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LANSING – State Representative Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) on Wednesday voted for a plan that passed the Michigan House that will crack down on human trafficking, a growing problem in Michigan and across the United States.

"Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and it must be stopped," Corriveau said. "Every year, hundreds of thousands of people – mostly women and children – become victims of this horrible crime. This plan will crack down on human trafficking and give prosecutors the tools they need to put criminals in the sex trade behind bars."

According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year, and the trade is growing.^[i] Of the 600,000 to 800,000 people victimized each year, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade.^[ii] Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for being trafficked into the sex industry.^[iii]

In addition to strengthening existing laws, the bill package will:

• Add human trafficking to the list of offenses that qualify for prosecution under Michigan's racketeering statute so that prosecutors can go after the individuals involved, as well as those who support them and fund their activities.

• Provide for the seizure and sale of any assets used in human trafficking, the funds from which can be used to fund further trafficking enforcement.

• Provide for restitution for the victims to help compensate them for lost wages.

Corriveau noted a 2005 case in which a Michigan couple was indicted on federal human trafficking charges for forcing a 14-year-old girl from Cameroon into involuntary servitude for their own financial gain.

The package that passed the House comes on the heels of a new federal human-trafficking statute that was recently signed into law. Prior to the establishment of the crime of human trafficking, criminals had to be prosecuted for crimes such as kidnapping, which carry lighter penalties and do not allow for the prosecution of an entire criminal organization.

"Human trafficking is one of the worst human rights abuses in today's world," Corriveau said. "Children who are captured by human traffickers can never regain their innocence – we must protect other children from the same fate. This plan will help do that."