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When Democrat congressional representatives started making trips to El Salvador to bring back to our United States cities and communities a deported wife abuser and human trafficker captured on police cam, we decided to look into the Left’s contention that very few illegal aliens are criminals. It turns out that “Increased Illegal Immigration Brings Increased Crime: Almost 2/3 of Federal Arrests Involve Non-Citizens” (Heritage Crime and Justice, June 20, 2023).

Arrests are high and convictions low for illegal aliens because of sanctuary legal protections from being held, tried and convicted. So the Democrats’ argument for due process was already defeated by the sanctuary cities they control. They say Republicans deprive human traffickers of their due process but sanctuary laws deprive traffickers and victims of due process and citizens at large are left at great risk of recidivist crimes.

We cracked the code on conviction numbers for illegals, but in the process discovered that the State of Michigan has become anywhere from #12 to #7 most human trafficked in the nation. If that doesn’t shock you, consider that Berrien County ranks #15 worst out of 83 counties. We reached out to the Michigan Abolitionist Project and Homeland Security and on May 19 launched a Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign for Berrien County and our state.

Judging from reactions to the campaign, human trafficking appears to be a well-guarded secret. A congressional report from January reveals that “Slavery is alive and well today all across the world, and it comes in the form of human trafficking.” Forced sex exploitation, domestic servitude, and factory and agricultural work are the common forms.

One way the United States has helped curb human trafficking is improving border security with President Trump’s virtual closure of both borders – Canada and Mexico. The number was in the millions, and Trump has curbed human trafficking mightily in the process of closing those borders. That does not mean a huge problem within our nation does not still need to be addressed.

Michigan’s borders have long been “fluid passageways that, while tightly controlled at airports and seaports, might offer easier access through less monitored land crossings,” according to “A Closer Look at Human Trafficking in Michigan.” Canada Border Services Agency CBSA reported 3,000 crossings from Canada in June 2024. When President Trump came into office in January, that number dropped to 359.

Another necessary tool is  awareness. Michigan’s “extensive network of highways and transportation systems,” especially the 1-94 corridor from Chicago to Detroit, creates critical pathways for human trafficking. “A Closer Look” says traffickers “transport their victims rapidly” and “evade law enforcement, constantly staying one step ahead…shuttling victims from one location to another, complicating efforts to track and intercept their operations.”

Shared Hope International gave Michigan an F in handling human trafficking. The next step for our group is to gather statistics for investigations, arrests, and convictions of human trafficking in Berrien County. Bringing human traffickers back into our streets is just about the worst thing our leaders could do for this situation. What are the Democrats thinking? At this point our leaders need to be concerned about the lack of freedom and justice for those bought and sold into slavery right under our noses.

By Carla Johnson, Buchanan

And 

Brenda Beadenkopf, Niles