Zoe Lofgren: “In this country, we have reached the consensus that victims of human trafficking should be provided help. That consensus…”

“In this country, we have reached the consensus that victims of human trafficking should be provided help. That consensus was north-south, east-west, conservative-liberal, and Democrat-Republican. Human trafficking victims need protections. Now there is a discussion of truncating that protection, and we must say that would be wrong. We know especially for child victims that special care must be taken to elicit the facts of what has happened. And the idea that we would short-circuit that process for children who are human trafficking victims at our border is unconscionable. Now we have received a letter from the National Association of Immigration Judges telling us the ground truth: that special care must be taken for child victims. These are not the same as other cases. I include for the Record a letter from the National Association of Immigration Judges. National Association of Immigration Judges, San Francisco, CA, July 22, 2014. Hon. John Boehner, Speaker, House of Representatives. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader, House of Representatives. Re Special Concerns Relating to Juveniles in Immigration Courts Dear Speaker Boehner and Democratic Leader Pelosi: The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) is a voluntary organization formed in 1971 with the objectives of promoting independence and enhancing the professionalism, dignity, and efficiency of the Immigration Court.…”