[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 14 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 14

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                           May 7, 2009.
Whereas human smuggling and trafficking in persons continue to threaten the 
        United States as well as individuals in transport;
Whereas human smuggling and trafficking rings introduce numerous violent 
        criminals to neighborhoods and communities in the United States;
Whereas human smuggling and trafficking rings expose the United States to 
        further acts of terrorism by subverting the authority of, and safety 
        provided by, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and 
        Customs Enforcement;
Whereas individuals voluntarily being smuggled are exposed to tragic and 
        dangerous conditions, many times resulting in their injury or death;
Whereas countless individuals are abducted and trafficked against their will, 
        continuing the grotesque practice of human slavery;
Whereas human smuggling and trafficking in persons are often conducted by 
        organized crime rings, which expose Federal agents to increased danger 
        in their enforcement efforts;
Whereas Department of Homeland Security personnel have, in the past, arrested 
        many human smugglers and traffickers in persons, only to see them freed 
        without prosecution;
Whereas many of these same human smugglers and traffickers in persons have been 
        repeatedly arrested;
Whereas such repeated encounters have been extremely demoralizing to U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection at a time when the American public has 
        been putting tremendous pressure on the agencies to do more to stop 
        illegal border crossings;
Whereas Federal prosecutions of human smugglers and traffickers in persons have 
        increased in recent months, resulting in decreased repeat offenses and 
        arrests and improved morale;
Whereas U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses a global enforcement 
        strategy to disrupt and dismantle domestic and international human 
        smuggling and trafficking organizations;
Whereas U.S. Customs and Border Protection have worked cooperatively with U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, and local nonprofit service providers to identify and 
        rescue victims of human trafficking and modern slavery and to ensure 
        their safety and continued presence in the United States pursuant to the 
        Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000; and
Whereas the 110th Congress of the United States unanimously adopted the 
        bipartisan William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
        Reauthorization Act of 2008, providing U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection and its law enforcement partners with new tools to bring 
        human traffickers to justice and new responsibilities to identify and 
        protect victims of modern slavery and at-risk unaccompanied alien 
        children: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms its support for the role and importance of the 
        Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in combating 
        human smuggling and trafficking in persons;
            (2) commends the Department of Justice for increasing the rate of 
        prosecutions against human smugglers and traffickers in persons; and
            (3) urges the Department of Justice to continue prosecuting 
        smugglers and traffickers at a rate that will help eliminate the trade 
        in human beings.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.