Human Trafficking: Organizations On The Western Slope Work To Combat The Issue

Tatiana Eggers and Meghan Witt, Sustainability Editor and Lifestyle and Beauty Editor

When people move to the Western Slope, human trafficking is not usually at the forefront of their minds. However, as more people become aware of the issue, whispers of trafficking start to circle the community.

Organizations in Mesa County like Western Slope Against Trafficking are bringing awareness to the area. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Tom Acker, a professor at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), and in partnership with the Children’s Center, Victims Advocate for the Sheriff’s Department, the Grand Junction Police Department, District 51, and healthcare organizations in Mesa County, the organization works to combat human trafficking on all levels.

The idea for the organization came after Acker volunteered with Colorado Legal Services. He found that sheepherders in the area working on an H2A visa were tied to concerning employment conditions. After presenting his findings to the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, they partnered together to start the local organization.

In the early 2000’s, the United States and other countries around the world faced an increasing issue, human trafficking.

With human trafficking on the rise, the Trafficking Victim Protection Act was instated in 2000 which allowed states to create their own laws on human trafficking. The Combating Human Trafficking Organization stated that legislation was passed to bolster prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership efforts.

What is trafficking?

The Homeland Security Department website describes human trafficking as “the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” They also state that those who are trafficking use various methods of manipulation, force, violence, and false hope to persuade victims into these situations.

The Human Rights First Organization explains that human trafficking can occur through domestic and international recruitment. Victims can be transported to a completely different country or remain in or close to the area that they were originally trafficked to be exploited for acts of labor and/or sex.

There are an estimated 24.9 million people involved in human trafficking situations and according to the Human Rights First Organization, 16 million are involved in labor exploitation, 4.8 million are involved in sex exploitation, and 4.1 million are involved in forced state labor. Yearly, around 800,000 people, including men, women, and children, are trafficked throughout the world.

Local Prominence

Human trafficking can be seen in parts of rural Colorado and there are various challenges that come with it. Acker explained that these challenges stem from different factors including geographical isolation, interstate transportation routes, industries that mainly hire seasonal workers, and a lack of economic/employment security.

When trying to identify human traffickers, geographical isolation can make it harder to identify and intervene. Mesa County is known to have a large number of undocumented people who work in the intensive labor sector which includes jobs in agriculture, ranching, and construction.

Grand Junction, like many cities on the Western Slope, also has easy access to major interstates and highways which increases access for traffickers. Traffickers have the ability to keep driving on the interstate without much intervention and head out of the state towards Utah.

“We have intersecting highways a huge route 70, its a multihighway its easy for people to move quickly if they’re detected,” Acker explained. *** see note below***

In Delta, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shut down an illegal marijuana crop where a number of unknown Asian nationalists were working. Acker mentioned that after the shutdown, these people disappeared and it was suspected to be a human trafficking situation.

Another contributing factor to human trafficking in the Mesa County area is the close proximity to major ski resorts like Aspen. Aspen attracts upwards of a million tourists each year through various festivals and events, increasing the risk of trafficking situations in the area.

Acker recalled a previous case in Aspen in which Chinese nationalities were being trafficked out of one of the lodges at the ski resort.

Local Significance

Despite the various factors that contribute to and increase the chance of human trafficking in the region, Mesa County faces a number of obstacles when trying to identify and combat the issue. This is primarily due to the limited training and expertise on human trafficking in the area.

Acker explained that local law enforcement faces numerous challenges when trying to identify cases of human trafficking. Service providers in the area often have an easier time than law enforcement when it comes to identifying trafficking cases and communicating with victims.

“You might see that a law enforcement officer identifies one case of human trafficking while a service provider identifies ten cases of trafficking because of the different relationship there. In the human trafficking movement, one overarching concept is a victim-centered approach to human trafficking, and if you’re talking about victim-centered, the emphasis is not on prosecuting the perpetrator but rather helping the victim get out of their situation and in order to get the victim out, you have to gain their confidence,” Acker said, “If the victim perceives that your only purpose is prosecuting the criminal and often times requiring that victim to identify the criminal and also self-identify as victim, according to victim-centered protocols, what you are asking that person to do is re-traumatize themselves. There is no trust in law enforcement amongst these victims.”

Because of these obstacles, documentation of human trafficking in Mesa County is extremely limited. A report by the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking found that within the past seven years there have only been three human trafficking cases filed in the region but in 2018, the CoNEHT 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline received 14 calls regarding trafficking in the area.

Based on this information, it is evident that human trafficking is a relevant issue in the region but due to the limited resources available in Mesa County, law enforcement and partnering organizations need further training in order to combat this issue.

Angela Clark, Survivor Leader for Western Slope Against Trafficking, explained that the organization is actively working with law enforcement and various organizations in Mesa County to get adequate training on the issue.

“We are providing specific training for service providers in order to better identify trafficking. We are also networking throughout the state to learn about how other rural communities are handling this issue,” Clark said.

The Western Slope Against Trafficking organization meets each month to discuss arising questions, vulnerabilities, and impacts on the community involving human trafficking.

“We figure out where we need to put our time and our energy so we can really make a difference here,” Clark said.

The Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking has provided a number of resources that offer support to victims of human trafficking. Here is the full list:

• Western Slope Against Trafficking
• Disability Law Colorado – Mesa County
• Marillac Clinic – Mesa County
• Sheriff’s Office – Mesa County (provides case management, transportation, and short-term housing options)
• Hilltop Community Resource Center – Ouray, Montrose, and Delta County
• Hispanic Affairs Project – Montrose (offers services to immigrant communities)
• Uncompahgre Medical Center
• San Miguel Resource Center
• Project Hope – Gunnison Valley
• Gunnison County Department of Health and Human Service

*** We corrected this quote that originally published at the request of Dr. Tom Acker. We sincerely apologize for the original quote, which created an assumption about specific groups of people that are trafficked in Mesa County and the surrounding areas, but was not accurate and was taken out of context. We have worked to correct the mistake. Thank you for your feedback. We published the corrected information on 4/27/21.