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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Human trafficking is a serious and escalating |
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problem in the United States, particularly in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, A multibillion-dollar business, human trafficking |
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is second only to drug dealing in criminal profitability and is the |
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fastest-growing illegal enterprise, according to the Polaris |
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Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that maintains the |
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National Human Trafficking Resource Center; it is estimated that as |
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many as 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United |
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States each year and that the number of U.S. citizens trafficked |
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within our own borders is even higher, with nearly 250,000 American |
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children and youths at risk of sexual exploitation, including for |
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commercial purposes; and |
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WHEREAS, Texas is a major point of illegal entry into the |
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United States; its large geographic size along with its |
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demographics make the Lone Star State appealing to traffickers, who |
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endeavor to blend into the population while exploiting their |
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victims in forced labor and prostitution; and |
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WHEREAS, Although Texas has been recognized as a leader in |
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the effort to end the scourge of human trafficking, eradication of |
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this modern-day form of slavery is a difficult challenge, and every |
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means of combating it should be explored; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house |
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of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study the |
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problem of human trafficking in Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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findings and recommendations, to the 85th Texas Legislature before |
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it convenes in January 2017. |