ATA shines light on human trafficking

by Truck News

ARLINGTON, VA – The American Trucking Associations (ATA) and America’s Road Team have been joining together in the fight against human trafficking, as part of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and have further plans to shine a light on the issue.

“The trucking industry is 7 million strong, and our goal is to have everyone in our industry trained on how to recognize human trafficking and how to take action to rescue victims and save lives by making the call and reporting the crime,” Elisabeth Barna, ATA’s executive vice president of industry affairs, told the House Homeland Security Committee during a roundtable on the issue. “Our industry has made nearly 2,000 calls to the national human trafficking hotline, resulting in more than 600 likely human trafficking cases identified involving more than 1,300 trafficking victims. More than 375 of those rescued victims were minors.”

The roundtable included representatives from the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline (Polaris), as well as representatives of the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency’s Homeland Security Investigations Unit, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.

The American Trucking Associations will join with members of Congress on Feb. 21 to help launch Truckers Against Trafficking’s Man to Man Campaign.

For more information, visit the Truckers Against Trafficking website, or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline to report suspicious behavior related to human trafficking at 1-888-373-7888.


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