For years, we have heard about the dangers posed by human traffickers at the border. However, recent whistleblower testimony accuses the Polaris Project, the nonprofit running the National Human Trafficking Hotline, of failing to refer tips to law enforcement. This is despite the fact that Polaris reportedly received nearly $5 million from the government in 2023 to administer the hotline.

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Just the News has the story:

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, whose agency oversees Polaris’ use of ACF funding, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley presented the evidence turned over to Congress by an anonymous employee of Polaris and detailed the allegations.

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The evidence published by Senator Grassley shows Polaris received a report of a “possible [sex trafficking (ST)] situation” in March 2025. The nonprofit’s staff marked the case “Yes” for the involvement of potential minors and determined the case had “high indicators” of trafficking, according to Grassley’s review of the case file. The tip also reported that the alleged victim was worried “[s]he’s going to be physically hurt by the pimp running this company,” and indicated the alleged trafficker forces other women to work for him or her.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the case file shows a Polaris staff member reviewed the report and labeled the file “Work Not Required.” The first whistleblower said this designation means the case was closed, and law enforcement was not notified, Grassley wrote.

You can read the entirety of Senator Grassley’s letter here.

According to Just the News, this is not the first time Polaris has failed the nation. Apparently, a group of attorneys general reached out to the Biden administration in 2023 with similar concerns. Biden’s HHS promised to address the problem, but it doesn’t seem like anything changed.

In his letter, Grassley highlighted one issue that may be contributing to the issues with the hotline. From Just the News:

Katherine Chon serves as the Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons at the Health and Human Services Department. Her office is under the Administration of Children and Families, which oversees the hotline and funds Polaris. Before joining HHS, Chon co-founded Polaris in 2002 to “create a world without slavery” that results from human trafficking.

According to the notice of funding for the grant, the Office on Trafficking in Persons headed by Chon is the awardee of the grant, the National Review reported last month. Her prior affiliation with Polaris raises potential conflict of interest concerns, Grassley noted in the letter.

Is this apparent conflict of interest why our government is funding a trafficking hotline that has repeatedly failed at properly addressing trafficking reports? Perhaps Chon will join the many other federal employees currently being let go by the Trump administration.

Regardless of what happens to Chon, this is a serious issue. Let’s pray for wisdom for Secretary Kennedy as he handles this situation, and let’s pray for an end to slavery and trafficking in America!

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(Excerpt from Just the News. Photo Credit: Tim Tebow Foundation on Unsplash)