Human Trafficking
Texas is a hub for international human trafficking because of its many busy interstate highways, international airports, countless bus stations, the shipping commerce through the Gulf of Mexico, and its shared border with Mexico.
July 21st, 2014
Governor Rick Perry is expected to announce at a press conference in Austin this afternoon that he will be mobilizing Texas National Guard troops to the border. A memo obtained by The Monitor states that troops are...
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...
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...
July 3rd, 2014
Attorney General Greg Abbott announced the release of a Human Trafficking Prevention Manual that is targeted to teachers and other education professionals who will be facing an onslaught of potential victims in this coming...
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...
March 24th, 2014
The House Homeland Security Committee held a field hearing in Houston, “Combating Human Trafficking in Major Cities.” Human trafficking is often called “modern-day slavery”.
February 3rd, 2014
As the run-up to early voting, which starts in just over two weeks, Texas Attorney General candidate, Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman, is taking his message to the voters with a new television ad which launched...
January 23rd, 2014
Recently, California State Assemblyman (equivalent of a Texas State House Legislator), Tim Donnelly spoke on the floor about our broken immigration system and the need for immigration reform and stronger border security....
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...
July 16th, 2014
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and I authored the following op-ed today in The Houston Chronicle:It is no secret that we come from different political parties and differ on many issues. But we are Texans and we know that...
July 14th, 2014
WASHINGTON— Tomorrow U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security, and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a member of the House...
July 7th, 2014
I spoke on the Senate floor today on the humanitarian crisis at the border and urged President Obama to visit the border during his upcoming trip to Texas. I recently visited McAllen, Texas myself a week ago today, and it is...
June 10th, 2014
Recently, I questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson as part of a Judiciary Committee hearing to conduct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). My colleagues and I covered a host of issues, but...
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...
March 13th, 2014
An unfortunate reality of the construction industry is that there are many instances of worker abuse. Much of this has been documented on Construction Citizen over the years. Terrible working conditions, worker...
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 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...