Twenty-first Century Slavery: How to Stop Human Trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, Europe, Africa, and the Americas exchanged enslaved people through the Atlantic Slave Trade. This trade exploited the labor of more than 10 million people. In 1957, the United Nations (UN) abolished slavery in all its forms, including indentured servitude and the slave trade. Yet, human trafficking has become a new form of modern-day slavery and a worldwide issue that does not discriminate against age, race, or gender. Although there is no legal definition of modern slavery, the UN uses it interchangeably with human trafficking to refer to sexual and labor exploitation. For many years, irregular migration has been the hidden door to human trafficking in the U.S., and their root causes are similar. Corruption, insecurity, and poverty are some of the reasons why people migrate to other countries using legal or illegal routes.

Both documented and undocumented migrants can be victims of trafficking. However, the International Organization for Migration states that undocumented migrants are the most vulnerable to human trafficking. The U.S. Department of State reports that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are victims of trafficking in the country every year – 72 % of which are estimated to be migrants. Due to the increase in illegal migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, more people, especially children, are at risk of becoming victims of trafficking. By increasing foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) and Mexico, the United States will be able to address the root causes of human trafficking, thereby discouraging people from crossing the border illegally. 

For over 20 years, the United States has prioritized efforts against human trafficking across government agencies: protecting victims, prosecuting traffickers, and preventing human trafficking. Nevertheless, the United States remains a destination point for human trafficking. Mexico is both a source and destination country of human trafficking and provides a transit route for trafficked persons brought to the U.S.. The exact number of victims of human trafficking at the border is unknown. However, the Coalition Against Trafficking International estimates that cartels have trafficked about 60% of the Latin American children who crossed the border alone or with smugglers. 

In 2021, the United States launched the Joint Task Force Alpha, a working group which seeks cooperation between the U.S., Mexico, and the Northern Triangle to prosecute criminal actors involved in human trafficking and smuggling activities. Early this year, the United States and Mexico agreed to renew their security partnership which facilitates bilateral security cooperation to combat human trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border. However, security cooperation in combating human trafficking is not sufficient while Mexico and the Northern Triangle do not have the economic means and tools to enforce the human trafficking initiatives. Increasing foreign aid to Mexico and the Northern Triangle will help these countries tackle human trafficking. It will provide social and economic development, discouraging people from migrating illegally through the U.S.-Mexico border, where people are more vulnerable to human trafficking. Moreover, it will support the Biden administration’s Root Causes Migration Strategy in Central America which aims to mitigate illegal migration and reduce the demand for services of smugglers and trafficked persons at the U.S.-Mexico border. This strategy is similar to the previous U.S. Strategy Engagement in the Northern Triangle. The U.S. Congress has appropriated over $3.6 billion to improve the U.S. Strategy Engagement in the region since FY2016. The U.S. withheld foreign aid to the Northern Triangle in 2019 until those countries took steps to reduce the number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. In June 2020, funding resumed, but the FY2021 act required 50% of the Central America Regional Security Initiative and military aid to stay on hold until the regional governments address U.S. concerns such as corruption and human rights violations.

Additionally, increasing foreign aid will promote the continuation of U.S. security cooperation with Mexico and the Northern Triangle. The U.S.-Mexico border will become more secure as funding strengthens legal policies against human trafficking, provides training to foreign law enforcement officials, and increases awareness measures in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security holds that people who hire smugglers to cross the U.S. southwest border can become victims of human trafficking. Thus, as part of the human smuggling disruption efforts, the United States deployed over 1,300 personnel to dismantle smuggling operations in Latin America and at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Corruption is the main driver of crime, violence, and human rights violations, including human trafficking. Thus, critics of increased foreign aid fear that corrupt government officials can use foreign aid funds to benefit themselves instead of addressing human trafficking and its root causes. As part of the U.S. national security strategy, the Biden administration committed in 2021 to increase diplomatic relations and leverage foreign assistance to fight transnational corruption. The U.S. anti-corruption strategy expands USAID programming to prevent, detect, and combat corruption in order to enhance transparency and accountability across the Mexican and Northern Triangle governments’ institutions. Through this strategy, the United States can help strengthen these governments’ anti-corruption initiatives, such as the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador and the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras.

It has been more than 65 years since the UN abolished slavery in all its forms. Unfortunately, official abolition has not stopped the transformation of human trafficking into a new form of modern-day slavery. Therefore, the United States should increase its foreign assistance to Mexico and the Northern Triangle to tackle the root causes of human trafficking, reduce illegal migration, and promote continued cooperation with these countries. Furthermore, it will ensure that potential victims of trafficking improve their living standards through education and job opportunities, but, most importantly, live their lives with dignity and freedom. 

Author: Yury Rubio

Managing Editor: Aidan Christopherson

Web Editor: Isaiah Nielsen