On National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, partnered with law enforcement, elected officials and advocates in Dallas to shine a light on the need for additional assistance in efforts to abolish human trafficking.
This comes on the heels of Cornyn's "Abolish Human Trafficking Reauthorization Act" which extends programs that combat this problem.
At a roundtable discussion during his visit, Senator Cornyn said human trafficking is happening right under our noses in plain sight.
“This can happen to anybody from any walk of life,” he said.
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He said it was during one of the biggest sporting events in the nation that he realized how true that was.
“I'll never forget I was here when the Super Bowl was here and somebody told me at the time, that Super Bowl is one of the biggest trafficking events of the year, and it's shocking,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn joined Dallas Police, Dallas County DA John Creuzot and trafficking survivors at the Letot Center, a facility that helps youth and families impacted by human trafficking.
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According to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Texas is second in the nation for human trafficking cases. Creuzot said Dallas is a hotspot because it sits at the crossroads of several major freeways. The hotline says it receives tips about different types of trafficking from the state of Texas. According to its data, sex trafficking in Texas far outnumbers labor trafficking.
Survivor, Dr. Tonya Stafford, said she was sold in Dallas at age 13 and held for ten years. It was the intervention of a keen neighbor that saved her life.
“It was my neighbor that rescued me,” said Stafford. “She saw something, she said something, and she did something.”
Cornyn recently joined Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota to reauthorize the Abolish Human Trafficking Act, pumping more resources into programs like the ones established at the Letot Center. The measure was signed into law in 2018. The reauthorization will extend its reach and impact on consequential trafficking programs through 2027.
“I think what you're seeing here is an all-hands-on-deck moment,” said Cornyn. “Whether it's at the local level, the state level or the federal level.”
Stafford is now founder and CEO of her own nonprofit called It's Going to Be Okay, Inc - dedicated to helping children and adults escape human trafficking. She said everyone has a role.
“Now I use my voice to say something, see something, and now do something. Because all of us can do something,” she said.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline connects victims and survivors with services and support to get help and stay safe. That number is 1-888-373-7888. It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The website is https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en
For more information on Dallas County's Letot Center visit https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/juvenile/letot.php
