company goes with witch multiple deliverables and they spend enormous amount of time, effort, in bricking solutions to the table -- bringing solutions to the table. in terms of the freedom council, we have two verticals in terms of -- within the umbrella of freedom council. one is about she united states, our efforts in the country, and i think it came up in the past discussion that here we have several ngos ask we don't haven't a shortage of ndos. many organizations fighting this cause. maybe where there is an opportunity is to bring collaboration, making sure that all ngos are working together, connecting the dots, bringing collaboration to this space. so, in that vertical technology plays a critical role and i'll talk about the examples where we have aligned technology to our efforts in this country. the second vertical is our

international effort. con temporary to -- contrary to what mentioned earlier about the united states, outside this country, internationally, particularly in the large human trafficking concentrated areas, like the asia-pacific region, the focus needs to be more on restoration, rescue as well, but there seems to be perhaps lack of focused efforts in helping these individuals have a focus and purpose in life and bringing them back to a normal life, which is extremely critical, and so our focus in the international sector is from the restoration perspective. so is a come back to our work in the united states, and back to your question, david, maybe, take for example; i start with anthem's work, large healthcare company. we touch many communities, many institutions, many healthcare providers, so as an

organization, we understand the unique opportunity we have in this space. when you look at the fight that we have against this evil, it starts with identification. it also includes rescue. it includes restoration, includes prevention, and all these strategic sectors have health in common, and so from an anthem perspective, we have been one of the very first members of this council for all these reasons, and our immediate focus is to spread awareness. so we have more than 50,000 employees, and we're focusing on how to get this word out through many channels, including webinars and e-mails and newsletters as well as screen savers and last month it was the human trafficking month so we clearly had very targeted efforts towards that. but sort of expanding on other council members, technology,

like i mentioned earlier, plays a big role in this space. so with the -- delight brought in more than 55 consultants and we built a survey tool, and a survey tool allows to us get our arms around what is in place from a support systems extend in every community. every sector. so if i can tell you what used to be in place or what may be in place in many areas even today is that as soon as we have a focused effort, go do a community, and the first thing we want to know is, what is in place? what that also tells us is even more importantly, what is not in place and that effort, trying to get our arms around all the efforts in that community, takes anywhere from 15 to 18 months, and where this technology solution has allowed to us do he survey tool, we can get there in a few minutes and now we can

look at what are the caps, where do we need to get involved, how can we have a strategic focus to where it's filling in those gaps. so, this survey tool has been reviewed with many states. we have more than seven states already aligned to leverage this tool, and coming back to your question about super bowl and i believe the attorney general from minnesota spoke to this issue. when you have a large event like super bowl, it elevates the importance of awareness, and the freedom council has been a part of the effort that are taking place in support of the upcoming minneapolis super bowl, and we spent an enormous effort, particularly partnering with rotary, as well as the help of oracle and other council members, and together the first effort we did initiate is to leverage the tool i was

referring to, the survey tool, and based on that we have been able to establish very strategic efforts towards awareness as well as prevention. so, that would be a great example that showcases the value of technology as well as partnership in this council. maybe just another quick point is that there is so much information out there about what you need to do when, and that includes articles, reference documents, tool kits. one of the efforts that's counsel -- one council member took from us is to build that online tool, which is that go-to place, one stop shop per se, which has vetted very rich information about all these different knowledge based articles, tool kits, and to go to one place to gather all that inflammation, and we -- all that information and we have almost

completed that effort, with the help of council member and just getting ready to launch that tool. the benefit the tool is it not only helps us all as a communication as a go-to place, but for law enforcement and other organizations. we also have a very vetted go-to place for information. so there's several different tracts, many more to list but that captures some of our highlights. >> thank you so much. that's great. for facebook, you talked about working with different partners, difference ngo partners and i'd love to elaborate of the worn you have done and how you integrity and that how that affects the reduction of trafficking or how you may catch some people. >> well, first, i actually just want to have -- it's great to come to these but sometime outside get another new idea. interestingly, with this work

you're talking about, there's a particular ngo work on activating communities. so when you see a path of trafficking that may be occurring, often timed around refugee communities, they have been utilizing our platform, not just literally through groups and other connections on the platform, to energize communities, to basically build a resilient response, and first of all, get to victims but also try to shut don the trafficking in those communities, and it strikes me the portal you're building and talking about could be a great intersections for all three of to us work together so i'm glad i was here today. to give an example of some of the ways in which we would work with some of our partners and i guess i'll call out thorn again. we -- one thing we know is that people who engage in this kind of trafficking will often times start by trying to collect images from a victim, and then

utilize those images as way of ex-torting additional entire we have been working with thorne to put together a psa about when someone is trying to collect those images from you and how you can reach out to get help. that's a psa that we launched with them. we run it on our platform as well as other places running it and we're currently in the discussion about basically translating into a number of different languages. another thing that we are currently working on -- actually this is with the state attorneys general, is a series of psas a targeted within the state. so the states attorney general often have programs to reach out or connect with victimized but don't always have the resources because they're a government agency to do the kind of outreach at scale, and so we are currently working with them to

put together a series of psas, reaching out with each state having its own call to action, depending on what its that particular attorney general wants to do for contact. those are the smaller ways -- i say small -- each individual small pieces but at scale, but they can be large. another thing that we really have been trying to do more of late is to actually have our partners bring information to us that helps combat what we see that happened on the platform, and earlier i talked about policies. we have obviously a policy against trafficking on our platform. we know that sometimes people would attempt to use pages on our platform, which is basically part of our platform where people set up a page to put to many advertise they are willing to -- they're trafficking someone. they're very clever at trying to hide exactly what is going on the page. they don't say explicitly what

they're doing. but we can look at that page, we can have some sense that's what they're doing but it's not clear they're definitely doing that. we started a program with our trusted partners where they will come to us to help make that connection. so if they have -- they know there's a connection to a web site where they're actually directly trafficking, or if there's a connection to a place offline where they're directly traffic, they can bring that information to us to make it easier nows is to take down those payment -- for us to take down the pages. >> thank sod much. what is great about this event that happened with the justice department is amazing but the conversations we have had how we collaborate is amazing. even the super bowl. what we can do together because i think in the past, years past, everybody was doing things separately, but if we collaborate and the impact of these amazing companies can change the world. i love for nikole to kind of expand on what we talked about,

the super bowl, and then maybe brent you can tag on that, the thing wed talked about, collaborating during the super bowl coming up. >> this is completely aspirational, but it's under one of those, if you think into existence and tack about it, it will surely happen. atlanta is going to be hosting the super bowl next year, and of course, unfortunately, sports activities like the super bowl, like in the ncaa, are primetime for this sex trafficking and for some of this illicit activity. we have been thinking bat way to bring information around the super bowl, the time the super bowl will be in atlanta, through trucker against trafficking by having a mobile museum. they have 45-foot tractor-trailer. ups donates labor. we hitch our ups tractor to their trailer and we pull this

museum around the country, and there are a number of other companies that volunteer to do this, and so since ups is based in atlanta, we're brainstorming about wouldn't it by interesting to have the truckers against trafficking mobile museum as part of the fan experience during the super bowl, because we think there are ways to introduce people into the concept, just to get them thinking, and i find that when we're talking to folks about human trafficking you have to have two or three conversations about it sinks in because the first is this shock, it's embarrassing, it's not comfortable at all, and i'm remembering one of our executives at ups that called me up after i was sort of stalking him to support this, and he said i saw it on law and order. i saw it it and was this light bulb moment. really helps folks understand when you socialize its so perhaps the truckers against

trafficking mobile museum is a way to socialize in fan experience and then bring the awareness to the sports fans at the nfl, and so hopefully we can make that happen. >> that's great. brent you want to expand on the thinged we talked about? you have a presence in downtown atlanta. >> the fact we're in atlanta means we will be engaged in that work no doubt. but it's also important to recognize, we're doing lot of work now with a platform that is multisector, ngo government around mega sports events like fifa world cup and the olympic gays. it's a unique opportunity to martial sources around human rights issues but the way in which countries are chosen to host events through the planning of the evict and actors involved in the process, during the hosting of the event while the sport is going on and then the

legacy issues, what you take from that event that adds to the community going forward. as we look at super bowl, increasingly going forward as being such a catalyst event, we need to think about what else we can address during that time as well. because you also have issues around child labor, some countries, people are dispossessed over land, moved off and cleared in order for certain event bows gained afterward the people are not remindated but left alone, brazil being an example and others with world cups cups andh olympics so as we work and plan towards 2019 and the super bowl, it's real opportunity for us to take a really holistic view of what we can actually positively impact on people's human rights. >> that's right. we even talked about sitting up a meeting with everybody to talk about how to collaborate and make a difference. the greatest thing about corporations is they've got the resources to make it happen.

i think sometimes ngos have limited resources but these companies just do amazing work so i can't tell you how much i thank you for being here today. andre, if you would kind of expand on the higher hope program, sort of what that process looks like, when someone goes through therapy and then get internships with dogs. walked us through the process. >> sure. thing one their for me as an executive in our company but also as a woman, as an american, and as a human being, i think that we have to look at it for what it is. you have to meet people where they are in life, and not everybody is going to come up and n a nice button-up suit and be ready to go to work day one. he we get past of those societal biases and we're able to get to the heart of, let's start with the basics. start with the training. let's start with our career

readiness, how do you write a resume? how do you interview for a job and how do you find a job? young girls coming through the program, one thing we learn -- we had one young lady in recent terms, didn't know how to answer an office phone. you didn't think you would have to train someone how -- she was used to using a cell phone but how to answer an office line. taking time and being very thoughtful in our training process. these are very smart, intelligent women, and i think that when you can look at someone, these are brave people. for someone -- these traffickers make $40,000 a week on average per victim. they rather kill them than to let them go free. they rather see them dead than to see them living free. so for them to have the guts, the fortitude, just one glimpse of hope to be rescued and to take that step and join this

program, in my book, they're already winners. they've already overcome more than any of news this room could ever even imagine. unimaginable. so once we meet them where they are, we provide. the with the training, work very closely with wellsprings, the organization in atlanta, and i think that is really the partnership and collaboration is what makes it work. it would not work without the support of our human capital. a lot of people donate thousands of hours of volunteer. none of us are paid for working specifically on a higher hope program. is this all volunteer run. that's one thing that is amazing how it's been so successful. based on all the work the volunteers have provided. once we're able to get them the training they need, we work with the corporate partners like ups, who have actually hired some of our higher hope participants and i'm proud of that partnership

and we're very thankful for ups, and as well as with anthem and coca-cola as well. so once they are hired on to jobs, we don't just let them go. with saginaw contact with them for another 12 moms to shake sure how they're doing, how they're surviving do they have the -- we recognize as a business, not all companies have a rich terry at delta that is making sure the victimized -- survivors at this point -- can move forward. the premise behind this is how can we make a more impactful, meaningful, into this issue, how can we contribute to solve thing the problem and not being complicit by turning our backs and doing nothing. so as organizations and companies, a lot of fortunate 500s not here today on this panel. ask you to join us. join news these efforts. these are amazing people that have come out to share the work

they're candidate are doing, and we can't do anything unless we work together. with doj, with the state as well us a our corporate partners. >> that's exactly right. there's a lot of thing that happen on this issue you don't think about, but, for instance, i was talking to a law firm and they wanted to get engaged. if a survivor has lost custody of their child, they need an attorney to get custody back. they need sometimes to have thurmanys expunged off their record so they can get a job because with a felony sometimes you can't get a job. those legal services are easy for a lot of law firms to do, so-so many different ways that you can get involved, and i know it's been broadcast on cnn, companies see this, please contact the justice department and say you want to get involved, because this can make a difference. this can truly make a difference in this issue, and we have about ten minutes left. i'd love if -- any comments

anybody would like to make and then take a few questions from the audience, anything you want to add to that? >> once again thanks for everyone being here and when i sit on panels like this and i'm asked questions, one question asked is what do we do now? what i would ask ann everybody in this rom room has heard about victims and the trafficking itself. ask that you would not just leave it in this room. i would ask that you take this and have conversation witches your faints, familied. if you're part of a corporation, have conversations with the movers and shaker friday the decisionmaker inside your corporations because the more that we raise the level of awareness, the more likely we for kill the demand that jeff so eloquently talked about on the last panel. so i ask you, everyone here today, please don't just leave this here in this room. it's a beautiful room. but what we can do outside this rooms is far more important than

what we do inside the room. so, please, don't by afraid to tell your friends and neighborhood about what is going on. >> that's right. we call the power of one, do what you income your community, do one thing, and if we do it collectively, the immigrant pact -- impact its have is amazing. we'd like to take a few questions. anybody have anything else? >> thank you. i had not planned on saying anything but with a panel of global experts that serve everywhere, i'm a rotarian, have been for over 20 years. but i work for an organization, too called set free alliance. rotary needs a lot of partners to make this happen, and you see the class of people or the

organizations on the panel here. we're a small nonprofit, very quiet one. in the last five years we have freed 14,000 slaves. we have e.u. nighted 8,000 slaves -- reunited 8,000 slaves with their parents, all the way through nepal. i think it's the gates foundation said, to solve a problem, you have to quantify a problem. that's where the world global slavery index came from. i'm not going through the country but the second most country -- i mention this because this is a global constituent si up here. the second highest country with slaves in the world is china. 3.5 million. the number one country in the world with the most slaves is india.

19 million. 19 million slaves. slavery comes in a lot of different forms, and sex trafficking is slavery. in freeing these -- we still have tonight -- we'll feed over 7,800 slaves. they get one bowl of rice a day. that costs $380,000 a month. we just finished building a $10 million facility that will house 2,000 ex-slaves, and we do have a program, though, too -- i mentioned this because rotary needs your help, and companies like us, even small ones, that have a tremendous impact. but i role model -- i'll say quickly, first we have to rescue the slaves and, again, slavery comes in a lot of different forms. we rescue the slaves.

then we seek medical help. these are slaves from the mines that work into the quarries, work in the brothels, they work in the brick factories. so, slavery is worldwide. we take them, we feed them, we get them medical help. we then get them an education, three-year education, because we're dealing with so many children and after the education, we teach them an avocation. i don't know if that's the rain or what is going on. but we have -- we teach an avocation and when they leave news three years they go out around the world with a -- one is they have hope for the first time in their lives. yes, they go through -- been through a lot of stress and things, but they go out and we help them get jobs with global

companies. so, again, it is nationwide and i just wanted to applaudal for just addressing it as a world problem, again, it's a huge problem the out. >> we do appreciate it. we have another question out there. thank you. >> hi. i'm with the u.s. department of labor international labor affairs bureau and we do quite a bit of work on supply chain issues-ranging from programming to biannually produced research on goes made with forced labor and recently produced a smartphone app called comply chain to help the business community look at their supply chain. so, my question to the panel is, what do you need from us in government, whether that's the u.s. government or whether it's

foreign governments oversubway you may be operating, to help be a better partner to you to help support your efforts more to be a better resource so you can continue doing this work you do, and get more businesses involved in this effort. thank you. >> thanks for the question. we work a lot with the department of labor and appreciate that support, and i think the support of agencies like the department of justice, the homeland security cack pain has been important to show the organization that this matters to the government. ups is a federal contractor, most of the folks on the stage probably do some federal crag, and so understanding the government is behind this and is supportive of this initiative is the first thing that gives us credibility so that when we go to our corporate leaders, we can say, here's why this matters. there are honestly thousands of things we could be thinking about and putting our efforts

behind. but when we know that the federal government supports and cares about this issue, that is -- i think that's very helpful. so, continuing to offer that support and that kind of partnership is integral. and sometimes businesses are a little bit reluctant to engage because they're worried about more regulation and they're concerned that putting their foot in this space may then shine a light on something with an unintended consequence. i think continuing to allow businesses to talk about how they can play a valuable role in helping to combat human trafficking and forced labor but also assuring businesses you want to work with them to look at their businesses on an individual basis, and not necessarily overregulate. i think we'll continue to help businesses feel comfortable about coming to the table. >> we have about a minute left. want to add to that? >> just quickly.

that's a great answer. i agree with everything you just said. think it is important that legislation does play a role. the regulation was a game-changer here. suddenly people have to pay attention to this in a way they weren't paying attention before. the department of labor tracks is essential so the work you do in promulgating and collecting information around the preference rates and goods being made with forced labor, is incredibly important. that feeds into our systems to make sure we're addressing those concerns when they arise. smart regulation is important. working with the business community and creating their legislation is helpful, but at the end of the day, more does matter. and there are many, many countries in the world where they have all the law in the world but no enforce. and so the judicial estimate, the way in which the enforcement agencies are resourced, is also

vital in term odd u.s. government outreach global limit with could get labor inspectors inspecting places properly and get policemen with the power and authority to do what it need to do to stop trafficking we would have a better road ahead. resourcing is needed to address it jurassic just to follow up on that -- just to follow up and give a callout to the doj, we are part of an organization called "we protect" a global organization that brings together industry as well as governments as wells a law enforcement agencies as well as ngos to look at these issues at a global level. we protect has put together a national model for what it looks like in a country to have the resources you need to combat the exploitation of children in particular. i think that's a really good working model for how to begin to look at these programs at a

global level, and really like to thank the doj for participating and putting its forces behind it. >> i just want to really thank this panel. it's an amazing group of individuals and companies. they do this on their own time, they volunteer their time and are committed to this issue. i appreciate this is only the tip of the iceberg. the more people see these amazele companies doing this work the more will sign on. thank you very much. give them a big hand for being here. [applause] >> [inaudible]

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[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> the justice department conference on human trafficking, taking a short break about the 15 minutes, you heard. they'll be back for the final panel that we'll be covering on justice department grant opportunities and identifying gaps for future programs. lap wrapping up the conference with kirstjen nielsen. the conference reairs tonight on chops c-span and later available on our win page, type justice department in the video library

search bar on the home page. attorney general jeff sessions was first on the conference this morning. he spoke to the attendees right around 9:00. [applause] >> good morning. thank you all for being here and thank you, rachel, for your kind words and more importantly for your strong leadership as our third in command of the department, those who ron and rachel are harvard graduates, they're experienced lawyers, they are -- rod has had 27 years in the department, rachel has had a number of years in the department previously, and so i they both represent the kind of quality and leadership we want in the department. we are focused and proud, really, of the work that's been done over a number of years,

maybe over the last ten years, we have seen an increasing focus on fighting human trafficking, and i want to thank all of you that have been important leaders in making this a reality. i want to thank the panelists who are here with us. each of you brings a valuable, unique perspective that we'll be able to learn from today, especially want to thank andrea hipwell for showing the courage and strength to share your experience and insight with us. you're channelling your expense into something that can helps could that's commendable. also to thank corey parnell, a survivor, for being with us today, and to thank all of those who are here, who have dedicated your lives to helping survivors reclaim they're lives and their freedom. thank you to mary francis

bowling, dr. jordan green balm, jeff rogers and so many others, and thank you to all of the victim assistance organizations and century rifer advocacy -- survivor advocacy groups who bring healing and hope to toes who suffer from this terrible crime. we have congressional staff here with us, thank you for your attention to this issue. congress has been supportive. indeed there appears to be a unique bipartisan interest in this isn't which i would suggest manies that we have an opportunity, maybe the next few years, to do more than we have done in the past. i want to welcome members of the business community. a number who are here, who are taking important steps to prevent trafficking. i want to thank them as well. dave mccleary of the rotary clear, nikole clifton of u.s.,

and davis of facebook and audra jenkins of brandstad north america, shally, of anthem, richard thierry of delta and grant of coca-cola. we appreciate your attention to this issue. want to also thank secretary kirten nielsen of homeland security and all of our prosecutors and law enforcement officers who are with us today. i'll try to be brief. mention a few things so we can get to the leaders talking with us later mitchell friend, curtis hill, attorney general in indiana, here and neely cox and robert mussy from the self right -- civil rights division in texas. i want to thank them for their

hard work putting traffickers behind bars. human trafficking is a violent crime. trafficking victims are often threatened, beaten, drugged, isolated, deceived, and manipulated psychologically, in order to make them dependent to control them and to keep them captive. it's hard to come prepared -- comprehend this level of crueltity but human trafficking remains far too common. the fbi estimated at one point that this was the third largest criminality in the world after drugs and counterfeiting. and there are signs the industry is changing, and that is not uncommon, and law enforcement has to change with it. that's just the way the world works. from 2010 to 2015, the national center for missing and exploited children reported a nine-fold increase in reports of suspected

child sex trafficking, an increase which they think i related to the internet. these numbers should be a wakeup call for all of us. it's easy to overlook the problem because human trafficking victims are often hidden in plain sight. they're just not on street corners or dark alleys. they're in hotels where we stay, truck stops, they're sold for sex in nightclubs, massage parlors-at parties, compelled to perform domestic service, janitorial jobs or farm work. human trafficking is a crime that law enforcement has to look out for in any major event that occurs. and today, that is is not enoughment we now face the problem of human traffickers using the internet. every day in america, criminals use online advertisement to sell trafficking victims of sex --

for sex. the web site that hosts the advertisements act with near impunity. i'm pleased that congress is focused on this problem and cowgirl them for working -- congratulate them for working to find the scourge that is online sex trafficking. this department is taking action against all forms of human trafficking. i'm proud of what they have accomplished. we have been aggressively pursuing traffickers and recoverying their victims. all 94 of our out attorneys offices throughout the country have designated human trafficking coordinators, who have developed customized, anti-trafficking strategies for each of their districts. they help our united states attorneys advance effective enforcement strategies, build strong partnerships, and ensure that we are using our resources

as effectively as possible to identify victims and investigate and prosecute traffickers. stopping trafficking is a priority of each one of our offices. the criminal division child exploitation and obscenity section does terrific work to stand those who traffic children for sex. just a few weeks ago, along with the united states attorney's office in the eastern district of virginia, they secured convictions of two men in virginia for trafficking three underage girls. this section also helps train thousands off prosecutors, investigators and state and local and tribal police throughout the country. the department provides anti-trafficking grant funding. as rachel mentioned to the 85% of law officers in america, who serve at the state, local, and tribal level, who are not

federal officers. we support them and we know they're important. we understand that they bring unique capabilities and on-the-ground intelligence that most federal agencies just don't have. they are indensable partners in our efforts and i'm sure many of you work with them and have great respect for state and local officers, many of them highly talented and dedicated to this effort. human trafficking prosecution unit , or htpu, partner witches united states attorneys offices to prosecute labor traffic, sex trafficking of adults and transnational sex trafficking. hcpu leaded or initiative which brings together federal agents and prosecutors in competitive live selected districts. u.s. attorney brook, who is with us today, is a valuable member of one of those teams and he

will be presenting today on some of the successes he has had in his district, including obtaining substantial resident constitution for survivors. we also work in partnership with the department of homeland security and our partners in mexico through a bilateral, antitrafficking initiative aimed at dismantling transnational trafficking networks because human trafficking of course is often a transnational crime. the day i was sworn in as attorney general, president trump sent me an executive order to dismantle the these transnational criminal organizations. it is a high priority ask this includes handcuff trafficking rings. another reason why we must finally secure our border. trafficker ands coyote tees sew

our borders as an opportunity they can exploit for great profit and exploit this weakness in our security all too easily. meeting and talking with the united states attorneys office in minnesota that had a massive chase, i think you'll hear about today -- the amount of money that can be made through this illegal enterprise is far larger, i think, than most people realize. they suggest even larger than drug trafficking. our important partnership with mexico has resulted in the federal prosecutions in this country of more than 50 defendants, multiple cases in georgia, new york, florida, and texas. in addition to the numerous prosecutions in mexico of associated sex offenders. i remember a case several years ago of two mexican nationalled would were trafficking mexican

guatemala girls in georgia and alabama. they convinced them to cross the boredder into the country, then used violence, threat, intimidation, deception and psychological abuse, to control them. thanks to the hard work of people at this department, one man received a 15 year sentence, another a 22 year sentence. that is good work. that kind of sentencing and those kind of investigations can end one of these organizations. our efforts are continuing to produce even greater results, and under rachel's leadership and all those in the department, we expect to get better in the future. last year, through our bilateral work with mexico, we secured guilty pleas from eight members of the reyes sex trafficking organization, that trafficking

ring that forced young women and girls from mexico and latin america into prostitution. they did this for a decade. we worked tirelessly with our mexican counterparts to extradite five defendants to stand trial in the united states. we appreciate they're help in that regardment we sent a clear message that the united states will pursue criminals to the end of the earth in the name of justice. thanks to the men ask and women of this department we need no longer fear this barbaric trafficking ring. last of all, the fbi and our state and local partners arrested 120 traffickers and recovered 84 miner naz major nationwide operation. one operation. victims were as young as 12. and just a couple of weeks ago, just ten miles from here, a sex trafficker, for foreign virginia, was sentenced to 30

years in prison. his two co-cop speier temperatures -- coconspirators received ten year sentences. in fiscal year 2017 the department of justice secured convictions of near lay hundred traffickers. we charged more than 550 defendants last year, some still pending. these cases involved all forms of human trafficking, laker trafficking, sex trafficking, exploiting minors and adult, guest workers and illegal aliens. we have seen an increase in cases filed, defendants channeled and defendants convicted, and we're going to keep working at it. when we lock away a trafficker, our work is not over as you well know. we just don't stop there. you don't stop there. we also fund survivor centered programs that help trafficking

victims walk the long road to recovery. you're going to hear this afternoon's panel about how we can make those grants as effective as possible. that is a priority for us. every dollar needs to receive maximum benefit. so i'm helpful that today's summit will help us build on the efforts that i have just described and you will discuss, and make us more effective than we have ever been. i hope that it will shine a light on a problem that is all too often kept in the shadows. want to thank you, on again, for being here, for participating in today's summit. i want to thank you all for your work to protect our communities and ensure that victims and survivors are valued and protected. thank you all. have a great day. [applause]

>> back now to live coverage of the justice department conference on stopping human trafficking. prior to become the assistant ag, miss williams was a litigation and appellate partner. from 2005 to 2006, miss williams served as special counsel to the united states senate committee on judiciary, where she assisted with the confirmation of chief justice john g. roberts jesus and associate justice sal i'm alito jr. to the united states supreme court. miss williams graduated from harvard college magna cum laude with a degree in history and lit tour and earned her law degree from harvard law school see. serve is there as executive editor of the hard record journal of law and public poll

and i turn it over to beth williams, i jew. on behalf of the office of legal policy i want to thank the attorney general this, deputy attorney general and associate attorney general, rachel brand for their leadership on this. i'm proud to be working with the department leadership to take con treat steps to fight human trafficking. today i'm very happy to be here with this final panel which will be discussing the department of justice grant opportunities. the department is committed to funding inmotivatetive and successful approaches to combating human trafficking and to supporting survivors. in fiscal year 2017, the department made $47 million available to help trafficking survivors, and we hope to make more funds available this year. our panel today will discuss some of the grant opportunities that the department of justice is offering for fiscal year

2018. this panel is planning to s'mores additional areas that could benefit from funding for upcoming grant year programs and i know it's looking forward hearing from you during question and answer. i'm proud to introduce our panelists. 'll introduce each panelist briefly. our first panelist on my right is rob chapman then,ty director for community policing advance independent the department's office of community oriented policing services or cops. he oversees the cops office training and technical assistance. prior to joining the cops office in 1996, he assisted with and managed policing research, technical assistance and legislative and government affairs for the police executive research forum, a membership organization of law enforcement executives. mr. chapman mass a ba in political science from west virginia university and a masters in government from johns hopkins university. next to me is katy sullivan, the

principal dep tip direct you on the doj office of violence against women or ovw. she served for 11 years as a judge in the fifth judicial district count county in eagle county, cord. she preside over 45,000 criminal and civil cases and worked to develop procedures and policies to ensure victims rights in her courtroom. she created the fifth judicial district's first dui court and also created the separate drug court to address her communities ongoing needs. in 2016 she was named the fifth judicial district judge of the year and miss sullivan received her undergraduate from security another and the jd from george washington. finally is mary thomas, miss thomas is the director of poll? i doj's office of justice programs. she formulated policy regarding how to spurt and partner with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and justice intents to reduce and

prevent crime. prior to joining doj she was the general council the florida department of eller affairs and was the assistant general counsel for the governor of florida. has awe degree from thad state use and a matt masters of law degree from university of miami. i want to start by asking each panelist briefly to discuss the work off their office and the grant opportunities that are available. why don't we start with rob. >> thank you so much. most importantly i just want to take a minute to thank all the attendees it. has been a tremendous opportunity for us to hear about your important work and powerful stories. it's opportunities like this that allows us to i think at the federal level better tailor our resources so they have the most impact and provide the most value in those resources as much as possible. so thank you for the chance to be here and listen to your stories. the office of community orient

its policing receive is as come opinion within the department of justice. many people may be more familiar with what we're commonly referred to which is the cops office. we have a primary mission of advancing community policing nene n nations state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and we do that in a number of wees but primarily through providing resources through grantses and training and technical assistance, directly to state and local law enforcement practitioners and agencies so they can incorporate community policing principles in their criminal and violence reduction efforts. we -- community policing founded under the premise that when police and communities collaborate, they're much more effect tv than addressing the crime problems that exist in their communities. they can make their communities that much more safer. there's really coproduction of public safety that occurs.

obviously we heard this over and over today, within the human trafficking realm, investigations and prosecutions are always vital to addressing this problem. however, another thing i think we also heard over and over is the important role that partners play, folks like service providers, faith-based community, advocacy community, the business and private sector in helping to improve the range of tools that can be brought to bear to address human trafficking. that's really what we're trying to accomplish at the cops office, through grants and other resources we provide. we want to emphasize -- just want to take a moment to emphasize that community playing didn't start with the federal government. we didn't invent community policing. it's something that grew out of practice at the state and local level. we also don't proscribe the way

it should by implemented in grants and resources we deliver. it's most effective when it's tailored to best meet the needs of states and localities and the communities they serve, and so in that manner we've tailored our grants and resources and programs to reflect the importance-not only of providing the resources but doing so in a way that best meets the unique local needs that exist among grantees. we work to support state and local law enforcement predonnell nationally in four different ways, and i'll talk more about this throughout the panel, but the first is of course through our grant programs. we also have a pretty significant technical assistance portfolio which i'll discuss in a bit. we provide training opportunities, both through more traditional kinds of training courts we offer -- courses we offer either contribute throw law enforcement agencies or a more regional approach through regional approach.

we also offer an increasing number of courses online that in particular can be supportive of agencies that don't have the funding to send their officers out to training at another location. finally, we have developed over the years a pretty significant set of resources solely devoted to providing law enforcement practitioners with the information they need about cutting-edge practices and innovative approaches to address a wide range of issues, including handcuff trafficking and i'll talk more about that throughout the panel. i just want to specifically introduce our programs with turn it over to catherine. our first program, our centerpiece program, this cops program. i really is the sort of the most fundamental way we have relationship with law enforcement agencies across the country. we have funded over 13,000 law enforcement appearings to the tune of about 129,000 cops

office funded law enforcement officers which are out there practicing in the communes across the nation. we continue to have an ongoing relationship with agencies so it affords us a valuable opportunity to not only work with them through grants and other ways of providing resources, like training and tech nick cam assistance -- technical assistance and providing guide books and other resourcesle we have a tribal resources grant program and support tribal law enforcement and training, community policing department program where we provide funding for local law enforcement agencies to incubate innovative practices which can be taken to a larger scale and evaluated in the justice department. this allows to us quickly fund innovative efforts in a way that can infuse localities with the best possible strategies that

are out there. we also seek to take advantage of the lessons learned through the implementation of those efforts, and package them in a tway that is easily connell assumed for other practitioners across the country senate leads to the fourth area we provide resources resources and that's through providing guidebooks and other materials to law enforcement agencies across the country. is a wrap up here in the initial part of the panel, i just want to say what we have been doing the last couple of years is more heavily investing in focusing our -- the range of resources and grant programs on human trafficking, and so we really tried to ramp up the resources available for law enforcement agencies to take advantage of, to focus on human trafficking. we starting to do in the fiscal year '18 is to step up our graham and just wrapping back to my appreciation for the opportunity to kind of hear not only what is working great and

examples but also looking for ways we can try to provide valuable resources to state and locals so they can expand on the best of what is taking place out there. so thanks again if look forward to talking to you throughout the panel. thank you. >> that's great. thank you, rob. maybe deity can talk about the -- katy can talk about the grant opportunitied for the office of violence against women. >> first want to say it's a true privilege to be here today, and to have had the opportunity to sit throughout all of the panels and listen to all the different stakeholders and the trafficking -- human trafficking realm and hear these common themes, and i can really provide us direction going forward. we heard all day about the importance all of our stakeholders about collaboration, communication, and then of course, resources, which is what this panel really is about.

i want to thank, of course, associate attorney general rachel brand. she provides fabulous leadership in this issue. her staff, rachel parker and everyone who works so hard to bring this event together, of course, thank you, beth. i want to make another huge word of gratitude and that is to the survivors and the survivors that did speak today and speak at these type of events all over the country. they provide our most valuable asset and that is hope. and i think that a special thank you to them. what is the office of violence against women? i do want to tell you just at bit about the office. it was created by the violence against women's act which was passed in 1994, as part of the crime bill. it dress -- its mission is to provide federal leadership in development of our nation's

capacity to reduce four very specific crimes: section assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. while i'm speaking may talk about the four crimed. this is a very proscriptive program, that its, that we follow the violence against women's act and we are basically instructed that we are to address these four crimes. our grant program -- oh, since 1959 -- 1995 we have awarded $7.6 billion in grants and in 2017, the office of violence against women made 751 awards equaling approximately $450 million. our grant programs fund projects that support victims and/or hold perpetrators accountable. we support projects that deal

with courts, law enforcement, prosecution, probation, as well as organizations that provide victims services. so when we look at this collaboration issue and bringing everyone to the table, office of violence against women hopefully can help with that. there is a considerable intersections between our four crimes and human trafficking. quite obviously. one grantee reported that up to 15 human trafficking victims their program dealt with, they served within six months, so it was 15 within six months, 11 were trafficked by an intimate partner. so we can really see a cross-section here with our four crimes. the office on violence against women has made trafficking a priority in 2018, and in line with the attorney general's

commitment to the successful prosecution of perpetrators of trafficking and to help the survivors be safe and whole again as associate attorney general brand talked about in the beginning of our day. we prioritize trafficking in our discretionary grants. we also support grantees and organizations that help create awareness. we are always creating awareness in our grantee and a common theme we heard today is helping particularly the courts, law enforcement, and victims service providers, an identifying who is a victim of human trafficking. when someone comes into a program, comes into court, has their first meeting with law enforcement, as has been said, over and over today, they may not actually present in the

beginning as a trafficking victim. so it's really crucial in going forward that we happen these agencies and the people out there in the field identify the victims. so office of violence against women, our efforts are very focused on that at this time. we do currently have five open solicitations, briefly, and are improving criminal justice response. these support criminal justice partners like climate of law enforcement, prosecution in the courts and dressing the four crimes. ... the rule grant program

address the unique needs of those in rural communities. geography and the becoming so important and how people can respond and services being available. those grants tried to close those gaps. our consolidated youth program supports programs that provide services for youth involving crimes and sex trafficking. our program does provide offering assistance for sex assault victims in the indian country. we did just have one of our grants close prior to this event and it was our justice for families program that supports family court, supervised visitation across the country, that did have a trafficking priority and what is really exciting is 62 out

of approximately 132 applicants to identify trafficking projects. that is very exciting that people are starting to see the need need and focus on this particular issue. obviously in 2019, what we're really excited about is using our experience from 2018 to get even better and bigger and this space. as people are able in the field who are able to identify trafficking victims, often times violence will be focused to create more opportunities for services and in the courts. also the department of justice and violence against women. thank you. >> thank you. now mary thomas will talk a little bit about her work and

the type of grants that are available with regard to human trafficking through your office. >> thank you. it is a real pleasure to be here and we really appreciate the leadership of president trump, attorney general session, associated attorney general and all the leadership at d.o.j. just wanted to take a quick moment to thank all of you for the good work you are doing and we at the office of justice programs are here to be your partner in the fight against human trafficking. so jp manages the largest amount of federal funding dedicated to providing and enhancing direct services to victims of human trafficking in the united states. last fiscal year, fiscal year 17, we funded approximately $47 million in human trafficking programs.

this fiscal year, dependent upon legislative appropriation, we are looking to fund approximately $50 million in antitrafficking work. we currently have 189 active antitrafficking grants totaling over $129 million. the trafficking funding supports a wide variety of activities from victim services, antitrafficking tax forces training and technical assistance and research and evaluation. currently, the funds have 29 multidisciplinary, and site trafficking forces that are located all throughout the united states. through these task forces, they must have one law-enforcement component and one victim service component and they've provide a

coordinated communitywide response to identifying victims of trafficking, serving them and investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases. with regard to victim services fund providers to deliver a wide range of vital services, all aimed at allowing victims to recover and thrive, and some of these services include legal services, mental health counseling including substance abuse treatment, employment assistance, housing, and many other areas. we also offer funding to use victims of human trafficking, and i learned about one of our programs that provides comprehensive services to youth victims. they are actually paired with a survivor mentor and a whole case management team, and that

victim is given individual services that are really tailored to that individual makeup. we also have several grant programs. as all of you know, those of you in the antitrafficking field, it is very hard to identify trafficking victims and often we find there is not enough capacity to serve these victims. they have invested significant funding in training and technical assistance to thousands of law-enforcement, judges, prosecutors, victim service providers, and many others in the trafficking field. these training and technical assistance programs train individuals on how to identify victims of trafficking and how to refer them to appropriate services. additionally we work on building the capacity to serve victims of trafficking, we

have often seen there are domestic violence shelters that perhaps, once we get into serving trafficking victims but they do not have the specialized capacity to be able to do that. our training and technical assistance will give them the training they need to be able to perform trauma informed services. with regard to research and evaluation, oh jps national institute of justice is currently funding ongoing traffic and research that will give us a better handle on the prevalence and the impact of human trafficking. all of these issues have again been very hard to identify and quantify. for fiscal year 18, national institute of justice is exploring funding research that focuses on demand reduction, the grooming of traffickers, and many other issues. in order to develop better prevention, intervention, and

victim services strategies. oh jp firmly believes that those on the front line, each and every day know most about what works and what doesn't work in our programming, and any of the gaps that there are, and we are constantly seeking input from the field about our program. in response to the input, the office of victims of crime is exploring a solicitation of funds innovative projects which focus on needs identified by the antitrafficking field. some of these needs are increasing the capacity to identify and serve labor trafficking victims and also focusing on evidence-based and trauma informed mental health services including substance abuse treatment. we have a wide variety of

programs and that was just a quick run through of the programs we have. i encourage you to visit our website, we have a full list of programs. we like you remain firmly committed to the fight against human trafficking and we want to be your partners. thank you. >> thank you mary, and thanks to all of you. i think when people think of the department of justice, they often focus on the prosecutions, their minds go directly to that and obviously it's a huge and crucial part of our mission, but one of the things that kept coming up throughout the day is that we cannot help solve this problem without our community partners, both the state and

local and tribal law-enforcement agencies, and also our community partners. i was very happy to be sitting on this panel to talk about the help and the assistance that we are giving our community partners and so on that note, i was wondering if you could talk a little bit about, other than the grant funding, what other resources or training to your components have available for first time grantees, groups that are looking to apply for the first time, who may want to help with the human trafficking problem. >> so we actually have several resources on our website. we have training for what you should think about prior to applying for grants, how to apply for grants, and then "after words" with grant management. not only on our main website, but also on our components, the bureau of justice assistance, we even have a video on how to apply for grants we have quite a few resources. i know people might think that it's only big entities that get these grants, but in fact,

last fiscal year we awarded a grant to an entity that only had five paid individuals. our grants go to a wide friday of organizations. >> we actually, we have a mandatory new grantee orientation where our staff goes and perhaps other technical assistance, trainers will also go and will have an orientation which is fabulous and we also have a tremendous amount of information on our website about how to apply for the grants and things like that. i have to say, i'm sure, knowing mary and rob, it's true for them as well because the staff at the office on violence against women are among the most dedicated staff that i have ever had the pleasure to work with in my professional career. they are tireless. they make sure the needs are

met and our grantees are successful. >> one of the programs i refer to is our community development program for the eligibility requirements are very broad. in fact, we will accept applications from service providers, law-enforcement organizations, really anyone who has an innovative idea for a way in which they can partner with their local law-enforcement to advance the community and address local crime or public safety issue. one example of the project that we funded in previous years was an award that we made for the department of public safety. they had worked with the fbi behavioral analysis unit to develop training on the on traffic children. we wanted to, a very popular

and successful training there within the state of texas, we saw an opportunity to replicate what was a local solution and we provided money to fund the texas department of public safety to go out on the road and do ten train the trainers sessions in jurisdictions across the country. one way we are able to invest a little bit of seed money and innovative ideas and to support its replication is through development so i encourage everyone to take a look at that when it comes out which will hopefully be in the spring. the other programs i want to mention is to double back to our hiring program, the eligibility for that is for local, however critical component of that application is the development of key and strategic partnerships based on the crime and public safety topic that the agency has identified. i will make two notes on our hiring program, we have elevated the importance of human trafficking within the

application over recent years, we are looking to do so in even a more fundamental way so we can really impress upon applicants the importance of considering their own challenges later to human trafficking and if it's a fit for them to apply for program funds to address their local human trafficking issues, in concert with local stakeholders and that they identify as being appropriate, relevant to address her local issues. those are two of our programs, last fiscal year we funded 13 for a total of 62 sworn officer positions that totaled about $8 million that were devoted directly to drew address human trafficking in the jurisdiction. we are looking for ways we can have expanded impact starting

in the spring. the other non- funded resource that i just want to quickly highlight is one that we are very excited about and it's a collaborative reform initiative. we spent a number of months redesigning this initiative so it's much more responsive to the needs of the field. it recognizes the importance of local, ability and control in terms of allowing the agency to really address what their own local needs are using the resources we can provide. it is directly tied to crime and public safety goals and, as importantly as any of those factors, we are using. [inaudible] and we had some of our partners, i don't want to do too much of a preview but we will be partnering with the chief of police, the fraternal order of fleets as well as a number of other national stakeholder organizations which will allow us to work through those national organizations to deliver the very best tailored technical assistance to states and localities. human trafficking is obviously an important issue and that

something we will be working with our partners to make sure those resources are offered and promoted to state and local practitioners so we can start to infuse jurisdictions across the country with the very best thinking on how to address this issue. >> that is great to hear. i think for some of the community organizations and for the local and tribal law-enforcement it may seem daunting to apply for a federal grant but i think i speak for the panel when i say that we want to be getting this money out to the people who can best use it and to the places in the community where it can most help human trafficking victims help stop human trafficking. too that end, do you have any examples of organizations that have become grantees recently that have been success stories. >> yes. it's exciting because there are so many, but in kentucky and jefferson county, an

organization that we funded provide stable housing and intensive, comprehensive support services to survivors and young adults that have been sexually trafficked. as i was listening to all the panels over this, and particularly the two panels ago, and talking with having some housing specifically for trafficking victims, we are funding a program that has been very successful in that arena and these victims need it all. they need the housing, they need the employment help, they need other services such as substance abuse, mental health and we need to make sure the trauma informed treatment and

the issues going to everything in their lives, this is a very successful program. >> i want to make sure we have time for questions. maybe we will take questions right now if anyone has any. >> we have had grants, but my question is actually to suggest funding for someone else. i know it has been a long day. it's cold outside so i have strange ideas, but one of the things we have seen from the beginning, we've been working with traffic people for 17 years and i hear in the panel

today, people don't self identify. we know that it's difficult to uncover these cases of human trafficking. we've seen from the beginning how important law-enforcement is in uncovering these cases. i remember a discussion or thinking that law-enforcement needed to be involved in a collaborative grant started and they been reevaluated. what we see is in some places it works very well and in some places they get directed to people doing work they were already doing. we are very fortunate in dallas that at least at the federal level we have fbi doing some good works. the one thing we've seen over the years, some of us believe

it's crucial to uncover the vast number of trafficking cases that are there. what i mean by institutionalized is people who may not be at the department that stays doing that work, i know that's really the goal. this is also something i've been told can be done. that funding can go to federal agencies, but if it did they would be uncovering trafficking cases. i think you could see a thousand cases in a month. it would have to be, it's not an easy thing to do. that's why am throwing it out there. it's something i believe from the beginning is really needed.

that would be a way of institutionalizing, to have an agent who is funding specifically to do that one. we've seen some remarkable results with agents that are focused on labor trafficking and sex trafficking but around the country i hear things like this. >> that's a great point. i think some of the earliest panelist talked about the teams that the department has that are focused on having these actions and these are interagency teams, the department of labor, department of homeland security, hhs, d.o.j. and are trying to do what you're talking about, going out to the communities and uncovering the spread of wonder if anyone else on the panel can talk about ways to institutionalize what we are doing. and what you all are doing. >> one simple lesson that

we've learned over the years, the lessons that can be learned at the local level and then translated for a much broader audience, often have the most power, rather than us infusing a model first date and local to implement. if we can provide food funding and about the important partnerships with stakeholders that are relevant in our appropriate and the local context, if we can provide so that the simple resources, whether it's training or technical assistance or grant funding and then sort of get out of the way and let them do the good work, then we may have a role in documenting their efforts to make it translatable to the rest of the field. that's been one approach we have tried to adopt. >> named jerry with the porch light and one more child from

florida. one of the things we've seen extremely effective in working with child victims of trafficking and young adults is survivor mentors. i know there's a number of grants for employment of survivor mentors but i was wondering if you might look toward some grants to provide resources and support for those survivor mentors as we have a number on staff and they become stretched as well as the triggers they are going through and being able to help victims so to be able to offer additional resources and support particularly for those survivor mentors. >> i think that's a great idea. what i found, particularly intriguing about the program we have with child victims is that there is this survivor mentor that they're paired with and i think that's a unique relationship that they

have because only someone who has been through that dramatic experience can really understand what the victim is facing. that's a great idea. >> too that and, if there are needs that are not being met or covered, how can members of the public identify gaps? either way for you to fund components. >> i know, again, i'm being a bit repetitive but pick up the phone and call our office. the information is right on the front page of the department of justice and we have staff were truly dedicated to this issue and assisting victims and we want very much to hear public feedback. that being said, our grand cypress prescriptive and we are limited in terms of who we can get to because it's laid

out in the statute. however, we do have discretionary grants, discretionary grants and were looking at ways to use that discretion in order to fill gaps and better serve the needs for the other thing we solicit in a formal way feedback from all of our stakeholders and that report is on our website. it is given to congress and it's on our website for anyone to see. feedback is vital to making sure needs are met, and i agree with rob in terms of, we need to learn locally, i think what gets overwhelming is how we disseminate the information, how we are able to take a project that's working very well here, tweak it and then it works over here and that's why conferences and

forms like this are absolutely vital. we have got to keep talking and communicating. i think that is how we have success. >> if i could just add, it's never early or too late in the funding cycle to provide us with input. we are all searching for that, we tried to get out of washington and out into communities where the true work is being done but in terms of process, whether it's in terms of the substantive direction or the focus of our programs. numberenever too early or too late in the funding cycle so please share any thoughts or information. we have information on our website on ways to collect that information.

the other thing i would say is , in terms of the funding cycle, we are hoping to resolve in the spring so now is the perfect time to have these conversations. we look forward to this being the beginning of the dialogue. >> as i said, we come in my comments, we are constantly engaging with the field and those who are interested to learn about what you think works in our program and what doesn't work what the gaps are actually planning a series of roundtable testing sessions to get more input, not only from our grantees but others in the field and as katie said as well, we have, on our website we have a contact tab with a number and an e-mail address and actually goes to a customer service center so any feedback that you have, we really want to hear from you because all of you are the

ones on the front line who can tell us what the needs actually are. >> thank you very much but i want to thank our panelists and all of you who are here but i know a lot of you are working on this issue every day. you are working with survivors, you working in the communities, and working in law enforcement to stop human trafficking. we appreciate you being here today. thank you. [applause]

how well-planned has this summer been? we are very close to the end. thank you. [applause] is belongs to a very dedicated

staff of professionals, many who are here who helped put the summit on state for the secretary is on her way. she is a little delayed. we are asking for about ten minutes more of your time and we anticipate she will be here around 445. if you will, feel free to stretch her legs and move about the great hall but because of security and other considerations, please stay around here. i will make an announcement in a couple minutes. thank you. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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>> my check. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon and welcome back to the department of justice human trafficking summit. it is my pleasure to introduce the deputy general of the united states. they serve as the second highest ranking individual in the department of justice. rod rosenstein is the 37th deputy general of the united states.

he advises an assistant attorney general in implementing the department of justice policies and programs and in effect serves as the chief operating officer for more than 30 distinct components within the department of justice. mr. rosenstein has spent over 27 years in public service. after graduating from the wharton school of business and harvard law school he started his career as a law clerk for the d.c. circuit. he began his career with the department of attorney general's where he served as a prosecutor. following that role he served in a number of supervisory roles within the department as well as the united states attorney in maryland. in 2005 president bush appointed him to be the united states attorney for the district of maryland and he assumed that office following confirmation by the united

states senate. as u.s. attorney he served as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district of maryland, he held this post with 12 years until last year when he was confirmed as the deputy attorney general of the united states. ladies in german, the deputy has been and continues to be a true advocate for law enforcement and for victims of human traffickin trafficking, their support networks and all of you here today. please join me in welcoming our deputy attorney general. [applause] >> thank you very much. good afternoon. i hope everyone had a productive day. it has been a privilege for us to host this conference. i want to thank rachel brand for her exceptional leadership of this initiative and also want to give a special thanks to patrick who has been our

master ceremonies and has done such a superb job of keeping us on track and dealing with some slight delays. he has helped coordinate this program. we began the day with remarks from attorney general jeff sessions and we are deeply honored to have yet another member of the president's cabinet who is committed to the fight against human trafficking. christian nielsen serves as the sixth only in security secretary. she is a superb leader with a wealth of relevant experience for last year she served as the chief of staff to the department of homeland security and she then served as deputy chief of staff to president john. in the george w. bush in ministration, secretary nielsen served as a senior director on the homeland security council. in her current role, she serves as she supervises several law-enforcement agencies and plays a critical role in the u.s. government

antitrafficking efforts. from customs and border protection to the coast guard, to the transportation security administration, department of homeland security is on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking and is one of the justice department's most important federal partners. we are fortunate that dhs has a leader like secretary nielsen at the home and we are delighted that she was able to join us here today. ladies in july, please welcome our secretary of homeland 30. [applause] >> good afternoon. it is my pleasure to be here and i want to thank you all for being part of the summit today. i would especially like to thank attorney general sessions, the deputy attorney general and rachel for your leadership. it is really very important from our perspective at the

department of homeland security that we have partners such as the department of justice to be able to fight this fight together because it is in fact what it requires. the diversity of voices in the room today, and i wish i had been able to spend the day with you, from law enforcement and nonprofit to the private sector, it's a reminder that human trafficking affects everyone. most importantly, as i mentioned, it takes that united front to end and fight it together. human trafficking is not a third world problem. it is a worldwide problem and it's happening here in the united states. as i've said before, make no mistake, human trafficking is modern-day slavery. it enslaves people of all ages,, race and background and affects every community whether it's sex trafficking, forced labor or domestic service issues, we know it's happening here within our very community. victims of human trafficking subsided on airplanes, trains and buses. they make the hotel beds we

sleep in. they prepare the food we eat. they are often invisible until you look just a little bit closer and when you do, you see fear, you see hunger, you see bruises. you see desperation and hopelessness. once you see it, i encourage you not to be silent. thanks to partners such as the department of justice, we are able to bring these folks to justice. less than three weeks ago a man was sentenced to 21 years in prison. for more than a decade through 's physical violence, emotional manipulation and assault, the man who does not deserve the name forced multiple young women and girls to engage in commercial sex act and perform at exotic dance clubs. his brutality is almost unspeakable. on one occasion, when one of the women he treated like property upset him, he made

her choose between two punishments purchase either drown or jump out the window. she chose to jump out the window. after she survived the fall, he kicked her head so hard that her teeth fell out. thanks to the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement homeland security investigation unit, the fbi and the department of justice, now you're getting my point on partnership, the u.s. attorney's office for the eastern district of wisconsin and d.o.j. civil rights division human trafficking prosecution unit, today that monster of a man is behind bars and there i hope he stays. unfortunately the must like this are far too common. they don't always end injustice. that's why quantitive actions like today's summit are so important because we must work together to end the scourge on our community. at the department of homeland security, the blue campaign, i am wearing blue in honor of our country and campaign and i hope you do that next year.

it's our unified effort to raise public consciousness about human trafficking and bring the traffickers to justice. in addition to new public service announcements this year, the blue campaign will continue to develop industry toolkits and training products. these products will help you, private industry, law-enforcement and nonprofits to recognize the signs of trafficking specific to their line of work. from truckstop cashiers to police officers and emergency room nurses, we want everyone who interacts with the public to recognize the signs of human trafficking, to know what to look for and to know whom to report it to if they suspect human trafficking. i ask for your support in the blue campaign effort. more information can be found on our website. the dhs, i am proud to say many components play an important role in countering human trafficking. hh i conduct law-enforcement operations for both domestic and international cases.

u.s. cis provides eligible non- citizen trafficking victims with immigration relief and they not only identify victims along our borders to continue to introductory loads of full of illegal aliens and in many cases they were trafficked into our country, 77 yesterday in just one trailer alone. our federal law-enforcement training center teaches law enforcement professionals to identify victims and conduct investigations. dhs is a large department. we are 200, almost 250,000 strong and we leverage all of our capabilities and capacity to target traffickers and disrupt their criminal enterprises throughout their pathways all throughout the world. i'm sure you've checked a little bit about transnational criminal organizations but i would like to add my voice to the specific part of the

threat. they are using their networks to smuggle dangerous drugs, illegal aliens and potential terrorists into our country. they have no concern for human lives and they are solely motivated by profit and violence. these networks are significant and persistent and we are working tirelessly to stop them but know that they also traffic in human souls. there are many reasons the department of justice has made this a priority to fight and rejoin their fight at the department of homeland security. one example of how we have supported the fight is operation safe haven. an investigation into a loosely affiliated organization that court needed the movement of women from mexico and central america across the southern border and throughout the united states. in a single day, after 15 months investigation, federal authorities were able to arrest 29 people in 13 cities and eight states. law-enforcement officers rescued 15 victims.

as the ice special agent in charge in atlanta said, this investigation identified women through fraud, and coercion under the age of 18. the criminals behind these enterprises, these women are just objects to pull a quick profit and discarded to the next trafficker down the line. as we've seen in operation safe haven, while human trafficking and smuggling are not synonymous, people who are illegally smuggled into this country are easy for traffickers to play on and that's the connection we as the department of homeland security are looking at. because these people are smuggled have nowhere to turn, they live in the shadows. they have no legal protection. they make the perfect victim for the traffickers as they continue to do their harm in our country. we are taking on this to intercept them at our borders, interdict them and our seas, arrest seminar cities and

pursue them to the ends of the earth. i would like to take one more moment to thank our partners at d.o.j. for the important role they play. in 2017 the department of convictions against 499 defendants in federal human trafficking prosecution. 471 of these predominantly involved sex trafficking and 28 labor trafficking. several investigations involve both. through investigations and prosecutions, the department of justice is an invaluable partner and ally, and we thank them for that. moving forward, we are making it harder for criminals to thrive. to secure our homeland we need to significantly change our approach to border security and immigration. i was just at the national targeting center with the president where we discussed the challenges that this presents in some solutions. as you may have seen, the president outlined a generous proposal and a framework to

prepare both our immigration system and to secure our borders. we are committed to securing our borders and ending the pull factors for illegal migration that actually make trafficking easy. to begin with, we must secure the border. we need a border wall system. we talked a lot about walls but when i fail wall system, it's not just the infrastructure but it's also the technology and personnel and importantly it's closing the legal loophole that prevents my agents to put their lives on the line every day to remove those they apprehended the border. we have proposed both technology, the infrastructure, personnel and the closing of the legal loophole that exploit our system and enable traffickers and smugglers to succeed. we seek a solution to an these restrictions and we ask all mandatory detention for aliens who convicted a crime or who otherwise pose a threat. one of the little known loopholes in our system are

those with gang affiliations who we find are also involved in the trafficking trade. we at dhs are restricted from removing them or using that as an inadmissibility criteria at the border. these are the loopholes we are looking to change. instead of asking immigrants what they can do, when we look at legal immigration, we want to ask what they can do for our country. as you've seen in the president's proposal, we are looking to change the way we do legal immigration as well. :

a human trafficking survivor in a joint investigation. she said i was 15 at the time it was a runaway. i never called the police because i felt like it was my fault. i fell at the thought at the time like i have to stay. you have to have yourself -- self-worth i did not. we were victims. it doesn't mean that you can't tap a successful future. together we can help those such as april and countless others like her to have a successful future. we can help bring traffickers to justice. we can help stop human trafficking. thank you for your time. we need to hear your voices and perspectives and capacity capabilities we can offer the best practices oha