Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday condemned human trafficking even as more criminals and smugglers benefit from President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
“Trafficking is an extremely heinous and profitable business,” Harris noted in a speech at a video set across the street from the White House in the Executive Office Building.
Harris noted an estimated 25 million people were victims of human trafficking, enriching global criminals by $150 billion.
“Let’s be clear: When we’re talking about human trafficking, we are talking about some human beings who are essentially buying and selling other human beings,” she said.
Former border security officials warn Biden’s open border policies only increase human trafficking, as criminals take advantage of the president’s willingness to apprehend and release record numbers of migrants into the United States.
As Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to tour the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center, Friday, June 25, 2021, in El Paso, Texas, people rally outside the facility. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
“When you increase the number of people being smuggled, the increase in trafficking goes along with that, so if they’re really, really serious not just about addressing and reacting to trafficking if they’re really serious about trying to prevent it, they’d secure our borders,” former acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan said in a December interview with Fox News.
But Harris blamed the coronavirus for an increase in human trafficking.
“Experts suggest that the number of people at risk has also grown during COVID-19,” she said. “So we must address, with a sense of urgency, what is happening in our own backyard.”
Harris even acknowledged forced labor from human traffickers was hurting American workers.
Kamala Harris was tasked with getting the Biden border crisis under control. Instead, she hasn't done the work and the crisis continues unabated. https://t.co/PumolOfzMH
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 15, 2021
“It undermines our own supply chain, displacing American workers, driving down American wages, and creating an unlevel playing field for responsible American businesses,” she said.
She called on all businesses and political leaders to unite to stamp out human trafficking.
“What was true then is true now: It will take all of us to address human trafficking,” she said.
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