Good Morning. My name is Katherine Kaufka. I represent the Counter-Human Trafficking Services program at the National Immigrant Justice Center, a program of Heartland Alliance. I thank you for your time this morning to address one of the more pressing human rights concerns today: that of human trafficking. For over 6 years, the National Immigrant Justice Center has assisted over 65 trafficked immigrants find recovery and protection through legal services and supportive social services.  We have witnessed the ugly reality of human trafficking, right here in Illinois and Cook County.

Men, women, and children can all be victims of human trafficking; however, it is often women and children forced to work as domestic servants, in restaurants, in sweatshops, and in the commercial sex trade, for 7 days a week, working 12-14 hour days. Our program's clients come from all over the world seeking opportunity where there was none to be had in their home countries.  They are promised better work, better pay, the ability to care for their families and access to education.  The reality they find is isolation, fear, psychological and physical abuse, and other barriers to asking for help.

For example, I represented a young girl who was brought to Chicago from West Africa at the age of 11. For her privacy and safety, I will not use her real name and will call her Anna. Anna was promised the "American dream" - education, new clothes and opportunity. The day after Anna arrived, her documents were taken from her and she was told she would be cooking, cleaning and taking care of two small children. She was also told that there would be no school. She was never paid nor had a day off to play. She was never allowed to communicate with her family nor allowed to make friends. She slept on the floor, and was treated as a house slave for many years. She was told that if she left, or told anyone about her situation, that she would be beaten and taken to jail because she was an illegal alien. These threats, combined with physical and sexual abuse she endured, were the invisible chains that kept her in a condition of slavery right here in Chicago and Cook County. In addition to the barriers U.S. victims of trafficking face, victims like Anna are challenged with additional obstacles such as not speaking English, cultural isolation, and lack of access to social programs and services. Considering Anna arrived here at the age of 11, these obstacles are virtually insurmountable.

Congress recognized that this human rights atrocity was occurring in America in 2000 with the passage of federal anti-trafficking legislation.  Illinois took the lead in enacting similar state legislation in June of last year. Our state legislation puts tools in the hands of law enforcement to punish traffickers of both U.S. and immigrant victims by criminalizing these acts, and providing enhanced penalties to punish traffickers. It also offers protection to immigrant victims of trafficking by providing a special visa. Once victims of trafficking have this visa, they can obtain the social services they need to become healthy and productive members of our society. Prior to the enactment and effective implementation of these laws, Anna, only a child, would likely have been deported. Law enforcement would be without a victim-witness to move their case forward, and Anna's traffickers would be left unpunished.

Today, the Board's Women's Commission has asked what it can do to assist victims of human trafficking in Cook County:

Encourage county agencies and offices to "look beneath the surface" and identify victims. This is not a self-identifying population, unlike other victims of crime.

Victims of human trafficking face many barriers, which make cases difficult to identify. Victims often are marginalized, suffer psychological and physical trauma and may be involved in criminal acts as part of the trafficking scheme.

1. Increase public awareness - through targeted media campaigns and public service announcements - that trafficking and slavery do exist, and victims have rights under the law.

2. County agencies such as hospitals, health services, detention centers, and sheriff's offices and attorneys should be trained on victim identification methods.

3. Once trained, these agencies should include in their protocols methods to screen and identify potential victims of human trafficking, and identify referrals to appropriate service providers and agencies working with victims.

4. The county should ensure resources are available for victim support services to address this serious human rights violation.

Conclusion

Illinois can be proud of its long commitment against slavery.  As we unfortunately are faced with today's modern-day version of slavery with invisible chains, we look forward to working with the Cook County Board toward community solutions that can be creative, effective and lasting.  We believe these are important steps to eliminate human trafficking and provide a victim-centered approach in the services we provide to address this human rights violation. Thank you.