Report: Sex trafficking of minors tripled during the Biden-Harris administration

Under the Biden-Harris administration, forced labor and child sex trafficking have skyrocketed to triple the levels recorded during Donald Trump's time in office.

A report by The Free Press revealed that, since 2021, it issued an average of 1,837 Letters of Certification and Eligibility to minors per year, while with Trump in the White House, that average was 562. Specifically, 1,143 were issued in 2021 compared to 2,226 in 2022 and 2,148 in 2023. 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issues these Letters of Certification and Eligibility to minors who flee from sex trafficking and apply for federal assistance.

According to the media, many of the traffickers belong to known criminal gangs such as the Tren de Aragua, Mexican cartels as well as Salvadoran and Cuban gangs. These criminals lie to young girls and minors, mostly women, promising them decent jobs in the United States, when in reality they force them into prostitution and forced labor. If they fail to obey, they threaten to kill them and their families.

Facebook or TikTok to post prostitution ads

For its report, The Free Press contacted the nonprofit Shepherd's Watch foundation, which works to prevent child sex trafficking. Its director, who went by the name Lisa so as not to reveal her full name for fear of retaliation, spoke out about the lack of resources needed to crack down on these networks. "Law enforcement is understaffed and stretched too thin," she said.

Lisa claimed that traffickers use popular social networks such as Facebook or TikTok to upload ads about the girls, taking advantage of the platforms' accesibility. She also mentioned OnlyFans, a well-known platform that allows users to post explicit sexual content. "If I wanted to, I could order a girl within 15 minutes. It's that easy," she said.

Most are immigrants

Sex traffickers prey on the millions of people, including children, who flee their home countries in search of a better life in the United States. Many of them come from Latin American countries, fleeing dictatorships and crime. 

"Yes. Nearly all of my sex-trafficking rings now are migrant girls. The ads exploded within the first three months of the border being open. We started noticing new sites and ads in Spanish. That was very few before. Then sites dedicated to Latino girls popped up everywhere," she said, adding that immigrant ads make up more than 90% of the total.

The foundation said that these ads claim the girls are of legal age when they are actually minors.