The
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has scheduled a hearing to address trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
In April, the
Government Accountability Office said federal agencies are failing to collect data on Native trafficking victims. As a result, it's not possible to determine the extent of the problem.
"In certain circumstances, state or tribal law enforcement may have jurisdiction
to investigate crimes in Indian country; therefore, these figures likely do not
represent the total number of human trafficking-related cases in Indian
country," the
GAO
wrote in the report, which was released on April 6.
"Also, considering that human trafficking is known to be an underreported
crime, it is unlikely that these figures, or any other investigative or
prosecutorial data, represent the full extent to which human trafficking is
occurring in Indian country," the report continued.
Of the four agencies with investigative and prosecutorial powers in Indian Country, only the
Bureau of Indian Affairs collects data on the tribal affiliation of a trafficking victim, the GAO said. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Department of Homeland Security and the
network of U.S. Attorneys
across the nation either fail to collect the same information or only do so in limited circumstances, according to the report.
The hearing will take place next Wednesday, July 26. A witness list hasn't been posted online.
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice:
Oversight Hearing on “The GAO Reports on Human Trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Natives in the United States.”
(July 26, 2017)
Government Accountability Office Report:
Action Needed to
Identify the Number of Native American Victims Receiving Federally-funded
Services (April 6, 2017)
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