Senator Reid: Protect Children and Stand With the TVPRA

Since last October, U.S. border patrol has apprehended more than 52,000 unaccompanied children fleeing extreme violence from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.(1)

Maria* was 12 years old when she was kidnapped at gunpoint and taken to a home where she was held captive. She was beaten and raped on an almost daily basis and eventually forced into prostitution. Because of this she became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl while held in slavery. Maria fled with her baby to the United States, riding on top of trains, so that they might escape the sexual bondage.(2)

Sadly, Maria is not alone — many unaccompanied children flee to the US every year with nowhere else to turn. These unaccompanied children are also at risk of being trafficked, which is why the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) has been in place since 2008 ensure these children are afforded basic legal advice and access to support.

Congress has introduced new legislation that would deport children to their home countries without meaningful screening. Sending these children back to extreme violence is an effective death sentence.

Children like Maria clearly need protection, care and rehabilitation: yet this new proposal would see them stripped of their rights and turned away at our borders. Forcing vulnerable children back into dangerous or deadly situations is simply too high a cost to pay. Tell Senator Reid to protect trafficked and persecuted children and stand with the TVPRA. We rely on the brands we know and love but there is no legal requirement for any company in the UK to do everything possible to show that they take seriously their responsibilities to respect workers’ freedom from slavery.

Isn’t it about time that changed? The Modern Slavery Bill provides a unique opportunity for the UK to be a world leader by introducing new legislation to ensure that large companies can be held to account. These changes are supported by business[3] and parliamentarians.[4]



*Maria is not her real name
(1) cbp.gov/border-security/humanitarian-challenges
(2) Source: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service