United States: Increasing human smuggling operations represent a hidden danger on roads.

U.S. media is highlighting a growing crisis sweeping across U.S. highways, where victims of human trafficking disappear without a trace.

Fox News reported that this issue has become a particular focus after a large-scale operation to apprehend child smuggling, one of the largest in U.S. history. The channel noted that human trafficking across interstate highways is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon across the country.

However, accurate data on the number of victims being transported on these routes remains unavailable, largely due to the secrecy surrounding these crimes.

Last November, a large-scale operation was carried out in several areas, with the participation of federal, state and local agencies, resulting in the rescue of 122 missing or endangered children from ten states, according to Florida Attorney General James Othmer. This mission, dubbed “Operation Homecoming During the Holidays,” was one of the largest child recovery efforts in the country’s history, involving children ranging in age from 23 months to 17 years.

Othmer told FOX13, “Many have been through unbelievable circumstances… They have been trafficked, exploited and abused. They need our help now more than ever.”

Among the victims rescued, 109 children were found in various cities throughout Florida, while thirteen children were rescued from other states and other countries, according to Othmer.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines human trafficking as “the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some form of gain or commercial sex act.”

According to a 2024 report by the Department of Transportation’s Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking, traffickers worldwide make more than $150 billion annually by exploiting victims in commercial sex and forced labor.

The report indicated that transportation networks – including roads, railroads, waterways, and airways – are vital arteries for global connectivity and trade, but they are also used to facilitate the covert movement of individuals vulnerable to trafficking by concealing them among the vast numbers of legitimate travelers.

In 2023, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 9,619 confirmed reports of trafficking cases nationwide, while authorities identified 16,999 potential victims, according to the report. Although the hotline does not track transportation-related cases, the report noted 36 trafficking cases at truck stops in 2023.

The channel quoted officials as saying that traffickers “start from South Florida, then head to Atlanta, from there they pass through Charlotte, and often put victims in safe havens there.” The sources added that victims may be transported from Charlotte to larger urban centers such as New York, stressing that human trafficking is prevalent in many major cities such as South Florida, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, and others.

The Department of Transportation has confirmed that the transportation sector plays a key role in facilitating human trafficking and in preventing it as well.

According to the annual Federal Human Trafficking Report issued by the Anti-Trafficking Institute, private vehicles were the most common form of transporting sex trafficking victims in 2023, accounting for 38% of reported cases, while air transport and ride-sharing services accounted for 7% each. Commercial and rental vehicles also accounted for 3% each, while 2% of victims were transported by buses and 1% by trains.

According to officials, organized crime groups are exploiting transportation throughout the country to move victims across state lines, while law enforcement agencies face significant difficulties in tracking traffickers and their victims, particularly when individuals are transported repeatedly.

Fox News explained that many police departments in the country lack the manpower or resources needed to track traffickers during their movements.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security are the two main agencies responsible for human trafficking cases in the United States due to their federal nature.

Officials stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between federal and local entities, and to allocate additional resources to combat human trafficking. The Department of Transportation report reflects this trend, noting that the Department of Justice has “little or virtually no data” on trafficking crimes related to commercial transportation, and calling for the creation of a stronger database among law enforcement agencies.

Accordingly, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has launched the “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign to raise awareness among commercial vehicle drivers about indicators of human trafficking, such as individuals being exchanged between two cars, using headlights to communicate in parking lots, or talking about “selling” a business.

Officials acknowledge that the difficulty in tracking victims is partly due to a lack of public awareness of these crimes, which makes them prevalent in the most densely populated areas, in addition to the limited data needed to make people aware of the magnitude of the problem, stressing that it is “a real epidemic.”