Ivanka Trump Confirms $42M Budget Increase to Support Human Trafficking Victims

At the White House Summit on Human Trafficking, adviser to the president Ivanka Trump, Attorney General William Barr, and others discussed ways to combat human trafficking. During the summit, Ivanka confirmed a report that her father, President Trump, will be proposing a $42 million budget increase for 2021 to support victims and efforts to prosecute criminals involved in human trafficking.

“We are resolved, and we are relentless in the fight to hold perpetrators accountable and restore dignity for victims,” Ivanka said during the summit. “This administration has fought and will continue to fight this crime and ensure that survivors can access the services they need.”

According to Ivanka Trump, human trafficking is “believed to be” one of the largest-scale crimes in the world, with “24.9 million people” trapped by human traffickers who make more than “$150 billion” in annual profit for the industry. She added that there are no demographic limitations to human trafficking.

Ivanka Trump confirms $42M budget increase to support human trafficking victims https://t.co/v9EQ6H8wVB #FoxBusiness

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“I signed nine pieces of legislation into law that directly prevent human trafficking, and we're just getting started,” President Trump said.

The first daughter also mentioned that the president has signed various anti-trafficking bills throughout his term in office. These include the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017, The Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018, and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017.

Ivanka also introduced Jessica Hamlet, a human trafficking survivor. She met Hamlet during a trip to visit the nonprofit women's advocacy organization WellSpring Women's Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. “My life didn't start out looking very hopeful,” she said. “I was born into a situation that set me up to fail. At the age of 8, I was introduced to drugs, and at the age of 12, I was exploited. … I thought this was just the way that life was supposed to be until about five years ago” when she was discovered by WellSpring and taken in for recovery.

“The people there loved and accepted me in such a way that I thought I was being set up,” Hamlet said. “Five years ago, I had no hope. … Today, I'm filled with hope.”