‘Law enforcement needs better tools if we are to identify potential victims and rescue them from harm. One of those tools is information.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Wednesday delivered remarks at a legislative briefing on their bipartisan Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act, which seeks to prevent human trafficking by bringing more openness to the nonimmigrant visa system.
“Americans from both parties understand that our country has a moral obligation to combat human trafficking,” Sen. Cruz said. “Law enforcement needs better tools if we are to identify potential victims and rescue them from harm. One of those tools is information. The Visa Transparency and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018, is bipartisan and bicameral legislation aimed at bolstering the United States’ anti-trafficking efforts by asking the Department of Homeland Security to submit an annual report on nonimmigrant visa applications, applicants, grantees, recruiters, and employers.”
“Modern day slavery is all too rampant as a result of lax enforcement and inadequate data, which our bipartisan measure seeks to correct,” Sen. Blumenthal said. “Yesterday’s briefing underscored the major gaps in public government data about non-immigrant visas – and showed how important it is to prevent human trafficking by making sure key data are reported about every non-immigrant visa category that permits employment. Predatory recruiters and complicit employers are the bad guys – and the government is their silent partner unless it does everything possible to shine a light on this horrific practice of human trafficking.”
Watch Sen. Cruz’s full remarks here and below:
“Good afternoon and welcome. Thank you everyone for coming to this briefing. Thank you for participating.
“This is a time of deep partisan division in Washington. There are many issues that divide us often along party lines. Thankfully this is not one of those issues. This is an issue that can and should unite us.
“Human trafficking is a scourge on our country, it is a scourge on the world, and it needs to be stopped. It is an act of unmitigated evil that tears down the rights of its victims, and forces them into modern-day slavery.
“Sadly, human trafficking is far more common in the United States than anyone is happy to admit. The National Human Trafficking Hotline alone catalogs thousands of cases each year across all fifty states.
“The state of Texas and my hometown of Houston are tragically directly affected due to their size and status as international hubs. A study conducted by the University of Texas estimates that there are over 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, many of whom are young children. And that number is by no means comprehensive.
“In 2017, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received reports of over 800 cases of human trafficking occurring in Texas which involved over 1,000 individual potential victims—a small fraction of the crimes that we know actually occur. Of these reports, 249 involved victims of labor trafficking.
“The most frequently reported types of labor trafficking in Texas last year were domestic work, restaurants & food services, construction, and landscaping. The most frequent visa type held by victims of labor trafficking in Texas was the H-2B Visa.
“Americans from both parties understand that our country has a moral obligation to combat human trafficking. The challenge we face is that the crime is hard to detect. Victims are often isolated, alienated, scared, with little to no control over even the most basic aspects of their lives.
“Law enforcement needs better tools if we are to identify potential victims and rescue them from harm. One of those tools is information.
“The Visa Transparency and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018, is bipartisan and bicameral legislation aimed at bolstering the United States’ anti-trafficking efforts by asking the Department of Homeland Security to submit an annual report on nonimmigrant visa applications, applicants, grantees, recruiters, and employers.
“The act would amend the current data requirements to include more precise information such as ages, countries of origin, common occupations, academic level, and job categories of non-immigrants admitted to the country.
“The bill also calls for data collection about employers who hire non-immigrants and those involved in recruiting those workers. This portion of the bill is crucial as recruiters and employers are at times responsible for human trafficking.
“The goal is to make good use of the information already provided to the United States to help expose the human trafficking abuses of the nonimmigrant visa system and ferret out those who are mistreating the system.
“The bill should add no additional regulatory burdens on businesses or visa applicants. Instead, it should rely entirely on information that the federal government already has at its disposal.
“Americans disagree on many issues that will continue for the foreseeable future but we can all unite behind the need to act to stop the horrors of human trafficking.
“I want to thank Senator Blumenthal and all of the anti-human trafficking advocates here today for coming together to work on this important issue. Together, I’m confident we will get this bill passed, and together we will make a real difference combatting the evil that is human trafficking.”