Taking action on Human Trafficking

Written on: April 2, 2013

Recently six letters written by the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) were signed on behalf of the Grey Nuns.  These letters, sent to the respective federal subcommittees on April 2, are intended to coincide with the drafting of  fiscal year 2014 budgets. The letters seek increased funding for services to aid trafficked persons or request stronger and broader report language to provide better protection. Below is the list of the subcommittees and the requests made to them.

Click here to read about ATEST

PRM (Population, Refugees and Migration) To express concern about lack of funding in 2013 for family reunification for human trafficking survivors in the United States; asking that they prioritize providing additional funding to the International Office of Migration (IOM) who funds this vital program to reunify the survivors many of our (ATEST) members and the organizations who signed this letter.

LHHS (Labor, Health and Human Services)To seek assistance in funding several programs related to child labor, forced labor, human trafficking and slavery in the FY 2014 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation bill.

SFOS (State Foreign Operations Services) To ask for consideration for funding and report language for the following programs important to combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery: $6,800,000 for the Administration of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons$30,000,000 for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Trafficking in Persons Grants $600,000 for the Program on Migration

CJS (Commerce, Justice and Science) To seek assistance to fund a series of authorized programs in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill that are absolutely critical to fighting the growing problem of human trafficking and slavery.

DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security)

To ask to consider funding and report language to better combat human trafficking as follows:

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): $10,000,000 for Investigations
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Training for Officers
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Rights for Human Trafficking Victims
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Training for Officers
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Human Trafficking Hotline Number

FSGG (Financial Services and General Government)  To request report language to highlight this crime and bring it to the attention of the U.S. Department of Treasury and, most notably, its bureau of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Sr. Diane Bardol coordinates the efforts of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart based on the issues of Social Justice.  Information about our concerns in this area is available on our website  www.GreyNun.org.

This entry was posted in From our Sisters and tagged: ATEST, GNSH, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, Immigration, Justice, Migration, modern-day slavery, Refugees, Resources, Sisters, social justice, trafficking