{"id":6143,"date":"2018-07-23T20:49:50","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T20:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?p=6143"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:10:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:10:32","slug":"family-separation-human-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update:<\/strong> On June 26, 2018, a federal judge in California ordered a halt to most family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border and mandated that the government reunify all separated children under the age of five with their parents by July 10, 2018, and all children age five and older by July 26, 2018. The deadline has passed yet hundreds of families remain separated and at risk.<\/p>\n

\"Family<\/p>\n

By Anita Teekah
\nJuly 23, 2018
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Immigrant children and young people crossing into the United States are uniquely vulnerable to human trafficking. They may not know their rights or understand that they are being exploited. In many cases, they are already fleeing human trafficking in their country of origin. This past May, the Trump Administration imposed a \u201czero-tolerance\u201d policy where families were separated at the border. Although it was recently retracted via Executive Order on June 20, 2018, this harmful policy is likely to place more than 2,000 children at risk of abuse, and exploitation.<\/p>\n

Once children are separated from their social and financial safety nets, they are at much higher risk of exploitation. They may engage in survival tactics in order to access necessities such as shelter, food, and clothing. They can be more easily coerced into labor trafficking situations or sex trafficking.<\/p>\n

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act (TVPA)<\/a> defines human trafficking as a modern form of slavery. This includes sex trafficking, such as survival sex for minors, and labor trafficking, such as forced labor. Human traffickers exploit people who do not have access to legitimate work or fear deportation. Immigrant children and young people are at higher risk of trafficking because of several factors. These include language barriers, lack of a support system, economic vulnerability, and a history of prior abuse. In addition, the policy that is being implemented at the U.S.-Mexico border restricts their movement.<\/p>\n

The Trump Administration estimated that 2,342 immigrant children had been separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border between May 5, 2018, and June 9, 2018. In the wake of national and international outrage, the Administration abruptly reversed its own policy through Executive Order \u201cAffording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation\u201d. This declared that families would no longer be separated at the border upon crossing. Instead, they would be detained together indefinitely. However, children may still be separated from their families when their welfare is determined to be at risk. It is unclear who would make that determination.<\/p>\n

Even though the child separation policy has been rescinded, there is no plan in place for reunification of those 2,342 immigrant children with their families. According to the New York Times<\/a>, over 300 children came through Cayuga Centers in Harlem, New York, with 239 children currently remaining there. Mayor de Blasio noted that the federal government has not advised of the exact number of separated children sent to New York State, nor where they were being housed. The children from Cayuga include some as young as 9 months old, who have thus far been placed in temporary foster care.<\/p>\n

These children are at an extremely heightened risk of human trafficking. Not only are they without a stable support system, but the abrupt separation from their parents has the potential to cause severe and lasting trauma. Even the best of foster homes can do only so much to mitigate the harm. In the Streetwork Project, our homeless youth program, we frequently work with young people who have run away from temporary foster care settings and ultimately wound up in desperate situations that made them vulnerable to trafficking.<\/p>\n

Safe Horizon is one of the largest direct service providers to victims of human trafficking on the east coast. In our Anti-Trafficking Program (ATP)<\/a>, we assist trafficked adults. In the Streetwork Project<\/a>, we often work with youth who engage in survival sex, which is a form of sex trafficking. In our Child Advocacy Centers, we see the youngest victims of trafficking, children who have been exploited by someone in their family or social network. In our Immigration Law Project (ILP)<\/a> we advocate on behalf of immigrant survivors of crime, torture, or abuse.<\/p>\n

To protect children from these risks and harms, it is critical that the Administration ensures all families crossing the southern border are not separated. They should be kept together, in humane conditions, to strengthen and preserve their social safety networks. Unaccompanied minors should be given immediate access to interpreters, culturally competent services, legal and immigration assistance, housing and medical care, and assistance with family reunification.<\/p>\n

At Safe Horizon, we will continue to advocate for policies that help protect children and adults from crime and abuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":{"id":6144,"alt_text":"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking","caption":"","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":300,"height":200,"file":"2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking-150x150.jpg"},"medium":{"file":"Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking-300x200.jpg","width":300,"height":200,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking-300x200.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"post":6143,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg"},"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2015],"tags":[977,133,340,344],"class_list":["post-6143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safe-blog","tag-family-separation","tag-human-trafficking","tag-immigrant-rights","tag-immigrant-victims-of-crime","issue-human-trafficking"],"acf":{"page_header_title":"","page_header_excerpt":"","page_header_image":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/silhouette_hero_image.png","original_url":"","related_initiative_title":"How do we help survivors of human trafficking?","related_initiative_link":"\/get-help\/human-trafficking\/","related_initiative_link_text":"Learn about our services","featured_posts":[{"ID":6016,"post_author":"13","post_date":"2018-06-20 17:46:06","post_date_gmt":"2018-06-20 17:46:06","post_content":"\"Immigration\r\n

Photo credit: John Moore, Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\r\nUpdate<\/strong>: President Trump signed an executive order on June 20, 2018, ending his policy of\u00a0separating families. However, the crisis continues as this harmful policy would merely be replaced with another\u00a0profoundly harmful policy \u2013 the\u00a0indefinite detention of families. Moreover, there is no plan to reunite the thousands of\u00a0already separated children with their parent(s). Therefore, the information provided\u00a0below (published before the issuance of the executive order) remains relevant and useful.\r\n\r\nBy Ariel Zwang\r\nJune 20, 2018\r\n<\/em>\r\n\r\nSince early May, a reported 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the southern U.S. border. As a mom and the CEO of Safe Horizon, the nation\u2019s largest victim services agency, I am deeply troubled and saddened by these recent developments. Separating a child from a safe caregiver is harmful to any child. And that harm is magnified if the child has a history of experiencing or witnessing violence, or living in a dangerous and unpredictable environment. Moreover, placing children in institutional settings without their parents can make them vulnerable to abuse here in the United States.\r\n\r\nThe painful reality is that many children and their parents or caregivers are fleeing domestic abuse, gang killings and other forms of violence in their home countries, desperately seeking a path to safety. Despite this reality, migrating is not easy as they leave behind their loved ones and communities. The journey can be long and treacherous.\r\n\r\nSafety is one of the most fundamental human needs. And at Safe Horizon, we unequivocally believe that all people deserve a life free of violence regardless of immigration status. Yes, we need comprehensive immigration reform. But that reform must lead with humanity and an understanding of trauma.\r\n\r\nTo discuss, I sat down with two of my trusted colleagues, Deputy CEO Liz Roberts, and Director of Safe Horizon\u2019s Immigration Law Project<\/a> (ILP) Evangeline Chan. We talked about what makes this policy different from past immigration policies, why separating children from their parents is harmful, what we think would be a better immigration policy for survivors, the importance of asylum for survivors of domestic violence, and much more.\r\n\r\nThe U.S. Government has long been trying to address the flow of migrants coming across the southern border. How is this new policy different from past immigration policies?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nEVANGELINE: In the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of families crossing the border together. The issue that arose was how to handle them. Under current laws and regulations, children arriving unaccompanied at the border are handled differently from adults\u2014adults could be detained but children could not be held for long periods of time. Instead, children are released to sponsors or family members in the U.S. willing to take responsibility for them. When there was a \u201csurge\u201d of families crossing together around 2014 and 2015, the government was faced with a dilemma: what to do with the children who came with their parent(s)\u2014process them like children or like adults? What the Obama Administration did was detain them all together in family detention centers. This was also controversial: immigration advocates generally oppose detention, especially of children, and there were reports of substandard conditions, inadequate care, abuse and denial of access to legal counsel. But, at least families were kept together, which is really important to a child\u2019s well-being.\r\n\r\nWhat is new under President Trump is this \u201czero tolerance policy<\/a>\u201d and the separation of families. Our government is now prosecuting anyone crossing over illegally \u2013 even if they are seeking asylum. The adults are being criminally charged and detained separately from their children. This means that children, some reportedly only months-old,<\/a>are being detained without their parent(s) to care for them while they follow the track of eventually being released to shelters or foster care.\r\n\r\nLIZ: One of the things that really troubles me about the way the policy is being implemented is that it appears that many children are being placed in large, institutional facilities. We know from years of experience in the child welfare field that this practice is incredibly damaging. Young children should never be in institutional settings. The lack of a consistent caregiver is incredibly harmful to their development. And they\u2019re really vulnerable to abuse in these types of settings.\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s talk about the children who are being separated. What impact could separation have on them?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLIZ: Children\u2019s healthy development depends on secure attachment to a consistent, nurturing caregiver. We\u2019ve known this for 70 years. That secure attachment to one or more caregivers is what allows a child to have the confidence to explore the world, to learn, to develop both social and emotional competence and their full cognitive potential.\r\n\r\nOne thing that we know about childhood trauma is that the cumulative impact of multiple traumatic events is much, much worse than just one traumatic experience. We\u2019re talking about children here who have lived in neighborhoods and communities where there was a lot of violence, where they felt unsafe, where their parents felt unsafe. But at least they had their caregivers as a source of protection and reassurance. By now removing a child from their parent, we\u2019re adding another potentially traumatic event. It greatly increases the likelihood that these children will have lifelong struggles.\r\n\r\nAnd what are some of the long-term struggles?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLIZ: We know from the ACEs study<\/a> and other research that trauma increases the risk of poor educational outcomes, unemployment, substance abuse, chronic health issues, depression, and PTSD. We also know from many years of research that the best way to prevent those outcomes is for a parent or caregiver to be supported in helping the child feel safe again.\r\n\r\nMany young children are referred to our Counseling Center<\/a> because they have witnessed violence or been physically or sexually abused. Our approach is always to work with caregiver and child together because we know that the caregiver\u2019s ability to help the child regulate their emotions and to reestablish a sense of security is the most important thing for a child\u2019s healing.\r\n\r\nEVANGELINE: And this is a compelling reason why we should not be separating families. Children require special treatment.\r\n\r\nWhat would be a better policy?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLIZ: For starters, the policy should be to keep families together unless there is a clear instance where the parent is a threat to the child. And I would hope for us to have a compassionate immigration policy where we create avenues for families fleeing danger to enter the U.S. safely and be given thoughtful consideration for temporary or permanent residency here.\r\n\r\nEVANGELINE: I absolutely agree. Detention is not the answer unless a person is a flight risk or threat to the public's safety. There are alternatives to keeping track of immigrants that the U.S Government should utilize, such as supervised check-ins.\r\n\r\nAt Safe Horizon, we have an anti-racist framework. If we look at this recent policy with that lens, we see that this country has a history of immigration policies that create additional barriers and hardships for people of color. How do you see this new policy, given the historical context?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nEVANGELINE: The Administration claims it is deterrence. However, this policy affects mostly Mexican and Central American crossers (nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras), many of whom are fleeing for their lives and coming to the U.S. to seek asylum. Turning them away or in any way \u201cdeterring\u201d them from seeking refuge here is contrary to our obligations under international law, which requires us not to return a person to their home country if they fear persecution there.\r\n\r\nLIZ: This policy is creating more barriers for survivors of violence from these countries, and it unfairly targets Latinos\/Latinx. It\u2019s disheartening, racist, and misguided.\r\n\r\nMany of the individuals migrating are fleeing violence and seeking safety through asylum. At Safe Horizon\u2019s Immigration Law Project (ILP) what are some of the common reasons clients are seeking asylum and how have you seen it improve their lives?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nEVANGELINE: A lot of the individuals and families we help to apply for asylum have suffered gang-based or gender-based violence. When we are able to successfully obtain asylum for a survivor, it essentially saves their lives. It grants them protection. They can live and work here lawfully. They can be reunited with their family. They have a pathway to permanent resident status and citizenship. They can begin to rebuild their lives with stability and security.\r\n\r\nLIZ: Asylum has been an important avenue to safety for so many survivors of horrifying violence and abuse. We were also deeply troubled by Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 recent decision<\/a> to create significant new barriers for individuals and families seeking asylum in the U.S. after fleeing domestic or gang violence in their home countries.\r\n\r\nFor immigrant communities viewing this news and feeling more frightened to seek help from non-profits or government entities, especially if they may be victims of violence themselves, what is your message to them? How can Safe Horizon help?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nEVANGELINE: I want the immigrant community to know that we are fighting hard for you. We hear and share your concerns. We are doing all we can to fight back against these dangerous and harmful policies and we are not giving up. At ILP, we can help you seek safety and protection under the immigration laws. We are here for you.\r\n\r\nLIZ: I want immigrant victims of violence to know that we stand with you today and always. Always.<\/em> At Safe Horizon, we will continue to defend and fight for your humanity and safety.\r\n

At Safe Horizon, we firmly believe that a person\u2019s legal status should not be a barrier to their ability to seek help, obtain justice, and live a life free from violence. To reach Safe Horizon\u2019s Immigration Law Project, please call: 718-943-8632<\/a> or visit the webpage<\/a>.<\/h1>","post_title":"Immigration Reform Must Lead with Humanity and an Understanding of Trauma","post_excerpt":"Safe Horizon CEO Ariel Zwang and other experts explain why any immigration policy should keep families together.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"immigration-families-trauma","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 14:43:23","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 18:43:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?p=6016","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]},"yoast_head":"\nFamily Separation at Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Safe Horizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-23T20:49:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-10T17:10:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dana R\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@safehorizon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@safehorizon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dana R\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dana R\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a\"},\"headline\":\"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-23T20:49:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-10T17:10:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\"},\"wordCount\":765,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Family Separation\",\"Human Trafficking\",\"Immigrant Rights\",\"Immigrant Victims of Crime\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Safe Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\",\"name\":\"Family Separation at Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-23T20:49:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-10T17:10:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Safe Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/.\/safe-blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/\",\"name\":\"Safe Horizon\",\"description\":\"Safety. Connection. Healing.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Safe Horizon\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Safe Horizon\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/safehorizon\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/safehorizon\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/safe-horizon\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SafeHorizonNY\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Safe_Horizon\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a\",\"name\":\"Dana R\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dana R\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Family Separation at Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking","description":"Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking","og_description":"Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/","og_site_name":"Safe Horizon","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon","article_published_time":"2018-07-23T20:49:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-10T17:10:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dana R","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@safehorizon","twitter_site":"@safehorizon","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dana R","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/"},"author":{"name":"Dana R","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a"},"headline":"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking","datePublished":"2018-07-23T20:49:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-10T17:10:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/"},"wordCount":765,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg","keywords":["Family Separation","Human Trafficking","Immigrant Rights","Immigrant Victims of Crime"],"articleSection":["Safe Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/","name":"Family Separation at Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg","datePublished":"2018-07-23T20:49:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-10T17:10:32+00:00","description":"Director of our Anti-Trafficking Program Anita Teekah explains how the separation of children from their families are at much higher risk of exploitation by human traffickers.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Family-Separation-at-the-Border-Creates-Opportunities-for-Human-Trafficking.jpg","width":300,"height":200,"caption":"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-blog\/family-separation-human-trafficking\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Safe Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/.\/safe-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Family Separation at the Border Creates Opportunities for Human Trafficking"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/","name":"Safe Horizon","description":"Safety. Connection. Healing.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization","name":"Safe Horizon","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Safe Horizon"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon","https:\/\/x.com\/safehorizon","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/safehorizon\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/safe-horizon","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SafeHorizonNY","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Safe_Horizon"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a","name":"Dana R","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dana R"}}]}},"taxonomies":{"categories":[{"term_id":2015,"name":"Safe Blog","slug":"safe-blog","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2015,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":149,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":2015,"category_count":149,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Safe Blog","category_nicename":"safe-blog","category_parent":0}],"tags":[{"term_id":977,"name":"Family Separation","slug":"family-separation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":977,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":133,"name":"Human Trafficking","slug":"human-trafficking","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":133,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":340,"name":"Immigrant Rights","slug":"immigrant-rights","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":340,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":344,"name":"Immigrant Victims of Crime","slug":"immigrant-victims-of-crime","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":344,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw"}],"issue":[{"term_id":18,"name":"Human Trafficking","slug":"human-trafficking","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"issue","description":"Survivors of labor and sex trafficking in New York City reclaim their rights with the help of compassionate advocates and attorneys with thorough knowledge of issues that affect them.","parent":0,"count":96,"filter":"raw","acf":{"color":"#004481"}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}