Human Trafficking: A Growing Criminal Market in the U.S.

Human trafficking has become a lucrative criminal market in the United States. The commodities involved in this illicit trade are men, women, and children. Traffickers transport undocumented migrants into the U.S. for work in licit, semi-illicit and illicit industries. The traffickers\u27 foremost goal is to maximize profits -- often resulting in physical and mental exploitation of the victims. The sale and distribution of trafficked humans in the U.S. is a global, regional, and national phenomenon. Women and children are trafficked short distances within the U.S. (small towns to bigger cities), as well as coming from as far away as China, Ukraine and Thailand