To Stop Human Trafficking, We Must Raise Public Awareness And Secure The Southern Border

Published

3 years ago

January 24, 2023

admin

Addressing the wickedness of slavery in 1850, the great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass said the practice violates the great law of liberty, written on every human heart. Further, he said, it contravenes the laws of eternal justice, and tramples in the dust all the humane and heavenly precepts of the New Testament.

In 1865, America banished chattel slavery, but nowadays yes, even in 2023 a modern form of slavery persists in the form of illegal human trafficking. And there are thousands of victims living right here in America.

The crime of human trafficking occurs anytime someone uses force, fraud, or coercion to make another individual provide labor, services, or commercial sex acts. If a person performing commercial sex acts is under 18, the crime of human trafficking still occurs even without the elements of force, fraud, or coercion.

Because this evil $150 billion global enterprise operates in the dark shadows, compiling statistics on its reach is difficult. To stamp it out, we need the same kind of determination that the 19th-century abolitionists showed in their own fight for justice and liberty.

Human trafficking is enabled by those who choose to look the other way rather than paying attention to signs that someone might be a victim.

It is also enabled and exacerbated by elected leftist leaders (such as the current president) who willfully embrace the porous nature of the U.S.-Mexico border, across which so many victims are trafficked into the United States.

As Indianas attorney general, I am committed to promoting greater awareness among the public of human trafficking and I am committed to forcing our federal government to get serious about border security.

With January being National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, now is a fitting time to remind Hoosiers and all Americans to stay watchful for signs that someone might be a trafficking victim.

According to the U.S. State Department, those signs include observations that someone: lives with their employer. lives with multiple people in a cramped space. otherwise experiences poor living conditions. is prohibited from speaking alone to strangers. gives answers that appear to be scripted and rehearsed. has an employer holding their identity documents. shows signs of physical abuse. is submissive or fearful. is unpaid or paid very little. is under 18 and working in the commercial sex industry.

People in certain job roles such as medical professionals, restaurant workers, teachers, and truck drivers are particularly likely to come into contact with trafficking victims.

Anyone with suspicions that another person is being trafficked should immediately call local law enforcement. They may also call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

My office works with law enforcement to assist crime victims including administering our Address Confidentiality Program . This initiative enables victims of certain crimes, including trafficking, to conceal their residential address from the public and therefore from their victimizers.

Combating this scourge, however, also requires sealing our nations southern border from easy trespass by people with criminal intent.

The criminal cartels operating out of Mexico are responsible for a significant measure of the human trafficking that occurs within the United States.

In the U.S., immigrants, especially immigrant women, make up the largest portion of trafficking victims, notes Selene Rodriguez at TexasPolicy.com . In fiscal year 2021, there were nearly 2 million migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border, and that number only accounts for the people encountered by border agents.

Studies done by the Latin American branch of the Coalition Against Trafficking International estimates that 60% of Latin American children who set out to cross the border alone or with smugglers have been caught by the cartels and are being abused in child pornography or drug trafficking.

As Indiana attorney general, I have filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit aimed at forcing the Biden administration to get serious about securing the border solely on behalf of Indiana, based on damages unique to our state.

Securing the border would bring relief to millions of Hoosiers and all U.S. citizens who are currently bearing the burdens of runaway illegal immigration. But it also would help prevent the victimization of women and children from Latin American countries who are being trafficked.

We need to talk about these issues not only during National Human Trafficking Awareness Month but indeed all year long.

And beyond the talk, we need action.

Todd Rokita is Indianas attorney general.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

UK

UK looking at Denmark model to cut illegal migration

Published

2 hours ago

November 8, 2025

admin

UK looking at Denmark model to cut illegal migration

The Home Office is looking at what Denmark is doing to cut illegal migration, Sky News understands.

Last month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood dispatched officials to the Nordic nation to study its border control and asylum policies, which are considered some of the toughest in Europe.

In particular, officials are understood to be looking at Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunion and restricting most refugees to a temporary stay in the country.

Ms Mahmood will announce a major shake-up of the UK’s immigration system later this month, PA is reporting.

Labour MPs are said to be split on the move.

Some, in so-called Red Wall seats which are seen as vulnerable to challenge from Reform UK, want ministers to go further in the direction Denmark has taken.

But others believe the policies will estrange progressive voters and push the Labour Party too far to the right.

What are Denmark’s migration rules?

Denmark has adopted increasingly restrictive rules in order to deal with migration over the last few years.

In Denmark, most asylum or refugee statuses are temporary. Residency can be revoked once a country is deemed safe.

In order to achieve settlement, asylum seekers are required to be in full-time employment, and the length of time it takes to acquire those rights has been extended.

Denmark also has tougher rules on family reunification – both the sponsor and their partner are required to be at least 24 years old, which the Danish government says is designed to prevent forced marriages.

The sponsor must also not have claimed welfare for three years and must provide a financial guarantee for their partner. Both must also pass a Danish language test.

In 2018, Denmark introduced what it called a ghetto package, a controversial plan to radically alter some residential areas, including by demolishing social housing. Areas with over 1,000 residents were defined as ghettos if more than 50% were “immigrants and their descendants from non-Western countries”.

In 2021, the left of centre government passed a law that allowed refugees arriving on Danish soil to be moved to asylum centres in a partner country – and subsequently agreed with Rwanda to explore setting up a program, although that has been put on hold.

It comes as the government continues to struggle to get immigration under control, with rising numbers of small boat crossings in the Channel over the last few months and a migrant, deported under the UK’s returns deal with France, re-entering the country.

Some 648 people crossed the Channel to Britain in nine boats on Friday, according to Home Office figures, bringing the total for the year to 38,223.

Ms Mahmood wants deterrents in place to stop migrants seeking to enter the country via unauthorised routes.

She also wants to make it easier to remove those who are found to have no right to stay in the UK.

Sources told the PA news agency she was eager to meet her Danish counterpart, Rasmus Stoklund, the country’s immigration minister, at the earliest possible convenience.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mr Stoklund likened Danish society to “the hobbits in The Lord Of The Rings” and said people coming to the country who do not contribute positively would not be welcome.

Mr Stoklund said: “We are a small country. We live peacefully and quietly with each other. I guess you could compare us to the hobbits in The Lord Of The Rings.”

“We expect people who come here to participate and contribute positively, and if they don’t they aren’t welcome.”

The split in Labour was apparent from public comments by MPs today.

Stoke-on-Trent Central Labour MP Gareth Snell told Radio 4’s Today programme that any change bringing “fairness” to an asylum system that his constituents “don’t trust” was “worth exploring”.

But Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, who is a member of the party’s Socialist Campaign Group caucus, said: “I think these are policies of the far right. I don’t think anyone wants to see a Labour government flirting with them.”

Sports

Poll: Mendoza top vote-getter as NFL draft’s QB1

Published

3 hours ago

November 8, 2025

admin

Poll: Mendoza top vote-getter as NFL draft's QB1

The volatility and unpredictability of the 2025 college football season has rippled through the group of draft-eligible quarterbacks.

ESPN repolled 25 NFL scouts and executives about who will be the first quarterback taken in the 2026 NFL draft, with the results drastically different from six weeks ago.

In the latest poll, Indiana‘s Fernando Mendoza was the top vote-getter with 13 votes, putting him ahead of Oregon‘s Dante Moore (6) and Alabama‘s Ty Simpson (3). Notably, none of those quarterbacks received a vote in the first poll, and all have eligibility remaining.

The other three quarterbacks receiving votes were Oklahoma‘s John Mateer (1), Cincinnati‘s Brendan Sorsby (1) and South Carolina‘s LaNorris Sellers (1). Only Sellers and Mateer had votes in the first poll.

“It’s not a stellar class,” one scout told ESPN. “If you add the maybes [who have eligibility and could leave school], now it gets interesting. The top is better than last year’s class, for sure.”

The top of this year’s crop has flipped from Sept. 20, when seven different quarterbacks received votes, with Sellers (8) edging out LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier (7). Both players and their teams have struggled this season. Others receiving votes in the first QB1 poll were Miami‘s Carson Beck (3), Mateer (3), Penn State‘s Drew Allar (2), Arizona State‘s Sam Leavitt (1) and Texas‘ Arch Manning (1).

The sentiment regarding the class has soured a bit since the initial polling. Along with the dip in play from Sellers and Nussmeier, Allar suffered a season-ending injury and Manning hasn’t resembled anything close to what his family and recruiting pedigrees projected.

While Mendoza is the top vote-getter, he has yet to establish himself as a no-brainer No. 1 overall pick. He is trending that way, but there is not yet conviction behind those projections.

Mendoza transferred from Cal and has taken a leap under coach Curt Cignetti and the tutelage of offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer. His completion percentage is 72.3%, up from 68.7%, and he has thrown 25 touchdowns, nine more than last season at Cal. He has also rushed for four touchdowns and is averaging 9.5 yards per attempt, up from 7.8.

What do scouts like? They start with the basics of him being 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He idolizes Tom Brady, which is viewed as a strong North Star for a prospect.

“He has ‘wow’ throws and playmaking passer ability,” one scout told ESPN. “He can anticipate post-snap.”

Added another: “He’s decisive, and he sees everything well. He’s got accuracy down the field and is very tough in the pocket.”

There was a play against Iowa where Mendoza hung in the pocket and got decked by a Hawkeyes linebacker while delivering a perfect ball to a receiver in tight coverage.

Moore’s emergence has been sudden. He has started 13 games, including five at UCLA in 2023 before backing up Dillon Gabriel at Oregon last season. A redshirt sophomore who entered college as ESPN’s No. 2 overall player, Moore is 6-3 and 206 pounds. He attempted just eight passes last season but has maximized his starting role in 2025, with 19 touchdowns, a 71.4% completion percentage and 1,772 passing yards.

Simpson didn’t start a game until this season, which has led to speculation in NFL circles that he will return to college. (Quarterbacks with under 25 starts don’t have a consistent track record of NFL success.) Simpson has soared onto radars with 20 touchdowns and just one interception. He has completed 67.8% of his passes and thrown for 2,184 yards.

Sorsby might be the biggest surprise. While he struggled in high-wattage spots against Nebraska and Utah, he has clearly progressed.

One scout summed him up this way: “He’s big, tough, athletic and smart. He’s a leader and can make off-schedule plays and change arm angles. He’s got the ‘It.’ I think he’s very gifted.”