The historic illegal immigration crisis at our Nation’s borders continues unabated. Under President Biden, at least 7 million illegal aliens have been encountered along the southwest border, and 1.7 million known “gotaways,” along with an untold number of unknown “gotaways,” have evaded Border Patrol and escaped across the country. Most horrifically, our own government cannot locate over 85,000 unaccompanied minors who were brought illegally into the United States.
Unsurprisingly, this unprecedented invasion has led to a rise in sex and labor trafficking cases across the United States. We know that modern day slavery in this country is now the second most profitable criminal enterprise – only behind drug trafficking. Thankfully, conservatives are stepping up to hold these criminals accountable. Just this week, the House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, passed legislation to impose criminal penalties on individuals who refuse to comply with orders from and attempt to evade U.S. Border Patrol agents or other federal, state, or local law enforcement officers assisting Border Patrol. Protecting those who protect us is a vital step in ensuring traffickers are not emboldened to defy our laws.
Thankfully, it's not just conservatives in Congress stepping up, as red states like Texas, Missouri, Florida, and Georgia are joining the fight. These state legislatures and executives are focused on innovative approaches to support victims, while ensuring prosecutors can build cases against criminal traffickers. Just this week, CPAC’s Center for Combating Human Trafficking spoke with our partners at the Center for Immigration Studies about these efforts, you can learn more by listening here: https://cis.org/Parsing-Immigration-Policy/How-States-Can-Fight-Human-Trafficking.
