Last month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi marked National Human Trafficking Prevention Month by joining the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a campaign to fight human trafficking and support victims.
The observance focused on strengthening operational efforts through Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTF), enhancing public awareness, and fostering partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies. The aim is to disrupt trafficking networks, protect vulnerable populations, and ensure traffickers face prosecution.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said, “This Department of Justice is working tirelessly alongside our partners to dismantle human trafficking networks, help survivors, and protect vulnerable populations from being exploited. Under this administration we have seen an increase in human trafficking prosecutions, and during Human Trafficking Prevention Month we reaffirm our commitment to prosecuting traffickers and encourage Americans to report instances of human trafficking in their communities.”
United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem commented on national efforts: “Through the Homeland Security Task Force, President Trump is taking the fight directly to human trafficking networks and disrupting their modern-day slave trade while seizing their assets and arresting their kingpins and foot soldiers. The American people should not have to live in fear of cartels, gang bangers, and foreign terrorists preying upon the most vulnerable among us. The Homeland Security Task Force is the largest coordinated campaign against transnational criminal organizations in U.S. history, and I’m proud to co-lead it with Attorney General Bondi.”
FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted interagency cooperation: “During Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the FBI reiterates our work with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and national victim-based advocacy groups in joint task forces to protect our communities across the country. The horrifying reach of human trafficking spreads far and wide. Homeland Security Task Forces are fighting back to disrupt these perilous networks and put a stop to that reach. The FBI will continue our investigations and bring justice to those exploited by human traffickers.”
Scott F. Leary, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi stated: “Law enforcement must remain vigilant in combating human trafficking. If we relax, for even a moment, our most vulnerable fall victim to the most abhorrent of crimes. Human exploitation can never be viewed as just another crime. It is unconscionable. We work for the citizens of the Northern District of Mississippi. I want them to know that, historically, we have had great success prosecuting human traffickers and that we will continue to root out and push for the harshest punishment for these perpetrators. Human trafficking will remain a top priority for this office.”
Resources are available around-the-clock for victims through local law enforcement or via national hotlines such as https://humantraffickinghotline.org/, 1-888-373-7888 or by texting BeFree (233733). In Mississippi specifically, reports can be made by emailing ReportHT@dps.ms.gov or calling 601-987-1671; cases involving minors must also be reported online at https://reportabuse.mdcps.ms.gov/ or by calling 1-800-222-8000.
Following Executive Order 14159 signed by President Donald J. Trump in January 2025—titled Protecting the American People Against Invasion—section 6 directed DOJ and DHS leaders to establish HSTFs nationwide with goals including dismantling cross-border smuggling rings targeting children.
In January 2026 DHS and DOJ increased resources devoted both to operations against traffickers—including coordinated efforts at dozens of federal locations—and outreach programs aimed at raising public awareness about reporting mechanisms.
Since its official launch on August 25th last year—with an intensive operation called September Surge—the HSTF has conducted more than 400 operations resulting in over three thousand arrests nationwide within just six weeks’ time; seizures included over one thousand Sinaloa cartel members arrested along with hundreds associated with other major criminal groups such as CJNG (856), MS-13 (641), Tren de Aragua (456), over one thousand weapons confiscated as well as significant cash amounts totaling more than $3 million dollars plus large quantities of narcotics.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues urging citizens throughout northern Mississippi communities to report suspected cases locally.
