One of the biggest issues our country is responsible for is Human Trafficking. The trafficking businesses keep on growing and growing no matter how many human trafficking industries we shut down. There are so many people that are involved in this industry and you can never identify which one is helping aid in human trafficking. On the other hand, The United States has helped with initiating things as we learn more about how to deal with situations like these, such as: Homeland Security Investigations initiated 1,686 criminal investigations related to sex trafficking and forced labor, leading to 2,545 arrests (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/08/13/dhs-center-countering-human-trafficking-releases-fiscal-year-2024-annual-report), blue campaigns have been initiated to help look for signs of someone in need of saving from human trafficking and they have to go through training to be able to identify it, in addition to having Childhood Smart Ambassador programs to help adults and children understand online safety.
So what makes a person vulnerable to human trafficking? Here are some things that make people vulnerable to human trafficking—these are vulnerabilities that we are not adequately protecting people from:
1) the desperation for income can lead people to accept offers of employment they yet to fully understand—poverty and economic hardship can play a big role.
2) refugees and populations of displaced persons due to natural disasters or conflict can make them vulnerable.
3) people who experience homelessness, or run away from abusive homes and unstable lifestyles can make them vulnerable to believe in people who they don’t know.
4) poverty can also sometimes limit educational opportunities and restrict job prospects and
5) the market for cheap goods and services such as commercial sex fuels the trafficking industry.
There are ways for us as a country to provide these things for people so this industry can stop fueling human trafficking, like providing for people who are going through economic hardships, and giving a safety net to those who have come from wars or abusive households and need a safe place to stay. In addition, we need to improve our anti-trafficking laws to make it easier for victims of exploitation to report without risking prosecution. Why do we criminalize people who report being exploited instead of helping them to recover? There are a lot of steps that need to be taken to identify how to proceed amongst this global issue as well as our country's issue.
Fact: Alabama law: In June 2024, an Alabama law was passed that raises penalties for first-degree human trafficking of a minor to a mandatory life sentence. The bill was titled the "Sound of Freedom Act," with lawmakers citing the movie as an inspiration.