El Paso nonprofit expands operation to protect human trafficking victims

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A local group that offers shelter to human trafficking victims is expanding its operation to increase the current emergency shelter capacity for victims of trafficking and child exploitation in the region this January, which is human trafficking awareness month.

The Paso del Norte Center of Hope received a grant of over $18,000 from the Home Depot Foundation for the expansion that will allow the nonprofit to hire at least six more people.

"We wouldn't have been able to do that with the shelter capacity, the way that it was, because it wouldn't have been enough space for people to work," said Nicole Schiff, the Center's Executive Director.

The grant will also provide five more beds to Paso Del Norte's shelter space.

"That actually doubles the capacity of our shelter," Schiff said, "Last year we served over 60 individuals, which again, seems like a small amount, but when so many people don't even realize what trafficking is or that it's happening in town, it really is pretty significant."

Schiff told ABC-7 that the Center primarily sees trafficked children. One example she gave was a girl trafficked by her very own father. But while young people are often victims of trafficking, victims are not limited to any demographic.

"It can be anybody. It looks like you, me, it looks like our neighbors. It looks like kiddos going to school. And the reason for that is we all have vulnerabilities," said FBI El Paso Special Agent Valerie Venegas, "What human traffickers do is they will latch onto that."

Another vulnerable population often impacted; asylum seekers.

"Whenever you have a situation as what we're experiencing now in our country," Venegas said, referencing the migrant surge, "you can see a rise in crime, and you can see a rise in human trafficking because of the vulnerable status."

Warning signs of human trafficking

Special Agent Venegas shared with ABC-7 some of the warning signs of human trafficking.

• If you ask somebody a question and someone else answers for them.
• If an individual does not have access to their own documents.
• Whether people can move about freely or they require an escort.
• Things that don't make sense, like an individual in possession of expensive items that don't match their living situation.
• Large groups of people traveling together.
• Signs of abuse such as scarring or bruising.
• Malnutrition.
• Poor hygiene.

Ways to report:

• FBI.gov
• Call your local FBI field office.
• Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888