The Biden Administration Wants To Fight Human Trafficking Using a ‘Racial Justice and Equity Lens’

Reports show that the increasing number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border illegally are potential targets for human traffickers. However, the Biden administration has an unusual solution that focuses on racial equity and justice.

As per a notice released by the State Department in March, the Biden administration has scheduled a public hearing in May to conclude the development of an implementation plan. This plan aims to integrate racial equity into anti-trafficking efforts within the US government. The ultimate goal is to fight human trafficking using a racial justice and equity lens.

The virtual meeting scheduled for May 3rd will address several concerns, including the definition of racial equity in the context of human trafficking. The hearing aims to explore a racially equitable anti-trafficking framework that addresses law enforcement, prosecution responses, victim assistance efforts, and prevention strategies.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that recently grilled Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security Secretary, on the increase of human trafficking associated with porous border enforcement under the current administration. Cruz criticized the Biden administration’s focus on “woke” priorities as exacerbating the crisis at the border. Furthermore, instead of curbing this crisis, the administration is spending its resources on gathering diversity and inclusion testimony.

As several critics accuse the Biden administration of ignoring issues that are crucial to regular Americans and pursuing culturally woke priorities favored by the far left, the State Department plans to create a racially equitable anti-trafficking framework. Although this is happening, the number of unaccompanied minor children entering the US via the southern border continues to increase. According to Customs and Border Protection, there was a record of 152,000 unaccompanied minors in 2022 and 324,000 in the last 26 months. Unaccompanied minors are highly susceptible to being sold into slavery and sexually abused, with some studies estimating that 60% of these children are caught by cartels and exploited through child pornography and drug trafficking.

According to the notice from the State Department, the implementation plan emphasizes the significance of an intersectional approach to combat human trafficking. Racism often compounds with different types of discrimination, heightening people’s vulnerability to human trafficking.

Nonprofit advocacy groups are to assist the State Department to create the tools that would apply racial equity lens to federal government anti-trafficking efforts. The Biden administration has issued two executive orders instructing the entire federal government to spearhead various Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. These have been implemented government-wide, including services in the military that instruct members on the proper use of gender pronouns as well as when to offer colleagues sex-reassignment surgeries.

The State Department has said that racism often hampers efforts to combat human trafficking. However, it declined to comment further on the issue.

During a Senate oversight hearing last month, Cruz publicly clashed with Mayorkas, telling him that the Biden administration has “turned these cartels into multibillion-dollar criminal organizations.” Cruz accused Mayorkas of being responsible for deaths, assaulted children, and raped children at the border, stating that if he possessed any integrity, he would resign.