Thursday, October 1, 2026
Two survivors of human trafficking are using their experiences to push for federal legislation designed to prevent others from enduring the exploitation they survived.
Hollie Nadel and Sheena Dume joined U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi at a news conference in Williston Park on Aug. 20 to call for congressional action on two bipartisan anti-trafficking bills focused on prevention, education and protections for survivors.
“It’s happening right here in our backyard,” Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove, said. “This is very real, and it’s happening right here on Long Island every single day.”
Long Island accounts for nearly 70 percent of New York state’s prostitution and unlicensed massage arrests. Nearly 400 spa workers have been arrested for allegedly selling sex in the region since 2021, while the men accused of purchasing sex have largely avoided prosecution.
The news conference came a day after Jacquelyn Comiskey pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court to sex trafficking a 14-year-old Long Island girl who had been missing for 25 days.
For Nadel, 41, the issue is personal.
Nadel, who grew up in Searingtown and now lives in Virginia, said she was trafficked for more than eight years across 11 states after people who initially befriended her gained her trust. She said her traffickers eventually garnished her wages and forced her into labor and sex trafficking.
“My traffickers befriended me,” Nadel said. “They gained my trust. Initially, they were very kind.”
Nadel said traffickers can identify vulnerabilities and exploit them, gradually gaining greater control over their victims.
“My traffickers didn’t just exploit me; they forced me to commit crimes on their behalf,” she said. “Instead of recognizing me as a victim, the criminal justice system treated me like a criminal, leading to years of additional victimization.”
Nadel was charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud after, she said, her traffickers opened thousands of accounts in her name. She received a presidential pardon in January.
Now an advocate in Washington, D.C., Nadel worked for passage of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, which became law in January and helps trafficking survivors clear criminal records stemming from their exploitation.
“Our goal should be to build systems that prevent exploitation before a survivor ever needs a champion,” Nadel said.
Dume, 33, of Connecticut, said she was trafficked for two years after being lured by promises of a modeling career. She now works as an advocacy program manager for Protect All Children from Trafficking.
“The experience showed me how trafficking can exist behind closed doors, in ordinary communities,” Dume said, adding that people involved often do not fit common stereotypes about trafficking.
She said criminalization remains one of the most overlooked obstacles facing survivors, who can be arrested and prosecuted for crimes they were forced to commit.
Suozzi is supporting the Preventing Child Trafficking Act and is a co-sponsor of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act.
The Preventing Child Trafficking Act would strengthen coordination between the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services and improve collaboration aimed specifically at preventing child trafficking. The Senate unanimously passed the legislation in December, but it has stalled in the House.
The Frederick Douglass legislation, introduced by Republican Rep. Christopher Smith of New Jersey, would reauthorize anti-trafficking programs and provide additional assistance for trafficking victims. It, too, has stalled in Congress.
For Dume, moving the legislation forward means recognizing that trafficking is not a distant problem.
“Human trafficking is not confined to one city or one neighborhood,” she said. “It affects communities across Long Island, New York, and every state in our nation.”
