U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s upcoming symposium on Human Trafficking.

Being committed to the safety and security of the United States and its citizens, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are deeply concerned about the welfare of the thousands of people trafficked across our borders every year.  We have directed many of our resources toward assisting the victims of human trafficking and fighting the perpetrators of this crime.  As a vital partner in this effort, I am asking for your help. 

 

On September 9, at the J.W. Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004, CBP and ICE will partner to host a best practices symposium that will bring together anti-trafficking experts.  The purpose of this event is to highlight—before a broad audience of participants active in anti-trafficking activities—what various parties are doing to combat this horrific crime.  By pooling our collective knowledge in this area, we hope to generate new methods to stem the illegal act of trafficking.

 

To be successful in fighting crime, unyielding commitment as well as extensive collaboration both within and outside one’s own organization is necessary.  No agency or group within or outside of government can complete this job alone; human trafficking is a multi-dimensional crime.  Partnerships between different entities—from federal, state, and local government agencies to nongovernmental organizations and private sector corporations—are critical to stopping illegal trafficking once and for all.  We hope that this symposium will be an occasion to generate closer relationships between the organizations that are already working in this area to create an impenetrable web against those who exploit human beings for profit.

 

Further, because the morning session will be open to the press, we also hope that the occasion will bring greater public awareness to the scope and tragedy of this issue and prompt others to speak out and get involved.

 

If you or a member of your staff would like to participate, please contact Ms. Kia Evans, Public Affairs Specialist at 202.344.1865 or kia.evans-watson@dhs.gov.  Please visit the following link to an online registration form that you may use to confirm your attendance, (Human Trafficking Registration). For more information please visit the CBP.gov website (Human Trafficking).