joining us in the studio are beth fleisher, chair of plymouth church's anti-trafficking ministry, and taryn merkl, assistant u.s. attorney in the eastern district of new york and currently chief of civil rights for the criminal division. thank you both for being here today. >> thank you. >> first of all, we think of human trafficking -- i think many people think of it as something from years ago or from far away. how big is that here? >> it's a very definite problem, and it takes many different forms. it's very hard to get accurate is illegal activity, but perhaps taryn can give you some ideas of the size of this problem. >> as you mentioned, the global problem is in upwards of 20 to 30 million people, according to state department estimates and other estimates. and although we don't have precise figures for new york city because it is an illicit industry, the problem is real, and we prosecute many cases, as do our local counterparts, every year. >> so, when we say "human trafficking," to illustrate for people, are we talking in some cases, "i'll get you into the united states, i'll get you a nic