The former Homeland Security agent whose battle in opposition to little one trafficking was the idea for the hit film “Sound of Freedom” desires the Biden administration to get critical about defending immigrant youngsters.
Tim Ballard, founding father of Operation Underground Railroad, joined Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican, to advertise laws at a Tuesday press convention that will require the federal authorities to trace down the estimated 85,000 unaccompanied minors not in touch with authorities.
Mr. Ballard stated that the lacking migrant youngsters deserve the identical safety as an American little one discovered wandering alone in a serious U.S. metropolis, particularly since he stated the U.S. is the “number-one country in consuming child-exploitation material.”
“So my question for this administration: Why will you not at the very least give these foreign children that same protection? You’re giving them no protection, hardly any at all. In fact, what you’re giving them is a joke,” he stated.
Mr. Smith’s invoice, the Safeguarding Endangered Children, Unaccompanied and at Risk of Exploitation [SECURE] Act, directs the related federal companies to report on their actions concerning the kids launched into the nation to a mum or dad, relative or sponsor since Jan. 1, 2021.
The companies must element their efforts to find the kids, to conduct wellness checks on them, and to analyze suspected human trafficking in them.
About 345,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the border since early 2021, in line with the invoice, citing U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures. Of these, an estimated 85,000 have misplaced contact with federal officers, placing them vulnerable to little one exploitation and abuse, pressured labor, and intercourse trafficking.
“The Biden Administration must be held accountable for its failed open border policies that have put tens of thousands of children in grave danger and at great risk of death, child sexual exploitation and abuse,” Mr. Smith stated in an announcement.
I’m pleased with my consultant, NJ Congressman Chris Smith, who has been preventing little one trafficking for a few years. Smith’s Press Conference joined by Tim Ballard (depicted within the “Sound of Freedom”).https://t.co/xnC7FhWdVF
— Sorina Durante (@SorinaDurante) September 12, 2023
He drafted the invoice in collaboration with Roger Severino, vp of home coverage on the Heritage Foundation, and Eduardo Verastegui, producer of “Sound of Freedom.”
Mr. Smith, a longtime opponent of human trafficking and creator of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, praised the work of Mr. Ballard, who has helped rescue 1000’s of kids from exploitation.
“We use the word hero all too often in public life,” stated the congressman. “This man is a hero.”
Mr. Ballard is scheduled to testify Thursday at a listening to on the invoice earlier than the House Foreign Affairs international affairs subcommittee, which Mr. Smith chairs.
Angel Studios raised $5 million by way of crowd-funding to market “Sound of Freedom,” which stars Jim Caviezel as Mr. Ballard.
Released July 4, the film turned a shock smash, grossing $210 million worldwide and permitting the studio to pay again its buyers plus 20%.
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