The Trump administration plans a summit this week on its efforts to combat human trafficking — but,according toThe Washington Post, “some of the country’s most prominent anti-trafficking organizations and advocates won’t be there” because they’re boycotting.
At the same time that the White Houseis pointing to what officials say is this major pushto support anti-trafficking work, including a call for tens of millions in new funding, some of the experts on the issue have taken exception with what they call the administration’s hypocrisy.
“We have such a chasm between rhetoric and reality,” Martina Vandenberg, the founder of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, a network of attorneys who take on trafficking cases, told thePost. “This administration is undermining protections carefully built for trafficking victims over two decades.”
ThePostreports that those anti-human trafficking groups who plan to skip Friday’s summit cite concerns over the Trump administration’s handling of T visas, which give temporary legal status to immigrants who were trafficked once they entered the country.
In 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that those who apply for T visas and get denied could face immigration court and be deported, leaving immigrants who become human trafficking victims frightened to risk applying for the visa, experts told thePost.
“We hear time and time again: Why would I risk myself? Why would I risk my family?” said Deborah Pembrook, a trafficking survivor who helps T visa applicants in California.
What’s more, according to thePost, it’s taken longer and longer for T visa applications to be processed.
Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
Despite the boycott, there will reportedly still be anti-human trafficking groups attending Friday’s summit, which is scheduled for the 20th anniversary of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
“Dealing with an issue such as trafficking should always rise above partisan politics and tap into the best of all people as we work together to end this tragic reality,” advocate Bruce Deel told thePost.
In a statement to thePost, Ivanka said: “I am honored to stand with the president as we convene federal, state, local and tribal leaders, alongside survivors, employers and advocates to ensure that we see the end of the crisis of human trafficking once and for all.”
source: people.com
