PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 16, 2025

Community Advocates Respond to LA County’s Report on Preventing Human Trafficking After Disasters

LOS ANGELES, CA — On June 2 and June 6, 2025, the Los Angeles County Internal Services Department (ISD) and the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), respectively, released their reports in response to the motion introduced by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell on Preventing Human Trafficking in the Wake of Natural Disasters. Community advocates commend the County for taking seriously the increased risk of exploitation during disaster recovery and for outlining the concrete steps already being implemented to address it. However, as the report shows, our collective work is far from done.

The report details promising developments, including:

Expanded worker education and outreach through trusted community-based organizations.
A new public awareness campaign connecting natural disasters and trafficking risks.
On-the-ground response from the Office of Worker Health and Safety (OWHS) to identify unsafe labor conditions and distribute PPE.
Plans for training County staff, employers, and contractors to identify and prevent trafficking.
Creation of the Rebuild LA Labor Exploitation Taskforce, led by the District Attorney’s Office Labor Justice Unit, to coordinate multi-agency investigations and enforce labor laws during post-disaster recovery efforts.
Updates to LA County’s Zero Tolerance Policy on Human Trafficking in Procurement to strengthen accountability among vendors and contractors.

“These are critical steps, and we’re grateful to see the County respond with urgency,” said Paloma Bustos, Policy Associate with the Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative. “But we must continue pushing to ensure that outreach is trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and culturally accessible, and that these efforts are fully resourced long term.”

What’s Still Missing:

Despite its strengths, the report does not detail:

How efforts will be funded and sustained long term, beyond the immediate recovery.
Whether and how trafficking-related data to natural disasters will be tracked, shared, and used to improve future responses.
How the County will measure success and ensure efforts are reaching those most at risk.
How survivors and community voices, especially those with lived experience, will shape future planning.
How the County will educate and engage homeowners on ethical contracting and their role in recognizing and reporting labor trafficking during private recovery efforts.

Additionally, the report does not address the chilling effect of immigration enforcement and raids, which continue to drive undocumented workers into the shadows, making them even more vulnerable during disaster recovery. Advocates urge the County to take a stronger stance to promote trust, and ensure services are safe and accessible regardless of status.

Furthermore, while LA County is moving in the right direction, the City of Los Angeles has yet to take any steps to address the increased risk of trafficking during disaster recovery. This is a significant gap that must be addressed.

What’s Next:

Community partners will continue to work collectively to advance:

Introduction of a similar motion by the Los Angeles City Council to prevent trafficking during disaster recovery.
Push for permanent structures or protocols to maintain coordination on trafficking prevention during future disasters.
Clear, trauma-informed and culturally responsive public messaging specific to natural disasters that reassures workers they can seek services without fear.
Survivor-informed disaster planning and policy development that includes the voices and expertise of those with lived experience.
Education for homeowners on how to identify and report signs of labor trafficking, and the importance of hiring ethical, law-abiding contractors during disaster recovery.

“We’re committed to working with the County and community partners to build systems that don’t just respond to exploitation, but prevent it,” said Chancee Martorell, Executive Director of Thai CDC.

We thank Supervisor Mitchell, DCBA, ISD, and all agency partners for their leadership, and we look forward to continued collaboration to protect workers and prevent trafficking at every stage of disaster recovery.

Additional Resources:

Board Motion: Preventing Human Trafficking During Disaster Recovery (April 1, 2025)
DCBA Report on Preventing Human Trafficking in the Wake of Natural Disasters (June 2025)
ISD Report Back on Preventing Human Trafficking in the Wake of Natural Disasters (June 2025)

Media Contacts
Kristen Rivera Media Consultant Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative Kristen.rivera@lls.edu	Chanchanit Martorell Executive Director Thai Community Development Center chancee@thaicdc.org