GOP Senators Introduce ‘End Child Trafficking Now Act’
Sally Kent
A coalition of Republican senators introduced legislation to combat child trafficking. Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn joined Senators Joni Ernst, Thom Tillis, and Mike Rounds in crafting the common-sense bill.
The Daily Wire reports:
Blackburn’s office stated in a press release, “The bill requires DHS to deport alien adults if they refuse a DNA test and mandates a maximum 10-year prison sentence for all alien adults who fabricate family ties or guardianship over a minor. It also criminalizes ‘child recycling,’ which happens when the same child is used repeatedly to gain entry by alien adults who are neither relatives nor legal guardians. If family ties or legal guardianship cannot be proven with the accompanying adult, the Act requires HHS to process the child as an unaccompanied minor under current law.”
“After seeing the crisis firsthand, I’m reintroducing legislation to require DNA testing at the border to deter fraud and child trafficking,” Blackburn stated. “Adults attempting to slip across our borders under the guise of being a parent or relative to a minor must be DNA tested to prove they are related. Drug cartels and gangs are using children to falsely present themselves as family units and seek asylum at our southern border. These unaccompanied minors are especially vulnerable to trafficking and are often forced to perform sex acts. Making DNA tests mandatory on anyone claiming a family relationship with a minor will send a powerful message that traffickers will be caught and aggressively prosecuted.”
“Children are tragically being trafficked across the border by illegal immigrants who falsely claim they are related,” Ernst added. “This needs to stop — for the wellbeing of these children and the security of our nation. One simple way to address this problem is by having DNA testing in place so we can ensure that an unaccompanied minor is actually connected with the person claiming to be their family, not being used as a ‘human passport’ to illegally get across our border.”
“Unaccompanied children are passing through our border with the help of strangers and members of cartels, putting these children at an increased risk of sexual abuse and human trafficking,” Tillis added. “This is completely unacceptable and the Biden Administration’s response has been severely lacking. This legislation is a commonsense, humane reform to how we determine family relationships at our border and can help prevent innocent children from being abused. I am proud to work with my colleagues so we can protect these children from a life of cruelty and hardships.”
The introduction of the bill could not come at a more necessary time as thousands of immigrants are putting children’s well-being at risk in order to gain entry into the United States.
https://trumptrainnews.com/2021/03/25/gop-senators-introduce-end-child-trafficking-now-act/