Trafficking News
The Daily Signal investigates trafficking networks, border smuggling, and the legal and cultural response to this crisis at home and abroad.
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Mother Tells How Daughter Fell Victim to Trafficking After School Hid Her Gender Identity. New Bill Aims to Prevent Such Tragedy.
A subcommittee in the Virginia House of Delegates voted Monday to advance a bill requiring schoolteachers and school staff to notify parents about their children’s purported gender transitions, partially in response to the horrific sex-trafficking story of Sage, a girl whose high school hid her transgender identity from her mother. HB 2432, “Sage’s law,” requires…Tyler O’Neil -
Root Cause of Human Trafficking Is ‘Individuals Who Decide to Exploit’ Vulnerable People, Expert Says
Today, there are believed to be more people trapped in slavery than at any other time in history. These are individuals who are victims of sex trafficking and forced labor. They are women, men, and children. There are “27.6 million people [who] are estimated to be victims of trafficking,” John Richmond, the former U.S. ambassador…Virginia Allen -
EXCLUSIVE: Congressman Demands Answers After Whistleblowers Allege Nurse Performed Abortions With Expired License, Turned ‘Blind Eye’ to Sex Trafficking
Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina is demanding explanations from the North Carolina Board of Nursing following reports that a nurse performed abortions after her medical license had expired and turned “a blind eye” to the sex trafficking of underage girls. “It has come to my attention that Deborah Jane Walsh, a nurse who operates…Mary Margaret Olohan -
EXCLUSIVE: GOP Bill Would Require Abortionists to Report Suspected Trafficking Victims
Legislation proposed by Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina would require abortion providers to file a report with the National Human Trafficking Hotline if they suspect a patient at the clinic is a victim of human trafficking. The Daily Signal first obtained a copy of the legislation, the Stopping Traffickers and Their Accomplices Act of…Mary Margaret Olohan -
Despite Trafficking Crisis, Biden’s Policies Encourage Minors to Cross Southern Border Alone
Customs and Border Protection encountered 212,672 individuals on the southern border in July, the highest number in 21 years and the second-highest number ever recorded. Of those, 18,962 were unaccompanied minors, which is another record. These increases are striking because this is usually a slow time of year due to the intense summer heat. Yet,…Evelyn Lim -
‘We Have the Support of the President.’ For These Americans, Human Trafficking at the Border Is a Form of Political Activism.
An increasing number of U.S. citizens—who consider themselves “political activists”—are taking money from Mexican cartels to receive illegal immigrants into the U.S. from the Mexican border and smuggle them into the interior of the United States. They do so believing that President Joe Biden condones their actions, thanks to his administration’s rhetoric and policies on…Shea Bradley-Farrell -
How Biden’s Open-Border Policies Are Worsening Scourge of Human Trafficking
One of my top priorities as state attorney general of Missouri has been to combat human trafficking. We have organized a number of operations to fight human trafficking with an unprecedented level of coordination among local, state, and federal law enforcement that have rescued victims and led to the arrest of traffickers. Further, through our…Eric Schmitt -
With Super Bowl, Tampa Braces for Surge in Sex Trafficking. Here’s How It’s Combating It.
Expect human traffickers to exploit the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida, this weekend. While current COVID-19 restrictions will limit game attendance, there will still be 22,000 fans there, and with Tampa as the home city of the Buccaneers, one of the participating teams, there will be many more in town. Traffickers are criminal economic enterprises who target…Clare Morell -
The Connection Between Porn and Human Trafficking
Pornography usage is increasing all over the world. It is estimated that 79.5% of women and 98% of men have watched porn. But why is this an issue, one might ask? Pornographers are just sexually liberated people, right? Unfortunately, many people featured in porn are being sex-trafficked, and viewers are unaware that the people they…Maria Lencki -
Trump Administration Slates $35M to Help Survivors of Human Trafficking
The Trump administration will issue more than $35 million in grants to provide safe housing to survivors of human trafficking. The Justice Department was set to announce Tuesday that its Office for Victims of Crime will award the funds to 73 organizations across the nation to provide six to 24 months of transitional or short-term…Fred Lucas -
As South Korea Cracks Down on Sexual Exploitation Online, More Must Be Done to Fight Human Trafficking
Two hundred sixty thousand. That is the estimated number of users of “Nth rooms.” Nth rooms are chat rooms that illegally produce and sell sexually dehumanizing content in Korea. Those exploited in the Nth rooms may be considered victims of sex trafficking because many were conscripted into the Nth room abuses through force, fraud, or…Olivia Enos -
Health Care Initiative Aims to Identify, Rescue Victims of Human Trafficking
An estimated 40 million people are trafficked around the world each year, says the leader of a group training health care providers to help identify and rescue victims. One research study of survivors in 2014 found that “88% of victims seek medical care and treatment while being trafficked,” said Deb O’Hara-Rusckowski, a critical care nurse…Allison Schuster -
DHS Strategy on Human Trafficking Aims to Put Issue Front and Center
Americans need to be talking more about the problem of human trafficking in order to successfully combat it, the nation’s acting homeland security secretary says. “We as Americans, again, are not talking enough about this issue,” Chad Wolf said during an event Wednesday at The Heritage Foundation, adding: Let me make myself clear. In 2018,…Rachel del Guidice -
Cartels Are ‘Abusing’ Asylum Laws, Causing a Human Trafficking ‘Crisis,’ Texas Lawmaker Says
A Texas lawmaker says the situation on the southern border is “a real crisis” because human traffickers are exploiting our asylum laws, which he says are “broken.” “We have a sophisticated enterprise where cartels are profiting by moving people across the border,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said on the fourth installment of the House Freedom…Rachel del Guidice -
These New Laws Will Strengthen US Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking
The U.N.’s International Labor Organization in 2016 estimated that there were 40.3 million victims of modern slavery throughout the world, including 24.9 million in forced labor and 15.4 million in forced marriages. It was with that as backdrop that President Donald Trump on Jan. 9 signed into law the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection…Olivia Enos -
Podcast: How to Curb Sex Trafficking in the US
Around 2 p.m. every day, some men will use their corporate computers to make an appointment to have sex with a minor—and many of those appointments will occur on corporate property. Businesses, says Geoff Rogers, CEO and co-founder of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, are among the organizations that may seem to have no…Katrina Trinko -
Why Economic Freedom Is a Proven Antidote to the Scourge of Human Trafficking
In a recent op-ed essay for The Washington Post, first daughter Ivanka Trump made a powerful case for the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to combat the evil of human trafficking. “The United States is an extraordinarily generous nation, but [the Trump] administration will no longer use taxpayer dollars to support governments that consistently fail to…Anthony B. Kim -
Fight Against Human Trafficking Begins in Our Own Neighborhoods
The 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report had a refreshing take on anti-trafficking strategy—one that emphasizes the role of communities in addressing sexual and labor exploitation. The report, released annually since 2001, ranks countries according to their compliance with minimum standards for eliminating trafficking in persons. Countries are ranked from best to worst in four categories: Tier…Brian Hilliker -
Backpage Pleads Guilty to Human Trafficking 5 Days After Women’s March Endorsement
Backpage.com pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges in Texas less than one week after Women’s March defended the company. Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer also pled guilty to money laundering charges, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Thursday. The announcement came one day after President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation targeting online sex trafficking and granting states broader ability to…Peter Hasson -
Problematic Women: Women’s March Reaches a New Low in Defense of Child Sex Trafficking Website
On this week’s edition of “Problematic Women,” we discuss a conservative woman finally getting recognized for her accomplishments, rapper Cardi B’s take on “abortion regret,” Khloe Kardashian’s baby drama, and Seth Meyers’ wife giving birth on a floor. We also examine the Women’s March criticizing the Trump administration for cracking down on sex trafficking and…Kelsey Bolar