Our country’s DNA is composed of time-honored concepts that include “all men are created equal.” We have “inalienable rights” by virtue of being human, and as our Constitution provides, we are entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet human trafficking is thriving on our soil.
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. It is the new name given to an age-old human rights violation that became illegal in the United States in 1865 with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Today, there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world. That number includes human beings who are forced to beg, fight wars (including child soldiers), to work in homes, restaurants, hotels and on farms and … forced into prostitution. Human trafficking is a substantial and a grave problem.
So why should lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida, be educated about human trafficking? After all, isn’t it occurring only in far off countries? No. Human trafficking isn’t just an international problem. The tentacles reach deep into our borders.
The best estimates are that 50,000 United States nationals are trafficked annually to other countries. When it comes to interstate trafficking, the number is 10 times higher. As many as 500,000 U.S. citizens are trafficked each year between and among state borders.
Did you know that one in seven kids between the ages of 10 and 18 run away at some point in their lives? Estimates of runaway children are between 1 million and 3 million.
Where do so many children go? Many wind up on the streets and many of those end up being trafficked. Florida is the No. 3 state for human trafficking. Attractive characteristics for trafficking include the presence of military bases, large immigrant populations, large service industries, open expanses of land, airports, and open water.
Jacksonville epitomizes these attributes. As a result, human trafficking is occurring here, and being prosecuted. Recent local cases, about which you can find more on the Internet, include Marvin Madkins (sex trafficking) and Ian Sean Gordon (trafficking minors for sex).
Human trafficking is a $32 billion per year industry. It is more profitable than drug trafficking because rather than the one-time sale of a drug, a human being can be sold over and over again. Disgustingly, a single child can earn a trafficker hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
We have the opportunity to learn more about this travesty and what we can do about it from the top U.S. government official on this subject.
Ambassador Luis CdeBaca will be our guest Friday at The Jacksonville Bar Association’s monthly meeting. In May 2009, Ambassador CdeBaca was appointed by President Obama to coordinate U.S. government activities in the global fight against contemporary forms of slavery.
He serves as Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and directs the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, which assesses global trends, provides training and technical assistance, and advocates for an end to modern slavery.
At the Justice Department, CdeBaca was one of the country’s most decorated federal prosecutors. He was lead trial counsel in the largest slavery prosecution in U.S. history, which involved the enslavement of more than 300 Vietnamese and Chinese workers in a garment factory in American Samoa.
Ambassador CdeBaca has prosecuted dozens of traffickers and helped to liberate hundreds of victims from servitude.
As attorneys we wear many hats, the most important of which is guardian of the rights of our fellow man. Let’s stand together to eradicate slavery. We look forward to seeing you Friday.