Salazar and Sound of Freedom Inspiration Tim Ballard Propose Solutions to End Child Trafficking

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chair María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) joined Human Rights Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ) in a hearing on efforts to end child trafficking with Tim Ballard, the inspiration behind the critically acclaimed movie Sound of Freedom.

“The movie Sound of Freedom served as an inspiration to me when I was designing the anti-child trafficking provisions in my immigration proposal, the Dignity Act,” said Chairwoman Salazar. “My Dignity Act addresses this issue by imposing a minimum penalty of 25 years on those who are convicted of child sex trafficking and giving more rigorous training to Border Patrol agents to spot where those traffickers are. It’s time we end this crisis – now.”

The child trafficking crisis at the U.S. southern border is one of the worst human rights violations our country has faced. 350,000 children (mostly of Latin American origin) have crossed unaccompanied over the southern border since the beginning of 2021. Thousands of these children have been victims of child sex trafficking, forced child labor, child sexual exploitation and abuse, or some combination of them all.

Worse yet, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’ Office of Refugee Resettlement has lost contact with over 85,000 of these migrant children.

Sound of Freedom brought these issues to light by exposing how these criminal networks work, and what lawmakers can do to bring these human rights abusers to justice.

To counter these developments, Chairwoman Salazar built in the strongest anti-child trafficking provisions in her bipartisan, complete immigration reform law, the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599). These measures include raising minimum penalties on those convicted of child sex trafficking, giving the U.S. Border Patrol the resources they need to effectively identify and stop those traffickers, and mandating DNA testing for children before turning them over to “family members” in the United States.

Additionally, it takes the fight against child trafficking to the source. The Dignity Act expands U.S. authorities to go after transnational criminals, smugglers, human traffickers, cartels, and gangs operating outside the US. 

Finally, it breaks up the existing human trafficking routes. By creating processing centers in Latin America, we can prevent vulnerable children from making the dangerous journey north to our border.

She also signed on to Chairman Smith’s SECURE Act this Congress. This legislation would require HHS, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to submit a report to Congress on the status of all unaccompanied children who were then released to a parent, family member, or sponsor in the United States from early 2021. This will help Congress identify the status of all children who were in the Administration’s care.

For Chairwoman Salazar’s full remarks, click HERE.

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