Wifredo Ferrer, Human Trafficking, DC 2017

Human trafficking thrives in the shadows, but federal prosecutors are dragging it into the light. On Monday, January 9, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. EST, U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida will take a stand against the modern-day slave trade during a high-level panel at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC.

The event, titled ‘Human Trafficking: Preventing the Crime, Prosecuting the Perpetrators, Protecting the Survivors,’ marks National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. It brings together top federal prosecutors and civil rights enforcers to confront one of the nation’s most brutal underground economies—where lives are bought, sold, and exploited with chilling efficiency.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will open the discussion with sharp, no-nonsense remarks underscoring the Justice Department’s commitment to dismantling trafficking networks. Joining Ferrer on the panel are U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Carole Rendon of the Northern District of Ohio—prosecutors with proven records in complex human exploitation cases.

Also on the front lines: Director Hilary Axam of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and Acting Director Marilyn Roberts of the Office of Justice Programs’ Office for Victims of Crime. Their roles cut deep into both the legal mechanics of prosecution and the raw, human aftermath survivors endure.

The panel will be held at the DOJ’s 7th Floor Conference Center, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Media access begins at 12:00 p.m. EST, with final entry at 12:50 p.m. Press must RSVP to press@usdoj.gov, present government-issued photo ID, and use the Constitution Avenue entrance between 9th and 10th Streets.

For those unable to attend, the event will be livestreamed at https://www.justice.gov/live. This isn’t just another government briefing—it’s a public declaration that traffickers are being hunted, and survivors are being seen.

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