very talented individual and I hope to work with him. Going back to your point, Mr. Mettimano--I hope I didn't mispronounce your name--I look in your testimony at all the range of people trafficked in the United States. The estimates range from 14,500 to 50,000, depending on which one of your statements we stick by, and I think you get to the point that when you are dealing with black market, you just don't have easily quantifiable numbers to deal with here. But some things are quantifiable. From the U.S. Attorneys, we have heard that there have been 110 prosecutions over a 3- year period of time, which pales into insignificance if any of the numbers, if any of the estimates are correct. We also know that there were 591 immigration hearings in the year 2003 relative to these problems, which again is a very, very small number compared to any of the estimates before us. And then the point made by Mr. Song about the T visas that have been issued, 371 over a 4-year period of time, suggests that perhaps we aren't being as aggressive as we could or should be. Maybe it is for lack of resources. Maybe it is for lack of legal authority. I am not sure which, but I am just curious at this point and I would ask the U.S. Attorneys, in particular, it seems that several witnesses have identified strip clubs, massage parlors and that sort of activity as a magnet for a lot of these trafficked victims who are exploited. Is that your experience, and if so, what are we doing about it? Mr. Sutton. Thank you, Senator. I agree with you. I mean, I think the improvement is we have dramatically increased prosecutions. But when you look at the overall numbers, they are very low, and that is one of the reasons we are here today is to try to give attention to this problem to say we need to know about these cases to prosecute them. Our experience has been that they are very hard to detect. You weren't here when I gave the example, but we had an example in one of the cases we had in our district where a woman traveled deep into Mexico to remote villages and would convince parents of teenage girls, 16-year-olds, that she was going to take care of their daughters, take them to the United States, have them working in a restaurant, get a better life. She even signed a contract to that effect that, you know, there would be a 1-year deal that would pay off the $1,500 smuggling fee. And then when they got way out of sight to Texas, they would turn it around and force them to have sex with up to 15 men per day. Along with that, those girls, who were again 16, didn't speak English, far away from home, are being threatened that if you run away or if you speak out, we are going to kill you; and not only are we going to kill you, we are going to go back to your village and kill your family. So they are very, very difficult situations to find about because these girls are held in just terrible situations. Usually, someone calls 911 who sees a situation in a house or a-- Senator Durbin. It is a lot like the discussion on narcotics. I am talking about the demand side at this moment. If we know that they are being used for sexual purposes in the United States, I am asking you as prosecutors, are you focusing on that in terms of your investigations to try to discover this illegal trafficking here? Mr. Sutton. Sure. I mean, we try to identify those people as much as possible. There is renewed emphasis on sex tourism, renewed emphasis on getting--Senator Cornyn has an idea to get these task forces organized around the country, which we think is a very good one. But it is really getting that information out and sort of breaking the mind set of some law enforcement. A lot of this happens at the local level. I mean, at a local level they are dealing with street prostitutes, dealing with situations like when they see that, and they may not recognize that you are arresting what you think is a prostitute when, in reality, it is a slave. That is why it is so important that we have hearings like this that get that information out and that we work together to educate local law enforcement and the NGOs to identify these folks, because once we have got them identified, we are going to bring both feet of the Federal Government down on their heads. Senator Durbin. My time is limited. I want to go to the supply side for a moment. One of the articles which I read on the subject which really caught my eye was in the New York Times Magazine several months ago. It was a front-page story about a situation involving Mexico, with photographs and graphic detail. I then coincidentally met with some Congress men and women--senators, I suppose, from Mexico--gave them the article and said what are we doing; what can we do together? Can I ask you, any on the panel who would like to respond, what can or should we be doing about Mexico that we are not doing now? Are they taking this situation seriously? Are they dealing with the problem? Are they cooperating with us in the prosecutions? Should we be doing more to develop a more aggressive posture by both countries? Mr. Shelby. Senator, I would like to address that if I could. I guess immediately after General Ashcroft came into his position, there was a tragedy in Phoenix, Arizona, or the southern part of Arizona where I had worked, where 14 aliens died in the desert that were being led in. They weren't being trafficked in. They were people who were being led and were ultimately led astray. That was one of the most horrible tragedies up to that point in time until the situation in Victoria a year-and-a-half later, where 19 people died in the same way. If any good came out of those very horrible situations, it was that the Mexican government reached out to us to help us investigate thoroughly not only those specific instances where there was this singular loss of life, but also a number of bridges were created to help us with the overall problem of smuggling individuals, both consensually smuggled individuals and ultimately individuals who are not consensually smuggled into the United States. So we have forged new relationships with this Mexican administration and they have shown a cooperation to engage us in that way that was not present in the preceding 14 years of my Federal practice as an Assistant United States Attorney. Senator Durbin. Thank you. Sister, did you want to comment on that? Chairman Cornyn. Sister, if I could just ask your indulgence just briefly. Colleagues, as I mentioned, I am going to have to leave to go preside on the Senate floor, but I know Senator Durbin and Senator Schumer have additional questions and what I would like to do is turn the gavel over to Senator Schumer for purposes of each of them asking the questions they would like to ask, making any statement they wish, and then closing out the hearing. Senator Durbin. You are a very trusting Chairman to turn the gavel over to the Democrats. Sister? Sister Dougherty. About a month ago, I was in Rome and I was there doing trafficking business for my organization, specifically speaking at a conference to the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, but also I took the time then to get around to the safehouses in Rome where victims of trafficking are housed. Many of them are from Eastern Europe. I talked to the people who run the houses about what is happening, and Rome has developed--and perhaps all of Italy, but certainly out of the Rome Coalition Against Human Trafficking, part of their training is automatically to go to Romania and do training, to go to countries that are feeding the trafficking in their own country. It may be legally naive on my part to think that we could do some of that with Mexico and Central America, particularly with so many victims coming from there, and that it could be built into part of the whole grant process; that that in itself could be a major effort on our part to train from a U.S. point of view with the collaboration of those governments. Senator Durbin. Thank you. Mr. Mattar. I just want to add that Mexico is one of the 62 countries that does not have specific anti-trafficking legislation. The Department of Justice has been assisting countries to enact good laws on trafficking. Especially in light of the good relations between Mexico and the United States, I think we should go there and help them put together a good law that defines the crime of trafficking in a better way. Senator Durbin. Thank you very much. Mr. Song, did you want to say a word? Mr. Song. I just wanted to add very quickly that I have been working on a few trafficking cases with the Mexican government, specifically with the Mexican consulate in the L.A. area, and they have been very helpful. They assisted us in getting victim protection. Some of our clients' children are still in Mexico and being threatened by traffickers and they have been very helpful. The First Lady of Mexico even sent a letter regarding another case of trafficking that we are working on. But they still need to do more especially in regard to Mexican children who are being trafficked into the United States and being brought over the border and being summarily returned. Thank you. Senator Durbin. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, I ask that my opening statement be made part of the record. Senator Schumer [presiding.] Without objection. [The prepared statement of Senator Durbin appears as a submission for the record.] STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK Senator Schumer. Well, thank you, and I want to thank the witnesses for comprehensive testimony and questions. I will read a brief statement that I have. Only one of my questions hasn't really been addressed. So I will ask you that and then we will let you all go on your way. But, first, I wanted to thank Senator Cornyn for holding this hearing and shining a spotlight on this important issue. As we all know, human trafficking is a serious problem. It is getting worse. According to the State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders into slavery each year, and then another 2 to 4 million victims are trafficked within national borders. The plight of those trafficked is among the most horrible we can imagine, and many are young girls, beaten, abused and sexually assaulted. Their lives will never be the same. The lack of protection against HIV/AIDS means that many sexual trafficking victims are, in effect, receiving a death sentence. When I read the stories of what happens to these young girls, it sickens me to imagine that anyone's daughters would ever have to suffer these horrors. This is one of those problems we would like to think can't happen here, maybe somewhere far away, not here in America. Yet, the sad fact is that approximately 16,000 people here, again mostly children, are trafficked into the United States each year. Their dreams are turned into nightmares right in our own backyard. So too often this isn't a problem simply of a few bad apples. In many places in the world, corrupt police and justice systems protect traffickers and allow them to continue to traffic human beings into other countries, including ours. A problem like this can't be solved easily. It is embedded in the system and we have to take action to make sure that sexual trafficking and slavery of any kind is not permitted in any corner of the world. A few weeks ago, I met, as Senator Durbin did, with Congressman John Miller. He is head of the Trafficking in Persons office at the State Department and we talked in-depth about this issue, where we stand right now and how we can all work together in the future to advance this issue. The State Department recently released the 2004 Trafficking in Persons report. The stories of the victims told in that report are extraordinary, and it is hard to imagine the terrible wrongs these victims have endured. But they also embolden us to continue this fight to try and stop more sons and daughters from being trafficked. So I am proud to join Senator Brownback as the Democratic cosponsor of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003. We were able to stand together in a bipartisan way to combat this evil. So frequently, we find ourselves at odds with one another on this Committee and in the Senate. Our efforts on this issue show we can work together to protect some of the most endangered people in our world. We have accomplished some important goals in the fight against human trafficking legislatively in the past year. We have elevated the importance of the issue by making the head of the TIP office an ambassador-at-large. We have created a senior policy operating group to help different agencies work on this issue. We have given prosecutors new tools to help fight against this crime in the U.S. and we have authorized money to help fund this fight and work toward eliminating sexual trafficking in all corners of the globe and in our backyard. That said, it is clear that there is much more to be done and I look forward to working with all of you on this issue. If you need tools in this fight, let us know and we will do everything we can to get them for you. Finally, I want to thank every one of you for the work you have done and for appearing before the Subcommittee to share your stories and insights on this important issue. Again, the questions have been good and comprehensive. Let me ask one or two here. First, currently, less than 2 percent of the T visas for the victims of trafficking that can be issued are actually being issued. Yet, we know from State Department figures that tens of thousands of trafficking victims are never identified and given T visas. What can we do to improve our ability to identify and distribute T visas to those who need them most? Mr. Song. Mr. Song. I will take that. Regarding my testimony, it primarily focused on getting the victims the protections. We can't identify them if they are not coming forward, if we are not running into them. For me, what strikes me as so difficult is there are such difficult requirements for people to get benefits under the TVPA. I understand why Congress initially drafted some of the language in the TVPA, but I currently believe that it is overly restrictive. There are too many barriers in place. There are four very difficult requirements for trafficking victims to meet in order to get T visas and it makes it extremely difficult for them. What we need to do is provide protection so that they can have the services so that they can be able to cooperate in investigations and prosecutions. We are asking them to first cooperate in investigations and prosecutions, and then we might give you the protections or you will get them later. But the situation is they can't do it without some of these protections and services. If we can get them the protection and let them know that they are safe and their families are safe, then they will come forward and they can help us in investigations and prosecutions. Senator Schumer. Does everyone agree with that? T visa requirements should be loosened a little bit? Mr. Shelby. Senator, may I? Senator Schumer. Yes. Mr. Shelby. While I certainly agree that we should encourage and do everything that we can to encourage the victims of these trafficking offenses to come forward, I think your question really is how do we get more T visas into the hands of the victims. That is the same question that we face on the law enforcement side about what can we do to encourage victims to come forward. I am convinced that if they come forward and if we are able to identify who they are, the T visas will follow because it is in the best interest of the individual victim, and ultimately the prosecution, to have those individuals ready and available to testify. The problem is getting the victims to come forward or having some independent party identify them as victims in the first place. That is why I believe that this concept of educating the local, State and our Federal counterparts in what to look for when they inevitably run across individuals whom they may first view as isolated victims, but are, in fact, victims of a trafficking offense--basically, human slaves--that educational component is essential to this. I am convinced that once those people are identified, we will go through the process, as we have on 500-plus occasions, to get them the visa to stay here and help us with the prosecution. Senator Schumer. Mr. Song is saying that one of the things that holds people back from coming forward is the requirements in the T visa. You believe it is other things, the obvious kinds of things? Mr. Shelby. Yes, sir. I believe it is the same things that hold any person, even a voluntary smugglee, from coming forward if they are victimized in another way in the United States after their smuggling has been successful. They don't want to run the risk of being deported. Senator Schumer. Professor Mattar. Mr. Mattar. I just want to make the case that I am not sure that we need to reexamine the Act itself or the reauthorization Act. I think what we should do is interpret the Act in a way which is friendly to the victim. Why? Because the Act never really required the victim to come forward and testify. Senator Schumer. Right. Mr. Mattar. The Act says, well, a victim has to come forward and show willingness to comply with a reasonable request in the prosecution or in the investigation of a case of trafficking. In fact, under the reauthorization Act, no longer is a victim required to go to a Federal law enforcement official; a State official is enough. Under the reauthorization Act, a child who is under 18 does not even have to cooperate at all. So I think it is a matter of interpretation, not a matter of a problem with the Act itself. Senator Schumer. Yes, Ms. Patten. Ms. Patten. I would just add that I think we are talking about two different kinds of outreach here, and that goes to the question of how do we find more cases. One is conducting outreach to those in law enforcement, State and local prosecution, and then the broader community who can identify trafficking cases that are existing in their community. And that is obviously very important, in large measure for the reason you alluded to in your testimony that we have had to overcome a certain amount of disbelief, I think, that modern- day slavery exists here in the United States. But, secondly, also is the question that Mr. Song raised about how do we reach the victims themselves so that they feel protected and safe enough to come forward. And the ease, or lack thereof, with which they can access protections is certainly going to be part of that. This is a difficult challenge, but the victims will need to understand that trafficking and slavery are illegal in this country and that they have legal rights, and that they can access those protections particularly through trusted community-based organizations whom they can go to who can help explain to them how this works. Senator Schumer. Anyone else on that? Mr. Song, go ahead. Mr. Song. I just have a short response. While I understand the argument for the reinterpretation of the Act, I will just give you one example. There is an unintended consequence by the law enforcement cooperation requirement. When an immigrant is detained and put into proceedings, and most trafficking victims have no defense to removal, they are actually required to cooperate with law enforcement, whether they want to willingly, or they will be deported back to their country, to their traffickers, to serious injury or death. What is perverted or strange about that is that this is exactly what the traffickers threaten against them when they say, if you don't work for me, if you don't stay for me, I am going to send you back to your home country where we are going to have our way with you or your family. This is an unintended consequence, but if they are put in detention and removal proceedings, DHS has no choice but to remove them from the country if they have no defense to their deportation. So these victims are placed in this situation where they are literally being legally coerced into cooperating with law enforcement and it is simply not necessary. You can imagine, if you have been enslaved and raped and beaten by people, you are going to be the first one to line up to want to testify and want to investigate and prosecute somebody. We don't need to coerce them. We don't need to make it a requirement that they cooperate. These people want to; they just need to be safe and they need to be protected first. So I respectfully disagree and still believe that there are certain problems with the Act, such as that one. Senator Schumer. Anyone else? Well, I want to thank all of you for your testimony on a very important subject that we have to focus more on. I am going to ask unanimous consent, which means me, I guess, that the record be open for one week for written questions to be submitted to our witnesses. Thank you. The hearing is adjourned. [Whereupon, at 4:11 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] [Questions and answers and submissions for the record follow.] [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]