Also known as: human traffickings · trafficked human · trafficking humans · trafficking in persons · TIP
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal offense involving the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation such as forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Police receive an anonymous tip that Hana Huang and Hugo Hart are transporting victims across state lines for forced labor. The tip accurately predicts the pair's arrival time and vehicle at a specific rest stop. Officers conduct a Terry stop based on the tip's indicia of reliability and discover evidence of human trafficking.
An informant with a history of providing accurate information tells officers that Holly Hayes is harboring trafficking victims at a specific address. Officers obtain a search warrant under the totality of circumstances even though the informant's basis of knowledge is partially unverified. The search yields evidence leading to human trafficking charges.
A parent faces termination of parental rights after authorities remove her child during a human-trafficking investigation. The court denies appointed counsel because the proceeding is civil. The parent loses custody without representation despite the serious allegations.
An individual receives public assistance while under investigation for human trafficking. Officials terminate benefits without a pre-termination hearing. The recipient challenges the action as violating due process protections for continued receipt of aid.
A city enforces a sound amplification ban against a suspected human trafficking operation using loudspeakers to coordinate activities. The operator claims the ordinance violates free speech. The court upholds the restriction as narrowly tailored to public safety interests.
A statute bans a medical procedure often sought by victims of human trafficking. The law lacks an exception for maternal health. Challengers argue the restriction imposes an undue burden on women escaping exploitation.
Authorities in Cambodia applied existing human trafficking statutes to arrest surrogates on the theory that the babies would be sold to third parties. Pregnant surrogates were detained in a military hospital and some were chained during delivery. Sentences included prison terms that could be avoided only by immediate release conditions.
Supporting sources
…not only manufactures, but also agriculture, horticulture, stock raising, domestic fisheries, mining—in short, every branch of human industry.' " E. C. Knight, supra , at 14. If federal power extended to these types of production "comparatively little of business operations and affairs would be left for state control."…