{"id":23751,"date":"2022-05-02T00:03:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T04:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=23751"},"modified":"2022-05-02T00:13:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T04:13:34","slug":"cronkite-news-hearing-on-capitol-hill-examines-human-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/05\/02\/cronkite-news-hearing-on-capitol-hill-examines-human-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Hearing on Capitol Hill examines human trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4TzzBZC66wA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">House Committee on the Judiciary: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/4TzzBZC66wA>Oversight of Federal Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking &#8211; April 27, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Cochise sheriff: Border crime at \u2018all-time high,\u2019 immigration reform needed<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Monday, May 2, 2022<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Emily Sacia <\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. &#8212;  The Cochise County sheriff told a House committee last Wednesday that border-related crimes are at an \u201call-time high,\u201d and would only get worse without comprehensive immigration reform.<P><\/P>\r\nSheriff Mark Dannels, testifying to a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on human trafficking, said that illegal border entries rose from 400 migrants a month to 8,000 migrants a month over a two-year period, based on images captured by a camera system run by his department.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Our border is in really bad shape right now \u2026 and that&#8217;s saying it lightly,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/JU\/JU08\/20220427\/114654\/HHRG-117-JU08-Wstate-DannelsS-20220427.pdf\">Dannels testified.<\/a> &#8220;We have to be actively engaged in securing our border, addressing immigration reform and start addressing collectively these issues down here. It\u2019s only going to get worse.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1259380657&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true&#038;visual=true\"><\/iframe>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Cronkite News Audio: <a href=https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/cronkitenews\/cochise-county-sheriff-border-related-crimes-are-at-an-all-time-high?in=cronkitenews\/sets\/cn2go#t=0:00>Cochise County Sheriff: Border-related crimes are at an all-time high<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut most of the witnesses at the hearing, many of them survivors of trafficking themselves, made little mention of the current border situation in their testimony. Instead, they cited a long list of actions they said need to be taken, focusing on protecting victims and prosecuting both the traffickers who coerced them and the people who used them &#8211; for trafficked sex and trafficked labor.<P><\/P>\r\nMartina Vandenberg, founder of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, said illegal immigration is not the issue.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;Over the years, all of my forced labor survivor clients had one thing in common: They all entered the United States on perfectly legal visas,&#8221; Vandenberg&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/JU\/JU08\/20220427\/114654\/HHRG-117-JU08-Wstate-VandenbergM-20220427.pdf\">written testimony<\/a> said.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;They arrived with contracts and the promise of a good job,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Instead, they found themselves trafficked into forced labor, stripped of their identity documents, held in debt bondage, threatened with deportation, and, in some cases, physically and sexually abused.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/05\/01\/cronkite-news-hearing-on-capitol-hill-examines-human-trafficking\/border-fence-lines-san-diego-and-mexico\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-23756\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" data-attachment-id=\"23756\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/05\/02\/cronkite-news-hearing-on-capitol-hill-examines-human-trafficking\/border-fence-lines-san-diego-and-mexico\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/02\/BorderPatrol-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;14&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Donna Burton&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS-1D Mark IV&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;A Border Patrol vehicle sits along the border fenceline separating San Diego and Tijuana Mexico watching for illegal crossings in March 2016. The border fence between San Diego and Mexico is a deterrent to illegal immigration, drug smuggling and human trafficking. The fence is regularly patrolled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on the lookout for illegal crossings. \\r\\rPhotographer: Donna Burton&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1459347390&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;16&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Border Fence Lines San Diego and Mexico&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"U.S. Border Barrier between California and Mexico\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;U.S. Border Barrier between California and Mexico&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A Border Patrol vehicle sits along the border fenceline separating San Diego and Tijuana Mexico watching for illegal crossings in March 2016. The border fence between San Diego and Mexico is a deterrent to illegal immigration, drug smuggling and human trafficking. The fence is regularly patrolled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on the lookout for illegal crossings. &lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Photographer: Donna Burton&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/02\/BorderPatrol-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/02\/BorderPatrol-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. Border Barrier between California and Mexico\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-23756\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle by the border wall between San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, in this 2016 file photo. Lawmakers sparred at a recent House hearing over whether a surge at the border contributes to human trafficking Photo: <a href=https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/cbpphotos\/35035812945\/>Donna Burton \/ U.S. Customs and Border Protection<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nMuch of <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/calendar\/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=4916\">the hearing<\/a> played out along the same lines, with witnesses and lawmakers generally addressing two different topics.<P><\/P>\r\nDemocrats and trafficking experts used the hearing to push for passage of bills like the Stop Human Trafficking in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/117\/bills\/hr7566\/BILLS-117hr7566ih.pdf\">School Zones Act<\/a> and reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Republicans focused on the historic number of apprehensions at the border in recent months and what they called the Biden administration&#8217;s failure to address the problem.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;The failed policies of this administration encourage and facilitate Mexican drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations and other malevolent actors to engage in human trafficking and smuggling across our southwestern border,&#8221; said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert.<P><\/P>\r\nThe hearing came as the administration is trying to lift <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/42\/265\">Title 42,<\/a> a pandemic-era health policy that lets border patrol agents turn back asylum seekers because of the potential health risk they could present. That policy has been used to turn back 1.8 million asylum seekers since March 2020.<P><\/P><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nBut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this month that there is no longer a health justification to invoke the policy, and Homeland Security proposed ending Title 42 on May 23. But three states, including Arizona, filed suit, claiming the administration did not have a plan to handle the expected surge in migrants, and a federal judge in Louisiana agreed this week to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azag.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/docs\/press-releases\/2022\/motions\/TRO%20Initial%20Order.pdf\">temporarily block<\/a> the move.<P><\/P>\r\nRep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, said Wednesday that lifting Title 42 would not just overwhelm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/newsroom\/stats\/southwest-land-border-encounters\">already strained<\/a> border resources, but could increase the likelihood of vulnerable people being trafficked.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;The massive influx of illegal border crossings we&#8217;re experiencing now will only make it easier for human trafficking networks to flourish by exploiting our relaxed border security,&#8221; Chabot said.<P><\/P>\r\nStacey Sutherland, with the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network, said it is not far-fetched to assume that more border traffic might mean more human trafficking. But she said that anyone stopped at the border will be screened for trafficking. And she said it is important to remember the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling.<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It has been almost two centuries since the Thirteenth Amendment&#39;s ratification. Yet, there are thousands of individuals in the U.S. RIGHT NOW who are being coerced into forced labor and sexual slavery. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5vy0c2eC1D\">pic.twitter.com\/5vy0c2eC1D<\/a><\/p>&mdash; House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HouseJudiciary\/status\/1519320902953062400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHuman trafficking is &#8220;an underground crime&#8221; that requires coercion, said Sutherland, director of the network&#8217;s Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking program. Smuggling does not involve coercion, although she acknowledged that individuals smuggled into the country can become trafficking victims.<P><\/P>\r\nSutherland could not comment on Dannels&#8217; numbers, except to say that it &#8220;doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s an uptick in crime. It just means we\u2019re able to see the crime more clearly, see the victimizations more clearly.&#8221;<P><\/P>\r\nBut while DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement provide screenings at the border to identify human trafficking victims, Dannels said more needs to be done.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;We got to come together to do a better job because citizens and those being trafficked are all victims&#8221; that local, state and federal officials took an oath to protect, Dannels said. &#8220;And right now we&#8217;re not collectively doing that.<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;This is not about politics, this is about people,&#8221; he said.<P><\/P>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Notice<\/div>\r\n<a href=https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/calendar\/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=4916>\r\nOversight of Federal Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking<\/a> (April 27, 2022)\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2022\/04\/27\/cochise-sheriff-border-crime-at-all-time-high-immigration-reform-needed\/\">appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>.  It  is published via a <A href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at <A href=\"https:\/\/www.asu.edu\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM><HR>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democrats and Republicans presented very different views of human trafficking and how to address the problem at hearing in the nation&#8217;s capital.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1,14,23],"tags":[869,1574,42,45,5,101,94,336,48,697,72,511,2843,2842,85,2845,2844,453],"class_list":["post-23751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law","category-national","category-politics","category-world","tag-117th","tag-andy-biggs","tag-arizona","tag-borders","tag-coronavirus","tag-crime","tag-democrats","tag-dhs","tag-house","tag-immigration","tag-judiciary","tag-law-enforcement","tag-mark-dannels","tag-martina-vandenberg","tag-republicans","tag-stacey-sutherland","tag-steve-chabot","tag-trafficking","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/02\/BorderPatrol-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-6b5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}