ANTI-IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION IS AN “INCUBATOR FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING”
Ashton Kutcher delivers an impassioned speech about the real-world consequences of restricting access to the United States.
Ashton Kutcher testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning, sharing his insights on the epidemic of human trafficking as the committee conducted a hearing on the progress toward eliminating human trafficking worldwide.
Early on, Kutcher acknowledged the bevy of internet trolls already priming their fingers to challenge his authority to speak on Capitol Hill, much less on the issues of human trafficking and child slavery. He quickly and pointedly asserted that his day job was not acting, but chairing Thorn, an organization he co-founded with the specific mission of combating human trafficking.
During his speech, he outlined specific steps which the committee could take to better address the growing problems of trafficking and modern slavery. One suggestion was the “bifurcation of human trafficking and labor trafficking,” which Kutcher described as similar problems with fundamentally separate solution sets.
He further cited a plea which Thorn had received from the United States government, noting that Thorn was seen as last resort for a problem the government has been unable to stifle.
“It’s working. In six months, with 25% of our users reporting, we’ve identified over 6,000 trafficking victims, 2,000 of which are minors. This tool has enhanced 4,000 law enforcement officials in 900 agencies. And we’re reducing the investigation time by 60%.”
The mission at Thorn is threefold: Accelerate Victim Identification, Disrupt Platforms, and Deter Predators. Since its inception, the organization has developed software which has drastically reduced victim identification times from 3 years to 3 weeks, among other successes.
Kutcher was at once fiery and mournful, urging the committee to take responsibility for shoring up the pipeline of human trafficking at both ends. To do this, Kutcher suggested, they could better regulate foreign-based labor forces and invest in technological advances that would allow companies like Thorn to stay a step ahead of online traffickers.
He then urged Congress not to forget its dedication to ending human trafficking when it addresses the current refugee crisis:
“When people are left out, when they’re neglected, when they’re not supported, and when they’re not given the love they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking, and this refugee crisis, if we want to be serious about ending slavery, we cannot ignore them, we cannot ignore our support for this issue in that space, because otherwise, we’re going to have to deal with it for years to come.”
This was perhaps Kutcher’s most politicized moment during the speech, but he highlighted a core issue with blanket legislation limiting travel from specific countries. Human trafficking can become the only option for survival when refugees are denied access to safe havens.
But the problem is not limited to foreign refugees. Kutcher shared several statistics outlining systemic issues with the United States foster care system, noting that human trafficking victims were “four times more likely to have touched the foster care system” in some way. That speaks volumes.
Ultimately, Kutcher’s speech was a perfectly balanced display of empathy and fact, and he made clear that human trafficking is not a partisan issue, and it is not a solely foreign issue. Rather, it requires commitment from all sides and a multi-front attack.
The question now is whether or not Congress will uphold its duty to guarantee the pursuit of happiness, investing in technology to dismantle online trafficking hubs and regulating the job market to deter corporations from employing slave labor abroad.
He ended his speech with a powerful plea:
Happiness can be given to no man. It must be earned. It must be earned through generosity and through purpose. But the right to pursuit it — the right to pursue it is every man’s right. And I beg of you, that if you give people the right to pursue it, what you may find in return is happiness for yourself.
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