Students from California Baptist University’s International Justice Mission Campus Chapter attended a hearing Nov. 4, held to discuss a human trafficking bill that is finding its way to the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Ed Royce and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs oversaw the hearing on “Regional Perspectives in the Global Fight against Human Trafficking.”
It was held at CSU Fullerton and discussed H.R. 3344, the Fraudulent Overseas Recruitment and Trafficking Elimination Act of 2013.
The FORTE Act would ensure that foreign workers would have correct information about employment up-front in their own language.
“If that information is given up-front and if it is unlawful to engage in that kind of practice, then we can help protect those individuals,” Royce said after the hearing.
CBU students with the IJM Campus Chapter said they are hoping Royce will also consider co-sponsoring another bill, H.R. 2283, that would promote the Trafficking in Persons Office to a bureau, allowing the office to report the offenses of other countries directly to the Secretary of State.
Ambassador Luis CdeBaca for the TIP Office also attended to address the horrors of modern-day slavery.
“Our representatives want to hear from their constituents and won’t know that I care about ending slavery unless I tell them,” said Amy Alvarez, senior political science major, vice president of CBU’s IJM Campus Chapter and vice president of the IJM National Student Leadership Team.
The IJM campaign, One Step, One Voice, will take place Nov. 19. The CBU Chapter will focus on making a difference by encouraging students to call their representatives.
“You have an opportunity here as students to get your representatives on board as a co-sponsor to prioritize the fight against human trafficking,” said Kate Case, organizing and advocacy fellow with IJM.
Case and Alvarez said they hope CBU students will act, along with college students across the nation, to use their voice to bring justice and freedom to those who have none.
