U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton delivered a
keynote address to the Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium at Georgetown University,
Wednesday, January 30, 2013.
The
event brought government, academic, not for profit and business leaders
together to help reimagine the ongoing fight against human trafficking. Other
keynote speakers included actress Mira Sorvino, a United Nations Goodwill
Ambassador on Human Trafficking and Tony West, acting associate attorney
general.
"It's
fitting for us to meet during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention
Month to discuss the crime of human trafficking," said Morton. "The
grim reality is that human trafficking and sexual exploitation are a very real
part of the modern world… To defeat human trafficking we must attack it
relentlessly. There is no other way. There is no other answer. It is simply one
of the great wrongs of our time. And attack it we will."
In
his address, Morton discussed ICE's recent successes combatting human
trafficking, including this January's conclusion of Operation Dark Night, an
investigation that uncovered an organized prostitution ring operating
throughout the southeast United
States.
He
also discussed the victim-centered approach taken by ICE's Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI), placing their identification, rescue and stabilization on
equal value with the apprehension and prosecution of the trafficker.
"I
think we will all agree that human trafficking provokes our justifiable and
righteous anger," said Morton. "Let's bring our outrage to the
offense."
On
Thursday, January 17, 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
announced the results of a lengthy investigation, called Operation Dark Night,
into a sex trafficking ring operating in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
The investigation, which was led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI), led to a takedown Wednesday, January 16, 2013, in which authorities made
13 criminal arrests and 44 administrative arrests tied to the investigation, as
well as the rescue of as many as 11 victims.
"ICE
investigates a wide array of crimes, but the trafficking of women and girls for
prostitution is among the most sinister," said ICE Director John Morton.
"Few crimes so damage their victims and undermine basic human decency. Our
fight against this evil must be relentless, both here and abroad."
U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Edward Tarver said, "In what
essentially amounts to slavery in the year 2013, the conduct described in the
indictment against these defendants is reprehensible. This case is a prime
example of the United States Attorney's Office and HSI recognizing that human
trafficking is a cancer facing our society and taking a stand to stop the
victimization of women involved in sex trafficking."
According
to the indictment, Joaquin Mendez-Hernandez, aka El Flaco, conspired with each
of the other defendants to transport people across interstate boundaries to
engage in prostitution. In addition, Mendez-Hernandez allegedly conspired with
at least three others to entice women from Mexico,
Nicaragua and elsewhere to
travel to the United States
with false promises of the American dream. Once inside the United States, these women were allegedly
threatened and forced to commit acts of prostitution at numerous locations in Savannah and throughout
the Southeast. In one such instance identified in the indictment,
Mendez-Hernandez is alleged to have told a Mexican woman that she would be sent
back to her home country unless she serviced 25 clients a day.
HSI
provides relief to victims of human trafficking by allowing for their continued
presence in the United
States during criminal proceedings. Victims
may also qualify for a T visa, which is issued to victims of human trafficking
who have complied with reasonable requests for assistance in investigations and
prosecutions. Anyone who suspects instances of human trafficking is encouraged
to call the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE
(866-347-2423) or the Human Trafficking Hotline at
1-888-373-7888. Anonymous calls are welcome.
Operation
Dark Night was led by HSI, with assistance from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP);
CBP Air and Marine Operations; the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal
Investigations; the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department; the
Chatham County Sheriff's Office; the Garden City Police Department; and, the
Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tania D.
Groover and E. Greg Gilluly Jr. are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
