Congressman Al Green Joins Congressional Colleagues at Homeland Security Field Hearing on Human Trafficking at Texas Southern University

Press Release

On Thursday, March 20, 2014, Congressman Al Green joined his Congressional colleagues at the House Homeland Security Committee's field hearing entitled "Combating Human Trafficking in Our Major Cities." The hearing focused on understanding human trafficking in major U.S. cities, specifically Houston.

"The impact of human trafficking on our communities is something of which we should all be aware," Congressman Al Green said. "Human trafficking is actually a euphemism for involuntary servitude and sexual bondage; a neologism for exploitation and abuse; a genteelism for extortion and rape. The seriousness of human trafficking cannot be overstated."

According to Children at Risk, Texas is a hub for international human trafficking because of the interstate highways, international airports, countless bus stations, shipping commerce , and its shared border with Mexico. The U.S-Mexico border is also the number one supplier of young children used in sex and labor trafficking in North America.

"We must and we can solve the problem of human trafficking. We must recognize that human trafficking is a problem "hiding in plain sight' that needs direct action. Too many of our major cities are being used by human traffickers to buy and sell humans as chattels," Congressman Al Green said. "An important first step in addressing this issue in the US is reforming our immigration system such that traffickers can no longer breach our borders and exploit the fear of reporting dastards."

Trafficking survivors and federal, state as well as local law enforcement, including Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and Houston Police Department Chief, Charles A. McClelland, Jr., gave testimony.

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