...

May 9, 2017

Donald J. Trump

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you about the human rights issue of human trafficking. The reason I think human trafficking is a human rights issue is because the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights both declare that slavery and involuntary servitude shall be prohibited. The trafficking of people in the 21st century and forcing people to work for little to no play in the most horrendous conditions is directly comparable to the 15th century when Africans were captured, taken to other countries and were forced to work. Human trafficking as a modern form of slavery is very much still prevalent today and must be eradicated. I hold this issue to be vital because there are over 27 million people around the world that are enslaved and it is almost entirely due to human trafficking (Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012). Men, women, and especially children are being trafficked all around the world. I am urging you, President of the United States of America, to end human trafficking in America by enforcing laws and utilizing technology that will end the trafficking of people, slavery, and involuntary servitude.

Human trafficking was reported to be a $150 billion industry in 2014 (castla.org). Human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children is a human rights issue that violates one of the most basic human rights: “ no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” (UDHR). Slavery was abolished in 1865 in Amendment 13 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” While there have been many laws and campaigns enacted to try and end human trafficking, like the Blue Campaign, it is still very much going on in America and around the world.

The Blue Campaign was launched in 2010 by the Department of Homeland Security and was designed to increase public awareness and training for law enforcement to battle the issue of human trafficking at home. The DHS website states:

DHS is responsible for investigating human trafficking, arresting traffickers, and protecting victims. DHS also provides immigration relief to non-U.S. citizen victims of human trafficking. DHS utilizes a victim-centered approach to combat human trafficking, which places equal value on identifying and stabilizing victims and on investigating and prosecuting traffickers (dhs.gov).

To my knowledge, the DHS has been doing a decent job at battling human trafficking. However, there is more that could be done to end human trafficking in America and around the world. DHS needs to protect the people taken against their will and forced to work as a laborer or sex worker. This can be achieved with better training and better technology.

On February 15, 2017, Ashton Kutcher spoke to the Senate of Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing to end modern slavery. In his statement, he made references to the kind of work he does to protect children from human trafficking and the sex trade. He explains what he has done to try and stop human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children through his company, Thorn. His company has created software that the DHS has occasionally used to efficiently find children who have entered the sex trade. This small company has built programs that can identify victims, disrupt platforms, and deter predators (wearethorn.org). They have many web groups (facebook, snapchat, twitter, google, yahoo, microsoft, etc.) that support them in their efforts and actively help to end human trafficking. This tool could become increasingly vital to finding the men, women and children who have entered the slave trade, as well as end human trafficking all together.

Therefore, I propose that you, Mr. President Trump, begin to incorporate the tools that Thorn has built in order to more effectively find people, locate the criminals, and end human trafficking. Thorn’s software called Spotlight, has reported identifying an average of 5 kids per day and has found 4,545 adults, 1,980 children, and 2,186 traffickers within the last year. Spotlight proven itself to work for the 4,000 officers that use Thorn’s software. Therefore, it must be implemented into all law enforcement agencies in order to eradicate human trafficking from America (wearethorn.org).

With the change of representation in the White House from Democrat to Republican and the change of views on immigration and travel from other countries, I am worried about the DHS not focusing on human trafficking and focusing more on other national security issues. This is why I am ultimately urging you, Mr. President, to take action and consider how human trafficking may be connected to all the decisions you make. I am worried that people will continue coming to America and do so in a way that is unsafe and will expose themselves to the horrors of human trafficking and slavery. I am also worried about how much money is involved in the industry of human trafficking and what bringing jobs back to America will do to the human rights issue of slavery and involuntary servitude. In all the issues that you feel so strongly for when it comes to illegal immigration, big businesses sending jobs to other countries, and refugees seeking safety in America, protect the people of your land from the terrors of human trafficking and punish those who have taken part in the slave trade.

While I may not actually have the answers on how to end human trafficking, I do know that you could have an impact on human trafficking. Thank you for taking the time to read my appeal. I appreciate your commitment to this country and trust that you will continue to fight for the people of America and the people that have become victims to those (domestic and international) taking part in the trafficking of people.

Respectfully,

Insert signature here

Student Name

100 South Drive

Thornton, CO 80XXX

References

"Blue Campaign." Blue Campaign | Homeland Security. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

"FULL: Ashton Kutcher Near TEARS in EMOTIONAL Opening Testimony at Hearing on Human Trafficking." YouTube. Fox 10 Phoenix , 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

"Tech Innovation to Fight Child Sexual Exploitation." Thorn. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

“The Bill of Rights,” Amendment 13, Sec. 1.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Article 4.

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.13.IV.1).