Human Trafficking Is on the Rise, What Will the Next President Do About It?

The number of human trafficking suspects prosecuted has increased under the Biden-Harris administration, new data from the Department of Justice (DoJ) shows.
Border security is an important issue in voters’ minds as Vice President Kamala Harris goes head to head with former President Donald Trump as they make a late appeal to voters in the race for the White House ahead of election day.
In 2022, 1,656 suspects were prosecuted, which was double the number prosecuted in 2012, the October 2024 report from the DoJ found, and more than the number prosecuted under the Trump administration.
The report does not include the data for 2024, however U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data found the Biden-Harris administration has been catching fewer international criminal gang members in 2024 compared to previous years under Trump.
Commenting on the data, Northeastern University Professor Amy Farrell told Newsweek, “Overall, we know human trafficking is under identified, under investigated and under prosecuted and some places around the country are better at identifying, investigating and prosecuting.”
Newsweek contacted the DoJ for comment.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, there was also a slight decrease in the number of reported human trafficking cases, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
As the hotline service notes, cases can involve multiple victims, but the number of victims involved in cases decreased significantly from 2020 onwards.
Discussing the data with Newsweek, University of New England Professor Alicia W. Peters commented that “while the U.S. has been successful in increasing the number of prosecutions over time, it will never eliminate trafficking until it prioritizes meaningful prevention efforts.”
She added that complex problems like human trafficking require complex solutions, and the current model, which prioritizes investigation and prosecution of trafficking, “overlooks BIPOC, immigrant, and LGBTQIA+ survivors of trafficking.”
BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
Peters also commented on how some current approaches, like arresting women for prostitution-related offenses, can create further vulnerabilities for those individuals when they struggle to secure housing and employment given their criminal record.
Vulnerability is what traffickers prey on, and Peters added that “human trafficking is a symptom of larger social challenges.”
This was something Kat Rosenblatt, human trafficking survivor and founder of There Is Hope For Me, also discussed while speaking to Newsweek.
She said “the prosecution perspective is not the the first priority. First priority is to care about these victims.”
Rosenblatt told Newsweek she was trafficked twice, at 13 and at 16, and was coerced into marrying her ex-husband at 17, which turned into a “30-year-long nightmare” for her.
She detailed how she lost her virginity to rape at 13, was left for dead at the side of the road as a minor, and to this day has health issues because of what she experienced.
The U.S. hasn’t had legislation preventing child marriage until this year, proposed in the 2024 Child Marriage Prevention Act, which Rosenblatt said is “so important” as it happens in every state.
She said that “predators and perpetrators use that as a way to legitimize their pedophilia,” and also to secure a green card by marrying an American citizen.
“These are children and their reproductive system and organs are damaged because of it,” she added.
Commenting on the focus of immigration policies today, Rosenblatt said that while ensuring the U.S. had a safe and secure border was important, it should be recognized that “trafficking is not just because of the border. The cartel was here in the ’80s when I was trafficked.”
While Peters and Rosenblatt warned of the problems with a prosecution-focused approach, prosecution of criminals is at the heart of both presidential candidates’ policies.
Harris, who prosecuted transnational criminal gangs during her role as California’s attorney general, has pledged to crack down on crime syndicates by continuing to target criminal organizations while, in 2023, Trump pledged to impose the death penalty on human traffickers.
A large part of the former president’s plans revolve around implementing his flagship border wall, which he argues will prevent the smuggling and trafficking of individuals.
Since launching his political career, Trump has repeatedly said “the border is wide open for cartels” in an effort to appeal to voters.
Throughout the election campaign this year, Trump has also pledged to carry out mass deportations of migrants in the country illegally, to tackle crime, although the plans have raised concerns.
Harris’ policies have less focus on the border, and instead look to continue the current administration’s clamp on transnational criminal gangs.
The Biden administration also launched the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking in 2020, which coordinated efforts across federal agencies to address prevention, protection, and prosecution in trafficking cases.
Amy Farrell, of Northeastern University, said neither Harris or Trump’s policies are “particularly effective as anti-trafficking efforts.”
She said that while Harris did have some policies that would provide more protections to vulnerable populations, “closing borders and increasing law enforcement are unlikely to reduce victimization.”
“There are reasons to believe human trafficking could be increasing, such as the increased vulnerability of migrants coming into the U.S. and increased homelessness and housing instability – two major risk factors for trafficking, but we don’t necessarily see cross border trafficking as the problem – contrary to the Trump narrative,” Farrell added.
She said that the larger vulnerability is that when migrants arrive in the U.S., “they have few supports and resources and take jobs or find ways to make money that leave them vulnerable to exploitation.”
Newsweek has contacted the Harris and Trump campaigns via email for comment.
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