February 5, 2019
Press Statement from Donna Rice Hughes Regarding President Trump’s State of the Union Remarks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 5, 2019
GREAT FALLS, VA – The following statement was released by Donna Rice Hughes, President & CEO, Enough Is Enough® (EIE), regarding President Trump’s State of the Union remarks:
“We stand by President Trump’s call for an immediate solution for comprehensive border security and appreciate his highlighting the very real horrors of human trafficking. Protecting the vulnerable from human trafficking should be a nonpartisan issue and one that deserves active bipartisan outrage and aggressive bipartisan action by our Congress.
“According to the White House, ‘In FY 2018 alone, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made 1,588 human trafficking arrests and identified 308 victims. Of the 1,588 arrests, 1,543 (97%) were for sex trafficking violations. Both Democrats and Republicans have a moral obligation to secure our border to protect children and women from human trafficking.’
“The U.S. is a gold mine for traffickers to peddle children and young women for sex as the demand for trafficking victims is high. The U.S. is a top consumer and producer of both child pornography (illegal) and obscene pornography which has become increasingly violent and degrading to women and barely-legal teens. This content doesn't satisfy the sexual appetite of the consumers. Instead, it fuels their desire to act out their fantasies on vulnerable women and children. Additionally, victims of trafficking are often further exploited by having the sex acts they are forced to perform filmed and distributed on the Internet.
“Unlike illegal drugs which are sold and consumed once, these precious innocent human beings, when trafficked into America, are forced into sexual slavery servicing up 20-40 men per day. This horror and trauma are real. Curbing the demand is essential by the aggressive enforcement of both laws as outlined in EIE's Children's Internet Safety Presidential Pledge signed by President Trump when he was a candidate.
“As President Trump stated earlier this month, ‘This is an urgent humanitarian issue.’ I agree. I hope and pray Congress will find workable solutions to curb the flood of trafficked victims across our southern border. A multi-pronged barrier solution, which includes human barriers (law enforcement), technological barriers and extended physical barriers are necessary to stop the sophisticated criminal enterprises who are determined to continue selling humans for sex in the U.S. Finally, American women and children within our own borders are also being lured and groomed into the multi-billion sex trafficking industry. This is a big business that requires all of us working together to stop.
“Now, more than ever, our nation's leaders need to check their differences at the door to defend the dignity and innocence of women and children to prevent sex trafficking.”