On Dec. 23, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act into law. White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto called the bill “a priority issue for the administration in preventing the trafficking of persons around the world,” adding, “So this is a piece of legislation we’re very proud to sign.” The White House may have been excited about signing the legislation, but few others took notice. The country was teetering towards recession. Banks were failing. The president-elect was announcing his cabinet picks. Wilberforce was no biggie. Over the last few months, however, as minors piled up at the border, the law has drawn a lot of attention — and blame. Blaming the 2008 legislation for the current crisis is more than a bit overblown. But it’s catnip to those seeking to politicize the crisis. Exhibit A: A Dallas Morning News editorial headlined: “Just like Iraq, immigration crisis has roots in GOP leadership.” Three conveniently overlooked facts: Congress passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support (as, by the way, they did the war in Iraq); the law is narrowly targeted at human trafficking — the buying and selling of humans — not at people who would rather live here than there; the law doesn’t bar the president from pressing for the expedited removal of unaccompanied minors. None of that, of course, has kept the White House from using the law as cover for inaction. That is not saying the William Wilberforce Act is perfect. Indeed, the provisions for unaccompanied minors were open to abuse — something that officials at the Department of Homeland Security pointed out when the bill was before Congress. Lawmakers ought to fix the bill, but it is neither the cause nor the cure for the current crisis.... Read More: dailysignal/2014/08/03/pushing-conservative-human-rights-agenda/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 15:04:53 +0000
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