Introduction
This paper is a critical analysis of human trafficking as a security problem in the U.S. The arguments presented herein focus on sex trafficking as an underexplored area of human trafficking. They highlight improvements that law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security could make to improve their effectiveness in preventing this type of crime and expand access to justice for victims. Relative to this focus of the investigation, the present inquiry focuses on The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 as the main law influencing how law enforcement officers should help victims get justice after being trafficked and exploited.
Literature Review
Human trafficking is a global security problem that involves transporting people across international borders for commercial or sexual exploitation. Some observers deem it a type of modern slavery where people are trafficked against their will and forced to live and work in unfavorable conditions (American et al., 2022). The U.S. Department of State (2022) says that up to 17,600 people are trafficked into the U.S. annually. Most of these people are forced to work as laborers and sex slaves.
Women and children are the most affected demographic of human trafficking victims due to poverty, political instability, economic uncertainties, illiteracy, and low educational levels. Most of them are coerced, manipulated, or forced to leave their homes and “work” in foreign lands with the promise that their families would be sufficiently compensated (Goździak, 2021). However, when they reach their destinations, they are isolated and forced to work jobs they did not intend (DHS, 2020).
In this regard, human trafficking is not only a social problem but also an ethical one because some victims are underage and exploited for their naivety (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). At the same time, human trafficking is a security issue for Federal and State authorities because terrorists could use migration routes to transport weapons, criminals, or drugs. Therefore, human trafficking is a multifaceted problem affecting law enforcement in the U.S.
Sex trafficking is one of the most common forms of human trafficking in the U.S. This form of crime mostly occurs on the US-Mexican border, where thousands of people are trafficked every year to work in brothels, restaurants, or as domestic workers and entertainers (Covenant Rescue Group, 2022).
Florida, Nevada, and California are states with the highest rates of sex trafficking cases. In these jurisdictions, Miami, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles are regarded as hotspots for this type of trafficking (Covenant Rescue Group, 2022). These metropolitan areas attract traffickers because of their vibrancy and high concentration of hospitality and leisure-related activities.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 is selected for the current review because it focuses on finding justice for victims of human trafficking. This is a relatively under-researched area of policy governance because the Federal government has mostly focused on preventing sex trafficking, apprehending perpetrators, and seizing their assets (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2022).
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 addresses the plight of victims, thereby making it an important area of current research in the management of human trafficking problems in the country (U.S. Department of Justice, 2022). Furthermore, this piece of legislation stems from the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude (U.S. Department of Justice, 2022). Thus, it provides a historical and legal foundation for addressing contemporary policy issues on human and sex trafficking.
Discussion
Challenges affecting the enforcement of human trafficking laws in the U.S. are broad and multifaceted. From a policy perspective, some observers have criticized law enforcement officers for showing bias when managing cases involving human trafficking victims and their perpetrators (Kalir, 2022). Personal bias and racism are claims against some officers when implementing such laws (Kalir, 2022).
However, this problem is not unique to the U.S. because scholars have reported similar concerns in enforcing border security policies across Europe (van der Woude, 2023). Partly, this problem has been caused by the lack of legal certainty and effectiveness in implementing immigration policies and the lack of proper guidelines for assisting victims (Amanze et al., 2022). These ambiguities have undermined efforts by law enforcement officers to define sex trafficking cases, prosecute them effectively, and offer justice to victims.
Notably, cases involving two adults are difficult to prosecute because they have the legal freedom to engage in consenting sexual relationships. In this context of the analysis, issues arising from the difficulty of interpreting ‘compulsion’ in such cases abound (Knight, 2023). The Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 was developed to address some of these misdeeds. It has several titles covering different roles law enforcement officers should play in addressing crime.
The present investigation focuses on Title IX, which centers on Anti-Trafficking Training for Department of Homeland Security Personnel. This policy area specializes in training personnel to detect and minimize risk factors associated with sex trafficking (DeBellis, 2021). At the same time, it prioritizes issues relating to the recognition of human trafficking cases and encourages law enforcement officers to become aware of human trafficking indicators (DeBellis, 2021).
Relative to the direction mentioned above of research, the use of technology in training personnel from the Department of Homeland Security to manage sex trafficking cases has not been fully exploited. Partly, this outcome explains why the department is encouraging federal and state agencies to use web-analytical platforms to train their staff in combating sex trafficking cases (DHS, 2020). The successful integration of technology used to curb human trafficking cases in the U.K. has demonstrated improved results in implementing mediated policing practices and in realizing procedural justice for victims (Wells et al., 2022). These are valuable strategies for better effectiveness and improvement of law enforcement operations.
Personnel from the Department of Homeland Security should be conversant with modern techniques for addressing sex trafficking because they can unlock the interrogative potential of technology in addressing sex trafficking cases. In this regard, the provisions of the Anti-Trafficking Training for Department of Homeland Security Personnel should be improved to integrate technological tents (Bailey et al., 2021). They will be relevant to the analysis mentioned above because they could better equip officers with skills for discouraging, identifying, and reacting to incidences of human trafficking (Bailey et al., 2021). Thus, technology use can potentially improve law enforcement officers’ effectiveness in addressing this problem.
Making improvements to the Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 would have a cascading effect on different levels of government. This outcome is likely to happen if state and local governments adopt the same principles to detect and address sex trafficking cases as the Federal government. The result would be a coordinated effort by various levels of government to curb a problem that can potentially increase insecurity and exacerbate moral decadence in society (DeBellis, 2021). Thus, there is room for launching a coordinated approach among law enforcement officials to enhance law enforcement activities.
On the ethical front, all stakeholders agree that human trafficking has no place in modern society. Indeed, scholars draw from the theories of deontology and utilitarianism to argue that human trafficking is an unethical practice because it denies victims their right to freedom (DeBellis, 2021). However, the problem is complicated when it becomes difficult to establish whether victims were forced to work as sex slaves against their will or with their consent. Issues of domestic abuse and drug use are also rampant among such cases, thereby making it complicated for law enforcement officers to isolate immigration and security issues as independent security threats. Consequently, their antecedents and roles in contributing to the social degradation of society are overlooked in the process (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2022).
The psychological issues that often come with sex trafficking and concerns about how to treat children who are borne out of these illicit relationships are additional ethical issues that require attention. Despite the urgency of addressing these ethical concerns, it is important to appreciate varying levels of morality across different states in the U.S. that may decrease or prevent sex trafficking. Thus, ethical solutions may be confined to their cultural contexts.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Reasoned discussions about the effectiveness of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act 2015 have been provided in this review. Insights provided into areas of improvement that could be exploited for enhanced results have similarly been discussed. The present probe has highlighted the need to find modern ways of training law enforcement officers to detect human trafficking cases and provide appropriate assistance to victims.
Technology is highlighted as a useful tool for achieving this objective. From an ethical perspective, each stakeholder involved in addressing human trafficking cases should play their part by doing the “right thing” to realize improved results. This statement highlights the need to go beyond the legal stipulations that either constrict or liberate the actions of law enforcement officers in confronting human trafficking.
Overall, based on the insights highlighted in this study, future immigration policies should concentrate on integrating provisions for technology use in the implementation of laws. Broadly, these changes can affect border and homeland security effectiveness by making them more humane and organized.
For example, streamlining policy issues regarding the treatment and management of victims will better equip law enforcement officers with the tools and skills required to carry out their mandate effectively. Current “uncouth” practices implemented by some government agencies will similarly be minimized or eliminated if some of the above recommendations are implemented. Therefore, they are likely to positively affect the development of the policy framework for the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.
References
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