By The FirstThe Biden administration is taking steps to combat the rise in human trafficking; they’ve announced updates to the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. According to the Hill, there will be a new focus on “gender and racial equality and workers’ rights.”
“The new plan highlights underserved individuals, families and communities and is linked to broader efforts by President Biden to address inequities for marginalized groups, according to senior administration officials. It also focuses on ending forced labor in global supply chains, which the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated,” the Hill reports.
“Updating the plan also involved paying close attention to core commitments on the part of this administration to workers’ rights, fair trade and ending forced labor in global supply chains, to support for underserved communities, and ensuring safe and humane migration, including by improving the screening process to more effectively identify victims of human trafficking,” a senior Biden administration official said.
“Human trafficking is a stain on our society’s conscience and an affront to the ideals that form the basis of our national strength: liberty, justice, equality, and opportunity,” Biden said in a statement on Friday.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) thought one important element was missing from the announcement.
“How ‘bout secure the damn border?” the Senator tweeted.
