The Human Trafficking Crisis At The Border Is Coming To Your Hometown

Hundreds of thousands of migrants are crossing into our country illegally every day, and our border has never been less secure. When Biden announced changes to the policies at our border soon after taking office, millions of migrants flooded our borders to take advantage of the lax rules, entering and disappearing without a trace. Others have attempted to enter the U.S. with ill-intentions, engaging in criminal activity both along the border and inside the country.

Particularly, human trafficking has become one of the largest issues facing our border security, with men, women, and children being exploited and forced into labor against their will. Considered the modern form of slavery, human trafficking has become one of the world’s most lucrative businesses, bringing in an estimated $150 billion annually for evil predators.

Over the last year and a half under the Biden administration, human traffickers at the border have been busier than ever since the president practically hung a “Welcome” sign on our country’s front door. This administration has made it abundantly clear they have no intention of enforcing the immigration laws currently on the books, as proven by their destructive policies. In fact, one of the first actions the administration took back in February of 2021 was reinstating “catch-and-release,” the policy that requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release unprocessed migrants into the United States while awaiting their court hearings.

Additionally, Democrats’ repeated attempts to end Title 42, along with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that ended the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, have left CBP agents’ toolboxes almost empty. Without these necessary policies, our CBP agents have no ability to control the influx of migrants at the border or properly check the backgrounds of those entering the country.

The number of crossings along the southern border has reached new, historic highs for each month that has passed since Joe Biden took office; in June of this year, U.S. border authorities processed immigrants over 1.7 million times in this fiscal year, by and large passing the previous record set in 2021 despite there still being six months left in 2022.

These historic highs mean that the number of trafficked persons is rising as well, especially considering that in 2021 alone, more than 400,000 migrants evaded apprehension, being counted among the “got-aways” at the border.

Just recently, it was revealed in the June 2022 border statistics issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that encounters of unaccompanied children increased 4 percent from May, with the average number of unaccompanied minors taken into CBP custody averaging 752 per day. And tragically, children making the journey across the border alone are most vulnerable to traffickers—a study predicts nearly 60 percent of unaccompanied minors crossing the border have been caught by cartels and are being forced into child pornography and drug trafficking.

Over my five trips to the border, I have seen children as young as two months old being smuggled by coyotes across the Rio Grande. On my first trip to McAllen, Texas in 2021, I met a little girl who couldn’t speak because her vocal cords had been severely damaged by gang members who sexually abused her.

If you think this is only happening along the border, think again. In my district alone, a largely rural area in North Central Florida, authorities have encountered several traffickers transporting illegals to various parts of the state. Two months ago, Florida Highway Patrol troopers in Micanopy stopped a coyote from Mexico who was transporting migrants across state lines, now in jail on human smuggling charges. No matter where you reside, every town in America is a border town.

This unprecedented, humanitarian crisis is solely the result of Biden’s egregious policies. It’s reprehensible and, quite frankly, unimaginable, that an administration charged with defending the Constitution and securing our borders could so unabashedly do just the opposite.

As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, I am gravely concerned about what is taking place along our borders, and even more unnerving is the thought that until Republicans regain control of the House, the crisis will only continue to get worse. That’s why my colleagues and I are working hard to not only highlight what’s really happening under this administration, but to reintroduce sensible, proven policies that will help re-strengthen our once secure border.

First, Congress must rapidly codify President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy as part of U.S. law, which is why I recently joined my good friend Rep. Gimenez’s bill as an original co-sponsor that seeks to do just that. Most importantly, we need to enforce the laws on the books and arm our Border Patrol agents with the tools necessary to manage this crisis.

Rep. Kat Cammack serves Florida’s Third Congressional District. She sits on the Agriculture Committee and Homeland Security Committee as the lead Republican on the Subcommittee for Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.