Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States. It is estimated that human trafficking is almost a $32 billion per year industry, second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime.1
Trafficking victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality, including U.S. citizens. They may or may not have legal immigration status. Victims are found in both legitimate and illegitimate labor sectors; some are lured with false promises of well-paying jobs or even love. Often, they are forced or coerced into domestic servitude, farm or factory labor, other types of forced labor, or commercial sex (prostitution). Under U.S. federal law, any minor induced to engage in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking.
