Human Smuggling and Trafficking represents a significant risk to the domestic security of the United States. The routes and methods used by smuggling organizations provide terrorists, criminals and others with mechanisms to enter the United States surreptitiously and carry out their activities without detection. The mission of the ICE Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit is to, both domestically and internationally, identify criminal individuals and organizations involved in human smuggling and trafficking and destroy their ability to operate by using the full range of resources, capabilities and authorities available to ICE. Disruption of current smuggling activity, seizure of assets and funds, relentless investigation and prosecution of the individuals involved significantly undermine the capacity of these organizations and groups to conduct their business. The measure of success against these organizations is not just the increase in their cost of doing business, but the elimination of their capacity to conduct business.

Human Smuggling

Smuggling activity is the surreptitious entry of people into the United States facilitated by a third party. Generally, human smuggling into the United States is driven by two different goals:

1. Smuggling by friends and relatives who may assist illegal entry for personal reasons.
   
   
2. Smuggling for profit conducted by organized groups in a deliberate evasion of the immigration laws.

ICE focuses its resources on the investigation of organized smuggling, and particularly those organizations that have become increasingly violent or have shown a reckless disregard for human life. Exploitation of the smuggled aliens, the utilization of methods that place aliens at significant personal risk, and incidents of extreme violence are increasingly characterizing the activities of these types of organizations. ICE Special Agents have the unique expertise, resources, and legal authority to focus on this growing threat and the heinous crimes that frequently occur concurrently with this activity.

Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking also involves the surreptitious entry of people into the United States, but additionally includes the elements of force, coercion, and that the entry is for the purpose of economic or sexual exploitation and the organizations reliance on long-term exploitation to continue to produce profits.

Generally, trafficking schemes occur for two objectives:

• Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or
  
  
• The recruitment, harboring, transporting, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery

Trafficking in human beings is among the most reprehensible crimes ICE investigates, and juvenile trafficking the most odious of trafficking offenses. Due to their young age, juveniles are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, including sexual, and as children, they have even more difficulty seeking aid. ICE is firmly committed to combating trafficking in all its forms, ensuring criminals who engage in trafficking are aggressively investigated, swiftly prosecuted, and severely punished, and that victims are provided with the assistance they need. Consequently, ICE gives the highest priority to leads and investigations in these cases and has developed specialized procedures and skills to assist the victims. Our Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act home page provides additional information on specific activities ICE provides to stop these practices and assist the victims.