ICE Rescues Individuals Held in Los Angeles Area Residence and Continues Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking

Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials rescued 44 individuals being held in a house in Riverside, California, following a tip from a concerned relative. The relative called police, saying that the smugglers had threatened to kill his relative, who was being held because the family had been unable to make another payment to secure his release. Los Angeles police in turn alerted ICE to the human smugglers.

After a thorough search of the suspected neighborhood, ICE agents discovered the human smuggling "drop house" in the Riverside area. All 44 individuals were in a small bedroom at the back of the house. The windows were boarded up and the room's only door was locked from the outside. As a further deterrent against escape, all of the individuals had been stripped of their shoes. Some had gone days without food.

Human smuggling is a brutal reality, and remains a problem. As part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "Blue Campaign", ICE has continued its efforts to educate the public about the plight of human trafficking victims. Recently, they have placed an anti-trafficking message in foreign language newspapers across the United States; it will appear in Chinese, English, Korean, Thai, and Spanish. The advertisements highlight some of the indicators of human trafficking. The public can notify ICE by calling 1-866-DHS-2-ICE if they suspect that someone is being exploited.


To read more about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s involvement in these activities:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100908riverside.htm
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100916washingtondc.htm

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