Democrats say Trump's immigration crackdown has undermined efforts to combat human trafficking

"A diversion of law enforcement personnel and resources to assist with Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign and deployments to US cities has undermined the government's efforts to combat child exploitation and human trafficking, Democratic lawmakers warned. In the letter, sent on Wednesday and first shared with the Guardian, nearly two dozen House Democrats demand that the homeland security and justice departments immediately restore full staffing and resources to their anti-trafficking divisions."

"It also makes reference to the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files, arguing that the government's failure to publicly release the full scope of the documents in its possession damages trust in institutions meant to deliver justice. The United States cannot claim to be serious about ending human trafficking while simultaneously dismantling the infrastructure built to fight it, they write in the letter, sent to the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, and the US attorney general, Pam Bondi."

"They request a briefing within 30 days related to the reallocation of personnel or funding from these programs to immigration or other enforcement priorities. On Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive order reorienting the mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) formed after 9/11 in response to foreign terror threats around the enforcement of immigration laws, leading to the large-scale deployments of federal agents into US citizens."

Democratic lawmakers warned that diverting law enforcement personnel and resources to a mass deportation campaign and deployments to US cities has undermined efforts to combat child exploitation and human trafficking. Nearly two dozen House Democrats demand that the homeland security and justice departments immediately restore full staffing and resources to anti-trafficking divisions and they requested a briefing within 30 days about any reallocation of personnel or funding to immigration or other enforcement priorities. The lawmakers reference the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files and argue that failing to publicly release the full scope of documents damages trust in institutions meant to deliver justice.

Read at www.theguardian.com