LANSING – State Representative Dudley Spade (D-Tipton) today renewed his call for the legislature to take action on comprehensive human trafficking legislation, urging his fellow lawmakers to make the issue a priority in 2009. The Lenawee legislator said that the multiple bill package he spearheaded last term will be reintroduced in the 95th legislature and he called on his colleagues in both chambers to join with him a passing comprehensive human trafficking legislation.
"When I began fighting for legislation to prevent human trafficking in Michigan, five states had similar laws. Today thirty-nine states have laws regulating human trafficking. Michigan must act to prevent these heinous crimes and protect the basic human rights of every person," Rep. Spade said. "We cannot afford to wait any longer to pass meaningful human trafficking legislation in our state."
According to statistics compiled by the United States Department of State, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year and the trade is growing. Of those victims, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority are forced into the commercial sex trade. Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is higher still, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. The largest number of people trafficked into the United States come from East Asia and the Pacific (5,000 to 7,000 victims). The next highest numbers come from Latin America and from Europe and Eurasia, with between 3,500 and 5,500 victims from each.
"A fourteen year old Cameroonian girl forced to work as an unpaid maid for a couple in Farmington Hills, a pair of Toledo teenagers kidnapped and forced to work as prostitutes at hotels and truck stops in three states, and innumerable women and girls kidnapped or smuggled into this country every day to work as slaves of the illicit sex industry: the reasons for this legislation stare us in the face nearly every time we pick up a newspaper or turn on the television," Rep. Spade continued. "We cannot, as human beings, allow these despicable practices to continue unchecked. The consequences of inaction are just too grim."
The legislation passed the House unanimously during the 2007-2008 legislative session, but was never given a hearing or taken up in the Senate. The package includes the following provisions:
- A bill to strengthen Michigan's current human trafficking statute by providing clearer and cleaner definitions and providing meaningful penalties for violators.
- A bill to add human trafficking to the list of offenses that qualify for prosecution under Michigan's racketeering statute so that prosecutors can go after not only the individuals involved, but also those that support them and fund their activities.
- A bill to provide for the seizure and sale of any assets used in the perpetration of the crime, the money from which can be used to fund further human trafficking enforcement.
- A bill to provide for restitution to the victims to help compensate them for lost wages, and their terrible suffering and give them some means with which to restart their lives.