With the Super Bowl just days away, federal officials are working with airlines, Amtrak, and other transportation providers to help identify and rescue victims of human trafficking who are brought to major sporting events to be exploited for sex or forced labor.
The Super Bowl has become known to law enforcement officials as the biggest human-trafficking event of the year in the United States, experts told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday.
“It’s modern-day slavery,” said Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State.
Human traffickers see major sporting events such as the Super Bowl as lucrative opportunities to bring in adults and children who have been forced into prostitution or are made to clean hotel rooms or work in restaurants without pay. The victims are both Americans and foreign citizens, who are often lured to the United States by traffickers promising them good-paying jobs that do not exist.
“Whether it be the Olympics, the World Cup, or the Super Bowl, any high-profile event that brings a large influx of visitors to a new locale can also create circumstances conducive to human trafficking and sexual exploitation,” said Rep. Ed Royce, …read more
Source: U.S. Rep. Ed Royce
