February 14, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 29 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S1375-S1376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, in his tortuous attempt to make a case 
for billions of taxpayer dollars to wall off our southern border, 
President Trump claimed that a wall would stop human trafficking, which 
has been touted as a priority of this administration.
  On several occasions, the President has depicted human trafficking as 
women and girls smuggled across the border with their hands and legs 
tied and duct tape across their mouths. No doubt there are such cases, 
but the overwhelming majority of trafficking victims in this country 
are U.S. citizens, and among non-citizen victims, nearly 80 percent 
cross through legal points of entry. As we have seen time and again, 
President Trump makes short shrift of the truth and relies on scare 
tactics, rather than evidence, to gamer support for his misguided 
policies.
  Not only would the President's border wall do next to nothing to 
combat the most common instances of human trafficking in the United 
States, his administration's policies have actually harmed trafficking 
victims, especially non-citizen victims.
  Last year, the administration announced that applicants who are 
denied a T visa--an immigrant visa that enables certain victims of sex 
or labor trafficking to temporarily remain in the United States--may be 
required to appear in immigration court, the first step in deportation 
proceedings. This policy has reportedly had a self-censoring effect on 
victims and victims' advocates who are hesitant to apply or to 
encourage their clients to apply for a visa that may ultimately land 
them in immigration court.

[[Page S1376]]

  The administration also eliminated grant funding for criminal record 
sealing or expungement for survivors of human trafficking, previously 
made available by the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of 
Crime. Survivors may have a criminal record associated with their 
trafficking, such as an arrest for prostitution or for a charge 
tangential to their trafficking such as loitering or theft. Helping 
survivors clear their criminal record is a critical step in their 
recovery, one that gives survivors a greater chance at securing stable 
employment, affordable housing, higher education, visas and green 
cards, and more.
  So once again, we are forced to try to reconcile the President's 
rhetoric with the actions of his administration. They don't align. If 
this White House were serious about combating human trafficking, it 
would focus less on creating a false narrative about trafficking across 
our southern border and instead devote the resources to ensure that 
trafficking victims can come forward knowing they will be protected and 
assisted on their path to recovery.

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