The Texas Public Policy Foundation commended the introduction of new legislation to help identify human traffickers and end the exploitation of workers, the vast majority of whom are unauthorized immigrants.
“It is critical that we begin implementing policies that take a sustained approach in addressing the issue of exploited workers, and Chairman James White’s House Bill 820 is a great start,” said TPPF policy analyst Nikki Pressley. “By conducting annual audits of supply chains, we can ensure Texas businesses are not financially benefitting from the illegal mistreatment of others.”
“Solutions to end human trafficking oftentimes focus more on sexual exploitation while overlooking forced labor. Labor trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to get another person to provide labor or a service. This type of exploitation has been found in industries such as agriculture, construction, and food service—among many others. About one-fifth of the victims identified by the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2019 were victims of labor trafficking, and research estimates there are over 200,000 victims of labor trafficking in Texas.”
Pressley added: “The Texas Public Policy Foundation is hopeful that through sensible policy that provides practical ways to investigate perpetrators and identify victims we will continue to get closer to reaching the goal of ending human trafficking.”