Attorney General Ford Co-Leads Bipartisan Coalition of Attorneys General Seeking Better Federal-State Cooperation to End Human Trafficking

Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he is co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 40 state and territory attorneys general in a letter urging Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy to require better cooperation with local law enforcement from the next operator of the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

"Human trafficking is one of the most repugnant problems facing society,” said AG Ford. “This form of modern-day slavery has no place in the world today, and law enforcement must have the tools necessary to ensure this practice is stopped in its tracks. I’m proud to be one of the leads on this letter calling for Sec. Kennedy to ensure this cooperation is required from the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s next operator.”

Since 2007, Polaris has operated the National Human Trafficking Hotline with millions of dollars in funding authorized by Congress. States rely on the hotline to forward third-party tips of suspected human trafficking to local law enforcement to arrest traffickers; safely recover victims; and uncover evidence of trafficking rings and operations. It was recently discovered that Polaris was failing to forward third-party tips about adult victims to state law enforcement except in limited circumstances. Additionally, states have often discovered a delay of even several months before the hotline shared those tips with states.

This practice is contrary to what Polaris itself advertises; to what states and organizations have come to expect from this partnership; and, the attorneys general believe, to what Congress expects from its funding. In February 2023, a bipartisan coalition of 36 attorneys general asked for Congress to require the Hotline to report these third-party tips to local law enforcement. As a result, then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra stated that the agency was “incorporating additional language in the next [award notice] outlining specific coordination requirements with law enforcement.”

HHS is currently seeking applicants for a new award of this funding, with applications due May 2, 2025. That notice of funding opportunity does require the hotline operator to develop a plan for working with law enforcement.

In today’s letter, the attorneys general ask Secretary Kennedy, “As you consider applicants, we urge you to ensure that the organization that is awarded the grant for the National Human Trafficking Hotline demonstrates its commitment to being a partner to our offices and local law enforcement with timely reports of trafficking tips. We have worked hard to teach the public the signs of trafficking and how to report it when they think they see it. But sending the public to the Hotline when they see someone in trouble is futile if the organization running it refuses to share those tips and share them in a timely manner.”

The attorneys general continued, “To be clear, we are not asking that the Hotline report calls from victims who say they do not want their call reported. But we are asking them to send us the tips they get from anyone other than the victim. We are asking for the tips from the trucker who sees suspicious behavior on the road, the flight attendant who notices something unusual in the airport, the front desk clerk who sees something that does not make sense at their motel, or the citizen who sees the same woman being abused at the corner market week after week. Those tips matter, and reporting those tips can save lives.”

AG Ford co-led the letter with Attorneys General Lynn Fitch from Mississippi, Kathy Jennings from Delaware and Liz Murrill from Louisiana. In addition to the lead states, the letter was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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