damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle," i'm damian trujillo. we hope you're enjoying your new year. well, today, an important topic: it's human trafficking, on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ damian: and we begin today's show and, in fact, this year's show with another very, very important topic. it's called the "murdered & missing indigenous women." it's a great effort that is being undertaken across the state of california. with me is kathy chavez napoli--is a tribal member of the susanville indian rancheria, and yvonne martinez beltran is a morgan hill city councilwoman. welcome to the show, ladies.

both: thank you. damian: so, at the end of the show, we're gonna have the district attorney talking about human trafficking. we're talkin' about something similar here. kathy, i'll go to you first. talk about what we talk about when we mean the "murdered & missing indigenous women" effort. kathy chavez napoli: well, we're talking about alaskan native american from northern united states, mexico, central and south america. we have so many missing and murdered native women, and they're just not reported, and when they are missing, we don't get the coverage that we need to have so that we can recover or find these women, and this has been going on for hundreds of years. if you look at california's history, we know that almost 10,000 native american children were sold in the 1850s, and you can look at pictures from the bancroft library, in berkeley, to document that this has been going on for hundreds

of years, so it continues. damian: we looked at the video just a second ago, and, yvonne, this is--while we're talking about this effort, to get the word out, this is sort of like an amber alert effort, right, that is now gonna be taking place when it comes to missing or murdered indigenous women? yvonne martinez beltran: that's right. we're trying to bring that awareness to the community. you know, in a community, you don't live in a bubble. everybody's worlds cross one another, and so it's important, no matter where something is happening, we have to address it at a holistic level, and so that's why we're bringing this to the community to make sure that our indigenous women are safe, which translates into all women being safe. damian: and so when--here's one of those plays that talks about the importance of protecting indigenous women's rights. and why do you think that is, kathy? is it because the indigenous women and, in some cases, men, i hear, seem to be a little more vulnerable

than maybe other communities? kathy: well, i think that there's been a lack of communication, coordinated between the agencies when someone goes missing. so one of the things that's just happened is, in october of 2022, james ramos, who is a native american tribal member, at the legislation in california, passed ab 1314, and you call it the "feather alert," and that's much like the amber alert so that we can use the chp once we identify and notify the authorities whether they're local, county, statewide, or nationwide, that a native person is missing, and our chp can step in and alert just as they do for amber alert. so that's tremendous. and then we need people, our allies, our friends around our community to be aware of the fact that, when someone is missing, we need to have that same effort that we have seen when, for example, gail pitino was missing or when laci

peterson was missing. we need that same kind of activation to go find those people and see where they are and track them. we just need that awareness in the community. damian: absolutely, and, yeah, there's a local effort underway. yvonne, talk about local effort, again, to help get the word out. yvonne: well, i mean, i think, when you think about the communities, you know, looking at all of the vices of society such as crime, poverty, you know, women, indigenous women are much more likely to experience violence. they have a propensity for violence because there is more--a lack of resources as a marginalized population, and so we see women being victimized in numerous ways, which leaves them open to be more victim of--you know, oftentimes women go

missing by people that they know, and so, in order for us to address that issue, we've got to talk about some of the social ills that are very uncomfortable to talk about, and that is, you know, looking at the violence that's happening in homes, looking at teen dating and teen violence, looking at pregnancy, looking at, you know, homicides. all of those things play into what we're trying to do here, which is protect--protect our population and let women know that they're safe, and if someone does go missing, as kathy said, those resources need to be deployed. they need to be deployed in an organized manner. you've seen the county step up with addressing the rape kits. there is an effort that's been happening across the county and, i think, throughout the state. one thing that kathy had pointed out to me is we don't realize that california is one of the top states, the top ten states

that is experiencing native american and women of color missing, and, you know, when you talk about native american, lots of women who have indigenous roots, such as women of color, latinas, you know, south american and central american women, are all included in that, and so we need to get that word out that we're going to deploy our resources and make sure that everyone is protected, and we're gonna find that because we can't allow for some women to go missing, and those perpetrators continue to stalk and live in our communities and threatens the safety of everyone within the community. damian: yeah, absolutely, and it's called a "chp feather alert" that you're gonna be seeing these along the highways and byways as an amber alert. so there's some more information on the screen for you, the chp feather alert, the murdered & missing indigenous women. that website there gives you some great info. we'll be back to talk about this

important topic when we continue. stay with us. ♪♪♪ - life is uncertain. everyday pressures can feel overwhelming it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried, or frustrated. it's normal. with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673

or live chat at calhope.org today. damian: we're back here on "comunidad del valle," talking about an important topic, the murdered & missing indigenous women effort. it's called the chp feather alert. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 you'll get those amber alerts on the highways whenever there is a missing indigenous--well, something tells me this took a herculean effort, kathy, to get this accomplished, the chp feather alert. kathy: well, that really is something that james ramos really spearheaded at the assembly level, and he's one of--i think he is the first native american to be elected into the assembly, and when you think about how long we've had california be a state, then it's over 150 years, and it's about time, but these are timely issues that affect our community, and that is why it's so important to elect people who

represent our community like councilmember martinez beltran and like assembly member james ramos. they understand our population and our community, and sometimes it takes that champion to spearhead it and make sure that it gets through because the reality is that, when violence influences or violence comes to our home, it doesn't stop there. it is escalated into other communities. so many people think, "well, it's just the native americans," but that's not true. violence escalates. it starts out as a slap. it starts off as a word, verbal violence, but then it escalates. so when someone gets away with kidnapping or murdering people, whatever color they are, it escalates, and it includes all of our community. it impacts all of our community, and the youngest can be as young as one; the oldest, in the 80s, so, no age is safe, no community

is safe, and we have to put preventative methods in place, and we need to be aware and have a network that we always activate whenever this happens. it's critical. damian: and then kathy mentioned that it's all communities of color. in my hometown, councilmember, greenfield, there is a strong indigenous oaxacan community. same one in fresno, they're triqui they're mixtecos, so they speak a native mexican language, if you will. there's some prejudice there from the--i'm gonna call 'em "original mexican immigrants," towards these new immigrants, but i guess what i'm tryin' to say is that they're everywhere; we're everywhere, and it's a borderless crime. yvonne: that's right. damian: anything you wanna add, councilmember, just about the topic and the local effort? yvonne: i mean, i wanna--i think i'll definitely say that we've seen an uptick in support, which is great. i know that the city of morgan hill, we're going through our own diversity and inclusion and, you know, seeing those changes

roll out through our policy. you see that happening at the county. it has been happening at the county. you see that happening even in our organization, aauw. you know, very grateful to the organization for taking on this effort and helping to get that message out and amplifying the message, so i think that we're on the right track. as kathy said, i think it does mean--it does--is impacted by representation, representation of women, representation of, you know, different groups having a say and being at the table and bringing the issues to light that maybe go unnoticed otherwise. and so this is something that is important. we've got so many women who have gone missing, and, you know, it's just under the radar, and it's unacceptable, and we're here to say that everybody counts and that we feel these reverberations all throughout our community,

no matter what group it's in. and so, as a public servant, what we do with government is we protect the most vulnerable, and that's what we're here to do -- thank you. damian: it's a great--yeah, no, thank you--great effort. we have about a minute left. kathy, there's an event on january 25th. it's both in-person and virtual. kathy: yes, so it's very important. it is sponsored by the american association of university women, which both yvonne and i are members, and if you cannot attend in person, you can always join us via zoom, aauwmh--for "morgan hill"-- dot, org. aauwmh.org, to join us via zoom, but we welcome you at the library, and american association of university women is reaching out. we're talking to different groups. the kiwanis club has expressed an interest because this missing and indigenous women affects all of us. it's important, and it affects all ages, all communities, so we welcome everyone.

and i gave you a list of some of the places that people can reach out, but we can never make a huge impact unless we all join together, so we have a list of websites, phone numbers, that people who are interested and wanna get involved can contact, and it just takes one call. make a call to your local police department, to your sheriff's department, to your community organizations. together, we can make a difference, and we literally can save lives. damian: all right, well, thank you so much for your efforts. kathy chavez napoli, a member of the susanville indian rancheria, and yvonne martinez beltran, councilmember, city of morgan hill, thank you for your efforts. yvonne: it's an honor-- kathy: thank you, damien. damian: we appreciate you. thank you so much. yvonne: -- champions in our community. both: thank you. damian: thank you so much. again, it's january 25, is the virtual event and in-person at the morgan hill library. there is the info on your screen, the "chp feather alert." watch out for that on your highways. up next here on "comunidad del valle," the d.a. tackling human trafficking. similar topic.

we'll be back.

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damian: and as we've been reporting, human trafficking continues to be a big issue all across the country. here is where 100 years of disney dreams we're taking some action here in the south bay. with me is josue fuentes. he's a deputy d.a. with the santa clara county d.a.'s office. he's in charge of this trafficking--human trafficking unit at the d.a.'s office. josue, welcome back to the show. josue fuentes: good afternoon, damian. good to be back. damian: yeah, so you have a special unit, right, specialized in human trafficking? josue: yes, yes, and just to clarify, i'm just one of multiple attorneys and investigators. damian: no, you're the man in charge. josue: yeah, no, no, no, not even but--yeah, no, so i am a member of the law enforcement investigating human trafficking, or leiht 2.0, which is essentially the human trafficking task force for santa clara county. we were founded, in 2014 with funding from the county board of

supervisors, which funded for six investigators and one d.a. now, fast-forward eight years, and we've received additional funding from the department of justice, office of victims of crime grant. it's a $1.5 million grant disbursed over three years to help provide additional equipment, training, personnel, and then the board of supervisors, you know, leveraging that also approved additional funding, so now our task force is up to 12 investigators, 3 prosecutors, 2 forensic accountants. we have an analyst, a coordinator, and two victim advocates. so we have really grown. we also have letters of support with most of our local law enforcement partners. we have mous signed with several federal, state, and local agencies with the adult probation department being the most recent one.

so we really are investing both at the county level and from the federal level on this issue because it is very prevalent not just everywhere but in santa clara county. damian: and prior, previous segments here on the show, we had as guests some members of--it's murdered & missing indigenous women. it's a group that is trying to highlight this. they have now the chp feather alerts, which is something you're familiar with in some of your training. josue: yes, yes, we are, and, you know, i think that issue really comes back to reporting. you know, crimes occur all the time, but if no one, you know, blows that whistle to law enforcement, if no one makes that call, provides us with the information we need, it's very difficult to respond, to investigate, to bring justice not just to the victim but to their family, and, you know, so that's why we try to partner with many community organizations. we haven't partnered with them specifically yet, although i know you're gonna put us in contact, you know, but we do,

you know, collaborate with the south bay coalition to end human trafficking, community solutions, the ywca, golden gates of silicon valley, aki, the california massage therapy council, dfcs, juvi probation. i mean, the list goes on because this is a very robust issue, and the more eyes, ears, resources you have on this, the greater likelihood of success in our investigations, and, you know, and this is a crime that transcends jurisdiction. you know, this crime doesn't care what county you're in, what state you're in, what country you're in. so that's why it's really a very collaborative model that we engage in here in santa clara county with all of these partners, really, so that we can achieve the success that we have. damian: and the misconception is that, when you hear "human trafficking," "well, that happens in third-world countries. it happens along the border. it doesn't happen here." it's happening here. josue: oh, very much so, and it's a very important distinction to make between "human smuggling"

and "human trafficking," right? the smuggling is when you're taking a person across, you know, a border, international, you know, overseas. but, then, when we're talking about "trafficking," we're really talking about exploitation, and, you know, here in the state of california, we have codified two different types of exploitation. we have labor exploitation and sexual exploitation. most people, when they think of "human trafficking," you know, they think of sex exploitation, right, forced sex work, forced prostitution. well, we also can't forget that there's also the labor component to it where someone can be forced to work against their will, and really, the key indicator that we're looking for in both situations is a deprivation of liberty where the victim really has their movement controlled by the other. they are sometimes manipulated. other times, they're coerced whether it be through some sort of substance abuse, right? they're fed into drugs, or they're groomed into it, or maybe if we're talking about labor trafficking, it's that

their documents are withheld, whether it be a birth certificate, social security card or a passport or a visa, and so these are different ways that an exploiter will maintain leverage over their victim in order to get--force their compliance into whether we're talking a forced labor or commercial sex work. damian: thank you for that clarification. again, josue fuentes is part of three--a member of three attorneys at the d.a.'s office, dealing with human trafficking. let me show you some information if you'd like to get ahold of josue or that specialized unit at the d.a.'s office. there is a email address where you can send your questions or tips or whatnot, and that's also a direct line to the d.a.'s office there on the screen. this is the human exploitation unit out of the santa clara d.a.'s office. we'll be back and talk about this important topic here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us. ♪♪♪ oh ms. flores, what would we do without you?

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about the human trafficking. and there's some indicators, right, that we can look for, josue, to try to determine if we can see when it's happening? josue: yes, you know, when we're talking about a commercial--a sexual exploitation, you know, we see a lot of our victims, or survivors, are targeted online. you know, they tend to be young women. we do see it with some young men, but at least, in this county, predominantly, we've seen it, in the cases we've come across, with young women. so, first and foremost, it's an increased usage of social media, which i mean, right, "what can that mean?" but it really--it's an isolation. they start to isolate themselves more from family. they start disengaging with the peer group, that the parent is away, but they're constantly communicating with someone, but they're--they constantly are evasive about who they're communicating with. they start to go out without really telling their parents who they're going out with, and then maybe they'll be gone for two or

three days at a time, and they'll come back, and they're really tired, and they just wanna sleep. they don't wanna talk about it. or sometimes they show up with an influx of cash without having a formal job, or maybe they come back with, you know, luxury items, a nice handbag, a brand-new backpack, new shoes, a new iphone, new jewelry, and they just say that a friend gave it to them. so these are all very much, kind of, indicators, maybe even more risque behavior. that might change the way that they're dressed, maybe a little bit more revealing clothing than they were wearing before, and a lot of that really starts with the grooming process online that could take several weeks or several months, and a lot of times, that grooming process is strictly online, you know, with the direct messaging before the exploiter is ready to act. you know, if we're talking labor trafficking, it's really a deprivation of person's liberty. what we've seen is you'll have the exploiters will go overseas to another country. it could be you know, india, latin america, and we've seen it

in asia, as well, where they'll go, and they'll bring their victim, you know, with the promise of "look, i'll pay for your transportation. i will take care of your visa, and we'll get you a nice job in tech," or they'll promise them, just, a really good job, and "you just have to pay me back for the flight. reimburse me for my expenses, and then you get to live this nice, great life in america." but then once the victim arrives, the job isn't what they wanted. the exploiter now presents them with the bill, $10,000 to $20,000, and they say, "okay, now hand over your identifying documents. i'm gonna hold on to these, and now you're gonna live in this--in, you know, in this one-bedroom apartment with six other people, and i'm gonna charge you rent, i'm gonna charge you for utilities, and i'm gonna deduct that from your pay. instead of this nice tech job, you're gonna work at my convenience store. you're gonna work in my restaurant. you're gonna come work on my construction job site, or you're gonna work at my home, taking care of my kids, cooking and cleaning for me, and then, once we deduct everything that you

owe me, whatever you keep us for your own." so they find themselves trapped in this cycle of indentured servitude, essentially, where they can no longer leave. they don't have their identifying documents. they get their cell phone taken away. so if you start to see someone like that where they, again, are increasingly isolated or they make comments like--you know, maybe you're at the convenience store or the restaurant, and you're striking conversation, and you say, "oh, yeah, you know, we're going to san francisco that weekend." they'd be like, "oh, that's nice. i wish i could go, but i can't," right? they make these little offhanded comments that can clue you in to maybe that they're going through a deprivation of liberty, and that's why we started the santa clara county human trafficking hotline that damian provided. there's also an email there. you can remain anonymous, but if you start to see these signs and indicators, let us know. and if you have concerns with, you know, with your child or one of their friends, by calling our hotline, don't think that we're gonna go criminalize them and try to re-traumatize them more,

but if it's a call of, "hey, we're concerned that they're engaging in this behavior," we will then make that referral to one of our victim service providers, whether it be community solutions or the ywca, aki, one of our partners, so that they can get referred to an advocate that can kind of talk to them, that they're not law enforcement, but to kind of just talk to them, connect with them, and see if maybe that they need something, or maybe something happened at school that they can address to try to really get to the heart of the issue before they're exploited. damian: all right, great information there, josue. we have about 30 seconds left. any final thoughts? josue: yes, i would just wanna say, just, please be vigilant, and please understand that here we have a victim-centered approach. we put our survivors first, and we wanna make sure that they have the resources they need so that they are more than just this one period in their life. the prosecution, the investigation is separate, but first and foremost, we really wanna make sure that our survivors get back on their feet and can put that traumatized

life behind them. damian: all right, thank you. very valuable information. this is awareness month for human trafficking, so thank you so much, josue fuentes, deputy d.a. with the santa clara county d.a.'s office, thank you. josue: thank you, damian. happy new year. damian: thank you. happy new year. and, again, their information, we're gonna flash it on the screen. you can email them at that email address if you are a victim or you know somebody who might be, or you have any tips for them. that is the--also the hotline for the human exploitation unit at that santa clara county district attorney's office, one of the best premier organizations when it comes to human exploitation in the country. well, if you wanna get ahold of us here on "comunidad del valle," you can follow me on instagram. my handle is @newsdamiantrujillo. on twitter, it's @newsdamian. and we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday with us on "comunidad del valle." we'll see you back here again next week. ♪♪♪

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