Voting Resources
sex trafficking
September 18th, 2014
The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved legislation I sponsored to boost support for and protection of victims of human trafficking by increasing law enforcement resources, enhancing victims’ services and increasing...
July 25th, 2014
A San Antonio man was convicted on July 23 for his role in a prostitution ring that involved at least two under-aged girls. The man is the second person to be convicted in this scheme which resulted in federal charges being...
July 14th, 2014
A Houston man now faces up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for his conviction on charges related to trafficking of minor girls for prostitution. The charges involve the trafficking of at least three girls...
May 28th, 2014
Unfortunately, human trafficking is a growing criminal activity that occurs outside of the public’s eye and is too often ignored. An estimated 100,000 children are sold in the sex trade in the United States each year. No...
May 15th, 2014
$12. In Nigeria, $12 is the cost of a bride slave. Recently, around 200 girls went to school and never came home. They were kidnapped and, for $12 apiece, sold to the Islamic militant terrorist group Boko Haram. They were...
January 28th, 2014
The tragedy of human sex trafficking cannot be fully realized until one sees the pain of hopelessness in the victims' eyes.On a recent trip to Honduras, I visited two shelters for sex trafficking victims: La Alianza and El...
January 17th, 2014
The United States is gearing up for the next Super Bowl. Unfortunately, so are human sex traffickers. Super Bowl Sunday is not just the sporting event of the year; it has also become America's traveling human trafficking...
November 29th, 2013
Houston, Texas has long been regarded as the nation's hub of human trafficking. Police organizations across the county have long been engaged in a variety of efforts to fight human trafficking in Harris County. Now, it seems...
October 31st, 2013
MADISONVILLE – A Madison County jury sentenced defendant Jennifer Nicole Kelly, 33, of Madisonville, to prison for operating a human trafficking and prostitution ring in Madisonville.In April, the defendant was indicted for...
September 24th, 2013
The issue of human trafficking has been the focus of committees and community advocacy organizations in Houston for the last decade. But little gets done (at least inside City limits) to tackle what many feel is the most...
July 28th, 2014
Last Wednesday, during the House debate on HR 5081, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014, I spoke on the floor in order to support this bill that helps identify and protects the victims of...
July 24th, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC—This week the House of Representatives sent a clear, bipartisan message that America’s children are not for sale by passing a number of bills dealing with child trafficking. However, not a single one of those...
July 9th, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8OdenyUSCQWho exactly is to blame for the current surge in Central Americans crossing the southern border? There are the obvious reasons: violence and poverty in El Salvador, Honduras and...
May 22nd, 2014
HOUSTON,Texas—The U.S. House of Representatives passed a series of bills on Tuesday attacking various aspects of our national problem of human trafficking. Texas is currently one of the nation’s hubs for human trafficking...
April 12th, 2014
Congressman Jim Costa and I joined members of the bipartisan Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus to honor this year’s outstanding individuals that have gone above and beyond to helping victims of crime. Costa and I...
January 21st, 2014
Modern day slavery of children will not end without public awareness.So in conjunction with the Polaris Project and Cindy McCain, Clear Channel is donating billboard space around Phoenix to inform the people of Arizona about...
January 10th, 2014
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a sobering reminder that even as we enter the year 2014, people around the world continue to be victims of slavery and human trafficking.Tragically, these...
November 23rd, 2013
Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Kay Granger (R-TX), Rick Nolan (D-MN), and Candice Miller (R-MI) along with Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)...
October 29th, 2013
In my former life, I was a criminal court judge for 22 years and spent 8 years as a prosecutor in Texas. Child abusers are the worst criminals in our society. But too often the justice system ignores the victim. So...
September 21st, 2013
Human trafficking is a horrible problem in this country. As we have reported many times on TexasGOPVote, Texas is one of the worst places for this issue, and Houston is frequently recognized as the national hub for human...
