Secretary Noem is Taking a Sledgehammer to Criminal Human Trafficking Rings
On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security continue taking action to disrupt criminal human trafficking organizations
WASHINGTON – On this year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing a series of major crack downs against the worst of the worst criminal organizations: human trafficking rings.
The previous administration’s open border policies empowered human traffickers and allowed over 450,000 unaccompanied children to be illegally smuggled over the border.
Under President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the full weight of the American government is bringing the hammer down on human trafficking rings. In just the first few months, the Trump administration has developed leads on thousands of human trafficking cases.
DHS has also cracked down on the criminal terrorist gang Tren de Aragua, which enriches itself through the sex trafficking of vulnerable young women. The Trump administration has arrested more than 2,700 members of Tren de Aragua so far.
This crisis is fueled by organized crime networks: sophisticated cartels that exploited the weakness of the previous administration, especially its open border and refusal to enforce immigration law, to rake in billions from forced labor, brutal sexual exploitation, coercing innocent people into drug running, and other heinous crimes.
“The brave men and women of DHS are the best in the world at going after traffickers. They are always able to track down those who are trafficking individuals, find the ringleaders, and rip that evil off by its head,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “I’m so thankful that I get the chance to lead individuals like that, and agents who get up every day to help save our children and to save women and men from the kind of slavery that we’ve seen.”
Below are some examples of how DHS is fighting to put human traffickers out of business:
- July 28, 2025: As part of Operation Apex Predator, a Child Exploitation Investigations Unit initiative with the Cyber Crimes Center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Newark arrested four illegal alien child predators over the course of four days. All four are registered sex offenders.
- July 23, 2025: ICE arrested 243 illegal aliens in the Denver metro area. Among those arrested were aliens wanted for human trafficking, and several members of transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), including Tren de Aragua (TdA), Los Zetas, and the Sinaloa Cartel.
- July 22, 2025: Following an ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation, a resident of Laredo, Texas was sentenced to 63 months in prison for smuggling 101 migrants in a locked trailer. Among the illegal aliens smuggled were 12 children. The suspect was sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to transport migrants.
- July 21, 2025: As a result of an investigation by ICE HSI Rio Grande Valley, a convicted human smuggler was sentenced to 20 years in prison for possessing images of sexual assaults of prepubescent children.
- July 10, 2025: ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) executed criminal warrant operations at marijuana facilities in Carpinteria and Camarillo, California. In these facilities, at least 14 migrant children were rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking. During this operation, federal officers also arrested at least 361 illegal aliens. Among those arrested were criminals with convictions for kidnapping, rape, attempted rape, and attempted child molestation, among other charges.
- July 10, 2025: As the result of an ICE New York investigation, the leader of a Mexican sex trafficking organization was sentenced to 188 months in prison for sex trafficking multiple victims by force, fraud, and coercion.
- July 9, 2025: An ICE Del Rio investigation resulted in an illegal Honduran alien being sentenced to 10 years in prison, with three years of supervised release, for his role in smuggling thousands of aliens into the United States for financial gain. His smuggling conspiracy spanned three years and involved thousands of aliens from 11 different countries.
- July 7, 2025: Border Patrol agents assisted the U.S. Marshals in executing an arrest warrant on a high-priority target linked to a criminal syndicate operating in human exploitation. The suspect, a U.S. citizen, was wanted for multiple charges, including procurement of persons, placing individuals into prostitution, residing in a house of prostitution, and profiting from the earnings of prostitution. The suspect was arrested without incident in Yuma, Arizona.
- June 24, 2025: HSI Nashville identified one child victim and one adult victim of labor trafficking. During an immigration court proceeding, the child victim revealed that she and her 18-year-old brother had been forced by their sponsor to work to pay off their smuggling fees and to pay for the sponsor's household expenses.
- June 16, 2025: A worksite enforcement operation by ICE HSI targeted employers and subcontractors who knowingly hire illegal aliens. During this operation, HSI Mobile identified and rescued a child and arrested eight foreign nationals for violating immigration law. The child was found to be working among adults and was believed to have never attended school since entering the United States two years ago.
- June 6, 2025: The Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Venezuelan illegal alien and member of MS-13 arrested by ICE, on charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. Despite the mainstream media insisting for months that Garcia was an innocent “Maryland father,” he is now standing trial after evidence emerged of his involvement in criminal smuggling rings.
- June 2, 2025: ICE Rio Grande Valley discovered a stash house in South Texas and subsequently arrested 16 illegal aliens. The owner of the property admitted to harboring the illegal aliens, who came from five different countries. A Mexican national was taken in for questioning for his role in human smuggling.
- May 28, 2025: HSI New York special agents arrested an adult male from Ecuador at his residence for violations relating to the sexual exploitation of a child. New York received information regarding a 15-year-old female who was apprehended near El Paso, Texas, after illegally entering the United States. At that time, she was pregnant with the adult’s child and had been in a relationship with him in Ecuador since the age of thirteen. The subject organized the smuggling of the teenager across the border to engage in sexual acts. His mother sponsored her after her illegal entry, and the subject continued his relationship with the children, living with his mother in Harlem.
- May 28, 2025: CBP issued a Withhold Release Order against Zhen Fa 7, a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel. As a result, CBP officers at all U.S. ports of entry will detain seafood harvested by Zhen Fa 7 based on reasonable suspicion that the vessel uses forced labor to harvest such seafood.
- May 28, 2025: Border Patrol agents in the San Diego Sector prevented an attempt to smuggle two Mexican nationals into the United States. The attempt involved one United States citizen and one Mexican national, who attempted to smuggle the illegal aliens across the border using a truck. Inside the truck were three fully loaded firearms, including a “ghost gun.” The suspected smugglers face felony charges of bringing in and harboring aliens, and unlawful acts involving firearms.
- May 12, 2025: HSI Austin identified and rescued a child, arrested two Guatemalan nationals for violating immigration law, and initiated an HSI-led investigation of state and federal charges of human trafficking and statutory rape. During a welfare check, HSI Agents, assisted by the FBI, identified a pregnant 14-year-old female residing with an unrelated adult male sponsor, later determined to be the biological father of the unborn child.
- May 7, 2025: CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) interdicted a vessel with four illegal aliens from Uzbekistan that were being smuggled into Puerto Rico. The vessel attempted to enter Puerto Rico on the island of Vieques; onboard were the four illegal aliens from Uzbekistan and three United States citizens. The Uzbeki nationals did not have any documents for an authorized entry or stay in the United States.
- May 4, 2025: Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector arrested a United States citizen and two Mexican nationals after a high-speed pursuit. The United States citizen, who was driving the car and had an extensive criminal history, fled from law enforcement at high speed after failing to stop at an immigration checkpoint. After crashing into another car, the three occupants fled on foot before being arrested. The driver faces federal charges that include human smuggling, fleeing law enforcement, and endangering human life.
- May 2, 2025: Four Mexican nationals in the United States illegally were charged for their roles in an international human smuggling conspiracy that brought aliens across the Canadian border into the United States for profit. The smuggling organization had been operating for two years and smuggled hundreds of aliens per week through Canada. The aliens or their family members would pay thousands of dollars to be smuggled into the United States.
- April 29, 2025: CBP officers at the Area Port of San Luis arrested a woman in connection with the failed smuggling attempt of a child. The suspect, a Mexican citizen, had sedated the child prior to attempting to cross the border. The suspect also presented a false birth certificate and alleged that she was the mother; the officers discovered that there was no family relationship between the woman and the child.
- April 2, 2025: CBP issued a Withhold Release Order against Taepyung Salt Farm, based on information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor in the production of the company’s sea salt products. As a result, CBP personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will detain sea salt products from Taepyung Salt Farm in South Korea.
- March 25, 2025: After an ICE Arizona investigation with law enforcement partners, a human smuggling coordinator was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in smuggling over 100 Colombians into the United States. She had been operating a travel agency in her native country, Colombia, where she would charge the victims a fee to travel to Mexico, with additional bribes required at Mexican airports.
- February 14, 2025: Working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, an ICE investigation led to a four-count indictment against eight defendants with ties to Tren de Aragua on charges related to their involvement with a transnational commercial sex enterprise.
Everyone can be part of the fight against human trafficking. The DHS Blue Campaign can help you recognize human trafficking and provide resources to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.
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