Colorado

Called the “Centennial State,” because it became the 38th state when the U.S. turned 100 in 1876, Colorado is most closely associated with the Rocky Mountains and has numerous peaks over 14,000 feet. The state’s name comes from a Spanish word meaning “red” or “ruddy,” the color of much of the state’s terrain. Today, Colorado is known for its vast cattle ranges, agricultural acreage, and snow-covered mountains that are ideal for winter sports. Its capital is Denver and state flower is the Rocky Mountain columbine.

Human trafficking is a serious issue that affects people all around the world, including in Colorado. It is a form of modern slavery in which individuals are exploited for labor, sexual exploitation, or other purposes.

In Colorado, human trafficking can take many forms, including forced labor, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. It often affects vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, children, and people who are homeless or in poverty.

If you suspect that someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, there are steps you can take to help. You can report the situation to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by text at 233733. You can also contact local law enforcement or a trusted organization that provides services to victims of human trafficking. It is important to remember that the safety of the victim should be the top priority and to handle the situation with care and sensitivity.

Testimony by Tara Lee Rodas for The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement
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Testimony by Tara Lee Rodas for The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement

Editor’s note: We are non-partisan. Children are being hurt. Please, watch, read, learn, and act accordingly. Hearing Date: Wednesday 04/26/2023 – 3:00 PM Hearing Location: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building The hearing, “The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children,” will examine the unprecedented surge of unaccompanied alien children at the southwest border and…

Speaker: Sex trafficking not just an over there problem – Hays Post
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Speaker: Sex trafficking not just an over there problem – Hays Post

Sister Margaret Nacke of U S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking speaks to a group Wednesday night in Victoria. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post By CRISTINA JANNEYHays Post Although human trafficking is illegal in every country in the world, it is the fastest-growing criminal industry, worth more than $152 billion a year. Margaret Nacke, a Sister of…

Inside the Government’s Failing Program to Protect Farmworkers
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Inside the Government’s Failing Program to Protect Farmworkers

Editor’s Note: This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and was originally published by Investigate Midwest.   In early 2019 in Illinois, a farmworker, his wife and his son lived in a moldy house. Attempting to keep the winter cold at bay, he’d spray-foamed the windows shut. The toilet often malfunctioned. Unlike most farmworker housing,…

Loveland nonprofit, Alternatives to Violence to host Purple Ribbon Breakfast April 25
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Loveland nonprofit, Alternatives to Violence to host Purple Ribbon Breakfast April 25

Alternatives to Violence, ATV, is hosting its annual Purple Ribbon Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 25 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel, Conference Center and Spa, 4705 Clydesdale Park in Loveland. The nonprofit provides shelter, advocacy, education and resources to people impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. Along with…

Omaha based Project Harmony's anti-trafficking team collaborates to heal survivors' trauma
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Omaha based Project Harmony's anti-trafficking team collaborates to heal survivors' trauma

Alia Conley  In a room full of friendly faces, Diamond Johnson smiled at one in particular. “That’s Angie,” Johnson nodded toward Angie Temple, a former anti-trafficking specialist at Project Harmony. “She puts up with me.” Johnson, a sex trafficking survivor now 20 years old, explained how Temple gained her trust when Johnson was scared and…

Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets
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Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets

It took Johnny Perez over four years of making hundreds of bedsheets every day at a factory to reach the top pay tier: about 32 cents an hour, nearly double his starting wage. He was one of the highest-paid workers at Coxsackie Correctional Facility—a textile manufacturer run by the New York State prison system. When…

California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes
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California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes

Last year, voters in Vermont, Oregon, Tennessee and Alabama approved historic ballot measures that removed slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime from their state constitutions, which could lead to limitations on forced prison labor. They joined a growing list of states that passed similar initiatives in recent years, including Nebraska, Utah and Colorado….

Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5M for hiring minors to work in Colorado, other states
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Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5M for hiring minors to work in Colorado, other states

By Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — One of the country’s largest cleaning services for food processing companies employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday as it announced over $1.5 million in civil penalties. The investigation into Packers Sanitation Services…

Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5 million for hiring minors across US
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Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5 million for hiring minors across US

The Department of Labor says the company employed more than 100 children in jobs at 13 U.S. meatpacking plants, including George’s and Tyson in Arkansas. SPRINGDALE, Ark. — One of the country’s largest cleaning services for food processing companies employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country, the…

More Than 100 Children Worked in Dangerous Jobs at Slaughterhouse Cleaning Firms, Officials Say
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More Than 100 Children Worked in Dangerous Jobs at Slaughterhouse Cleaning Firms, Officials Say

One of the country’s largest cleaning services for food processing companies employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday as it announced over $1.5 million in civil penalties. The investigation into Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, began last summer. Department officials…