Houston - Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday proposed new laws to stiffen penalties for human trafficking in the state and renewed his criticism of the federal government for failing to keep the Texas-Mexico border secure.

The governor wants state lawmakers when they reconvene in January to make "the worst of these traffickers" subject to first-degree felony charges that could carry up to 99 years in prison. Advocacy groups say Texas is a hotbed for such crimes because of its geographic location, demographics and large migrant work force.

"Those who would commit these heinous acts need to know if you're caught in Texas, you're not going to see the light of day for a long, long time," Perry said.

Texas enacted a human trafficking law in 2003, and last year Perry signed a measure creating a statewide human trafficking task force attached to the Texas Attorney General's Office. The law took effect in January.

Perry said he was making $500,000 in grants available to counties and cities to help victims of human trafficking. His office's criminal justice division also will provide the attorney general with nearly $300,000 to expand the trafficking task force to aid in prosecution of cases.

Perry said human trafficking preys on the hopes and dreams of victims who were promised better lives for themselves and their families.

"Unfortunately, what awaits victims is a life of confinement, hard labor, prostitution, physical and mental abuse, and in far too many cases an early death," he said. "Human trafficking is simply modern-day slave trade and its scope is very chilling."

The governor cited federal statistics that estimate 20,000 people fall victim to human trafficking in the U.S. each year, "but we have no reliable way of knowing if the problem may be worse than that." He said about 20 percent of the victims may be in Texas.

The Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition, a consortium of Houston nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations and government agencies, said Texas and Houston remain hotbeds of human trafficking not only because of their locations, but because of demographics and large numbers of migrant workers. Houston's port and airport, along with its proximity to Mexico, add to the problem...

Baldwin Park - Police have arrested two men accused of human trafficking after 36 suspected illegal immigrants were found inside a Baldwin Park house believed to have been used as a holding cell.

At around 7:00 p.m., officers form the Baldwin Park Police Department say they received a call from an alarmed man claiming to be an illegal immigrant being held against his will.

Arriving officers saw several suspects fleeing the home in the 5000 block of La Rica Road in Baldwin Park.

After an investigation, officers discovered several men, women and one child being held inside the home.

Police believe they had been in the residence for up to one month.

They were smuggled into the country illegally from Mexico and Central America and were being held until family members paid a certain sum of money, Lt. David Reynoso said.

The 36 immigrants appeared to be in good health, Reynoso said.

Two alleged captors, ages 18 and 30 years old, were arrested.

No weapons were found.

Police initially said it appeared the immigrants were being held against their will.

Gisela di Vicenzo, que presentó la denuncia asegura haberla confrontado y sostuvo que la mujer reconoció que participó de una prolífica red de trata de personas.

Una enfermera santiagueña, afincada en Buenos Aires, fue acusada pública y judicialmente de integrar una red de trata de personas, que durante varios años, en las décadas del 70 y el 80, habrían vendido varias decenas de niños en la capital del país.

Según relató la joven que presentó la denuncia, la mujer, conocida como Nelly Urbina, trabajaba en el Hospital Italiano y se la conocía bajo el apodo de “La Chilena”.

Nurse Ramona Nélida Serrano, alias Nélida Urbina or La Chilena, clandestinely sold babies from Santiago, Chile in Buenos AIres, Aregentina for decades

Ramona Nélida Serrano, a nurse, has been criminally charged with participating in a human trafficking ring that, especially during the 1970s and 1980s, sold babies Chilean babies in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires...

In a recent Dan Rather television special he said the U.S. Department of Justice dubbed Seattle, Wash., and Portland, as two of the twelve “hub cities” in the U.S. for prostitution and human trafficking, including sex trafficking of children and teens.

While the problem exists across the nation, Portland and Seattle provide easy north and south access on the I-5 corridor that spans from Canada to Mexico.

Portland, Ore., a metropolitan area just hours south of Seattle, has acquired a deplorable nationwide reputation for being the leading major hub for prostitution and child sex trafficking. Rather featured a recent television special called “Pornland, Oregon: Child Prostitution in Portland.”

Recognizing the depth of the problem, Portland is now leading the way to a solution for children and teens who are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of selling them for sex.

Many teens, Rather said during his TV special, are recruited for sex and then moved across the country. Only 60 to 100 shelter beds for this purpose currently exist in the U.S., with 20 of them located in Seattle, Wash. One avenue for abusers to locate their victims is through the popular online classified advertising site, Craiglist...

The sentencing hearing for a woman accused of training a 14-year-old girl how to be a prostitute was postponed Wednesday after a problem arose.

Maricela Ann Muñoz was indicted in June on a charge of child prostitution of a minor under 15, a charge that carries a prison sentence of between 13 and 27 years.

She pleaded guilty to attempted child prostitution of a minor under 15 as part of a plea agreement that stated she could get probation or somewhere between five and 15 years in prison.

The plea agreement also states it would be up to Judge Charles Sabalos to decide if Muñoz should have to register as a sex offender.

On Wednesday, Judge Sabalos said he believes he must order Muñoz to register as a sex offender.

Muñoz's sentencing was postponed until Sept. 9 so her attorney can see if the plea agreement can be amended in some way.

Muñoz's co-defendant, Whitley Minter, entered an identical plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 9.

According to police, a patrol officer spotted the 14-year-old walking south on South Sixth Avenue near the Rodeo Grounds at about 11:30 p.m. April 24.

The girl appeared to be soliciting, and the officer approached and questioned her, Pacheco said.

The girl eventually admitted she was a runaway from Phoenix and she was being trained to sell herself by a man named "David" and some women.

The teenager said they were staying at two local hotels until they earned enough money to move to California. When the cops went to the motels, David was gone, but Minter and Muñoz were there.

Police said the girl has been reunited with her parents, who had hired a private investigator to look for her.

Victorville - A 33-year-old Silverado High School teacher has been arrested for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.

School officials reported the inappropriate relationship between math teacher Floran Calixto Sulit and the female juvenile on Aug. 11, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's officials.

Detectives learned that during the "on-going relationship," Sulit was "sending harmful material to the victim via her cell phone," a sheriff's press release stated.

Sulit, of Victorville, has been working at the school for six years.

He was arrested on suspicion of oral copulation and sending harmful matter. He's being held on $25,000 bail.

Detectives are urging anyone with information, or who may have been a victim, to contact Detective Julie Brumm at (909)387-3615. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling WeTip at (800)78-CRIME (800-782-7463).

Santa Ana - A 31-year-old man has been charged with having sex and smoking pot with a 12-year-old girl he met on a playground in Santa Ana.

Police say Neftali Pena Procopio started talking to the young girl while playing basketball at Santa Ana High School on Monday night. The two became friends and the young girl said she thought he was a good listener. She reportedly told him about problems she was having at home.

Propcopio and the young girl met again at 10 p.m. when he persuaded her to sneak out of her house.

Officers arrested Propcopio while the two were having sex in his parked car on Ross Street. They both lied about their ages, according to police.

The young girl said she was 19 years old. Officers, however, doubted the girl's age and determined later she was only 12. That's when Propcopio was taken into custody, according to officials.

Procopio was charged Wednesday with felony lewd acts on a child under 14 and felony furnishing marijuana to a minor. His Bail has been set at $100,000.

On August 8, Federal Police stationed in Ciudad Juarez (dubbed the "Murder Capital of the World") staged a thirteen-hour work stoppage to demand the dismissal of their superiors. They claimed their superiors were corrupt: they plant drugs and weapons on suspects, they are members of organized crime, they use their government-issue armored vehicles (such as the ones donated by the US government under the Merida Initiative) to transport drugs, and they throw whistle-blowing officers in jail. Discontent within the force reached a boiling point when commanding officers brought federal charges against an officer who filed a complaint against his superiors for abuse of authority, mistreatment, and death threats.

In response to the arrest of the whistle-blower, approximately 400 agents blocked streets in Ciudad Juarez to demand his release. Their action led to the dismissal of four commanding officers. However, Federal Police Internal Affairs removed the rioting agents from duty and is investigating them for having "instigated attacks and protests." The commanding officers, on the other hand, are not "under investigation," according to the Attorney General's Office. They're simply being asked to give testimony about the protest in Juárez, not about the corruption charges.

En el foro “Hacia una legislación Integral en Materia de Trata de Personas y Delitos Afines”, que se llevó a cabo en San Lázaro para tratar este delito, los diputados mencionaron que la trata se ha convertido en un tema de seguridad nacional, pues en los últimos años ha ido en aumento en toda la República Mexicana.

En el país existe una población infantil de 31 millones de niños, de los cuales el 0.6 por ciento es víctima de trata, es decir, 20 mil infantes son sujetos a la explotación sexual, o usados para actos de pornografía, según la Comisión Especial de Lucha Contra la Trata de Personas en la Cámara de Diputados.

A decir de la diputada panista María Antonieta Pérez Reyes, la trata de personas genera ganancias para el crimen organizado por 9 mil 500 millones de dólares anuales.

Legisladores mencionaron que mientras siga la pobreza y la ignorancia, las personas se hacen más vulnerables a ser víctimas de trata de personas. En tanto, el Procurador de Justicia del Distrito Federal, Miguel Ángel Mancera, dio a conocer que con los distintos operativos que se han realizado, se ha logrado asegurar nueve hoteles dónde se realizaban delitos de este tipo.

Además de ser rescatadas 95 personas víctimas de delitos sexuales, y han arraigado a 83 delincuentes.

The Business of Human Trafficking

During a just-ended congressional forum: Working Towards Integral Legislation Addressing Human Trafficking and Related Crimes, members of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) pf Congress declared that human trafficking was a national security issue that has increased in intensity across Mexico during recent years.

According to the Special Commission to Fight Human Trafficking in the Chamber of Deputies, headed by National Action Party (PAN) deputy Rosi Orozco, some 20,000 children - 0.06% of Mexico's 31 million children, are subjected to sexual exploitation, which may include child pornography...

Tenancingo - In this impoverished town in central Mexico, a sinister trade has taken root: Entire extended families exploit desperation and lure hundreds of unsuspecting young Mexican women to the United States to force them into prostitution.

Those who know the pimps of Tlaxcala state - victims, prosecutors, social workers and researchers - say the men from [the city of] Tenancingo have honed their methods over at least three generations.

They play on all that is good in their victims - love of family, love of husband, love of children - to force young women into near-bondage in the United States.

The town provided the perfect petri dish for forced prostitution. A heavily Indian area, it combines long-standing traditions of forced marriage or "bride kidnapping," with machismo, [and] grinding poverty...

Added to that, says anthropologist Oscar Montiel - who has interviewed the pimps about their work - is a tradition of informal, sworn-to-silence male groups. He believes that, in the town of just over 10,000, there may be as many as 3,000 people directly involved the trade. Prosecutors say the network includes female relatives of the pimps, who often serve as go-betweens or supervisors, or who care for the children of women working as prostitutes.

A pimp Montiel identified only by his unprintable nickname said his uncle got him started in the business and that he has since passed the techniques on to his brother and two sons.

Federico Pohls, who runs a center that tries to help victims, says established pimps will sometimes bankroll young men who aspire to the profession but lack the clothes, money and cars to impress young women.

Dilcya Garcia, a Mexico City prosecutor who did anti-trafficking work in Tenancingo, confirms that many boys in the town aspire to be pimps.

"If you ask some boys, and we have done this, 'Hey what do you want to be when you grow up?' They reply: 'I want to have a lot of sisters and a lot of daughters to make lots of money."' ...

A typical scenario, prosecutors say, involves an elaborate sham of a marriage - sometimes with false papers and names - before the pimp feigns a sudden financial crisis that would put the couple out in the street. The pimp then casually mentions a friend whose wife "worked" them out of the problem, noting, "If you love me, you'd do that for me."

Sometimes the tactics are more violent.

Garcia tells of an 18-year-old woman who was picked up by a Tenancingo pimp; her 11/2-year-old baby girl was placed in the care of one of his female relatives, and the woman was then taken to a down-at-the-heels Mexico City hotel and made to serve dozens of clients per day, for around 165 pesos ($12) apiece. When she resisted, the pimp told her, "If you don't do what I'm asking you to, you'll never see your daughter. You'll see what we'll do to your daughter."

Mostly, the pimps concentrate on isolating women, lying to them, and breaking down their self-esteem.

The victim who spoke to the AP described it this way: Her pimp, Rugerio, humiliated her, pulled her hair, withheld food and told her that she had to practice sex acts on him so she would perform well with the clients.

"I didn't like it," she said. "I felt ugly and it was very painful."

Rugerio told her he would send her to the U.S. and that he'd join her a bit later. After walking through the desert, she was sent to a nondescript apartment complex in suburban Atlanta, where she was met by two women and a man who, she was told, were related to Rugerio.

One of the women took her shopping for clothes. Even though it was September and starting to get chilly, the woman selected mostly short, tight skirts and tops and told her she'd have to start working the next day.

"I asked them what kind of work I would be doing," the young victim said. "She took out a bag of condoms and then I knew."

Her minders kept her in a small, sparsely furnished apartment, isolated from any other girls and mostly ignored her during the day. Around 4 p.m., a driver would come pick her up to take her to work. In the beginning, she had sex with between five and 10 men a night, but as time went on the number got as high as 40 or 50, mostly Latino men...

The 28-year-old Rugerio was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison in the U.S. for helping smuggle young women from Mexico to Atlanta and forcing them into prostitution.

But many others aren't caught.

"We've always suspected the problem is larger than we know about," said Brock Nicholson, deputy special agent in charge of the Atlanta division of the federal Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Oftentimes, victims are very reluctant to come forward."

Those arrested on suspicion of forced prostitution almost never admit it...

Vancouver, British Columbia – Convicted sexual predator Martin Tremblay is still roaming free after two teenage girls died in March – one at his home – after being given a lethal mix of alcohol and drugs within hours of their deaths.

Friends of Martha Hernandez, 17, and Kayla LaLonde, 16, said the two First Nations [indigenous] teens had been hanging out with a man named “Martin” who supplied them with free drugs and alcohol at parties he held for teens at his Richmond home.

Angela LaLonde, whose daughter was found collapsed on a road with bruises on her body, said police told her they were close to an arrest in her daughter’s death, but then they stopped returning calls.

“That was the last time I saw them, the last time they even said anything, and I’ve tried calling and calling and they will not call me back,” she told CTV News in June.

Yet no arrests have been made, and the families are worried there will be no justice for their daughters, particularly after hearing that Tremblay recently had a garage sale and plans to move to a new location where no one knows his history.

What is particularly alarming is that Tremblay was convicted in 2003 for raping five Native girls between the ages of 13 and 15, most of whom were in foster care.

Tremblay, 44, not only drugged and raped young girls, he made pornographic videos of them while they were unconscious. Witnesses told police he had given the girls a mixture of morphine, ecstasy, codeine and alcohol.

It was his habit of videotaping his rapes that led to his arrest after an anonymous source delivered the tapes to the Vancouver police who initiated an investigation and eventually brought charges.

Tremblay pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault, but was only sentenced to three-and-a-half years in custody and 18 months of probation – and released after serving little more than a year in prison.

Before his release, women’s advocacy groups petitioned the judge to prohibit Tremblay from contact with girls under the age of 18, but that didn’t happen. Nor was he ever listed on a sex offender registry.

Frustrated by the lack of concern by law enforcement, women’s advocacy groups plastered the neighborhood with posters bearing his picture, warning girls that Tremblay has a history of drugging and sexually assaulting teenagers. And they repeatedly questioned why police didn’t issue a public warning about him.

So when two more teenagers linked to Tremblay died, activists and families were angry and frustrated that police had not done more to protect them.

“The community wants to know what happened to these girls and why was it allowed to happen,” said Carrie Humchitt, a lawyer with the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network. “These warnings weren’t taken seriously and here we are again.”

At the time, Richmond Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Jennifer Pound told the media that they had received many questions regarding “a specific individual and whether or not police will be putting out a public warning.” She said while the investigation was active, police were not in a position to name suspects or issue any warnings “based on speculation.”

According to a 2010 report by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, 582 cases of murdered and missing Native women have been documented so far, mostly over the past 10 years. Experts agree, however, that the actual numbers are much higher – in the thousands – and that more cases need to be documented though funding is limited...

“Aboriginal girls are hunted down and prostituted, and the perpetrators go uncharged with child sexual assault and child rape,” said Laura Holland, a spokeswoman for the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network. “These predators, pervasive in our society, roam with impunity in our streets and take advantage of those aboriginal children with the least protection.” ...

Gran parte de la demanda de los turistas que viajan a Brasil en busca de relaciones sexuales la están satisfaciendo niños, reveló una investigación de la BBC.

Su pequeño bikini deja al aire su exigua contextura. No parece mayor de 13 años y es una de las decenas de niñas que se pasean en la calle en busca de clientes, bajo el sol abrasador de la mediatarde.

La mayoría proviene de las poblaciones marginales de los alrededores, las favelas...

Young children are supplying an increasing demand from foreign tourists who travel to Brazil for sex holidays, according to a BBC investigation. Chris Rogers reports on how the country is overtaking Thailand as a destination for sex tourism and on attempts to curb the problem.

Her small bikini exposes her tiny frame. She looks no older than 13 - one of dozens of girls parading the street looking for clients in the blazing mid-afternoon sun. Most come from the surrounding favelas - or slums.

As I park my car, the young girl dances provocatively to catch my attention.

"Hello my name is Clemie - you want a programme?" she asks, programme being the code word they use for an hour of sex. Clemie asks for less than $5 (£3) for her services. An older woman standing nearby steps in and introduces herself as Clemie's mother.

I usually have more than 10 clients per night - they pay 10 reais each - enough for a rock of crack.”

"You have the choice of another two girls, they are the same age as my daughter, the same price," she explains. "I can take you to a local motel where a room can be rented by the hour."

I make my excuses and head towards the bars and brothels of the nearby red-light district.

Despite assurances of a police crackdown, there appears to be little evidence of child prostitution disappearing from the streets of Recife. In four years' time, the country will be hosting the World Cup, which will fuel its booming economy.

Brazil has defied the global economic downturn thanks, in part, to its exotic, endless beaches attracting record numbers of tourists.

The country's erotic reputation has long been attracting an unwanted type of tourist. Every week specialist holiday [vacation tour] operators bring in thousands of European singles on charted flights looking for cheap sex. Now Brazil is overtaking Thailand as the world's most popular sex-tourist destination.

Underage

...Taxi drivers work with the girls who are too young to get into the bars. One offers me two for the price of one and a lift to a local motel.

"They are underage, so much cheaper than the older ones," he explains as he introduces me to Sara and Maria.

Neither has made any attempt to disguise their age. One clings to a bright pink Barbie bag, and they hold each other's hands looking terrified at the possibility of a potential customer.

Recife's red-light area is now crammed with cars slowly crawling past groups of girls parading their bodies...

For safety, Pia works with a group of older girls who act as pimps, taking care of the money and watching over the younger ones.

"There's lots of girls working around here. I'm not the youngest, my sister is 12, and there's an 11-year-old." But Pia is worried about her sister: "Bianca hasn't been seen for two days since she left with a foreign guy," she says.

Pia first started working as a prostitute at the age of seven, and UNICEF estimates there are 250,000 child prostitutes like her in Brazil.

"I've been doing it for so long now, I don't even think about the dangers," Pia tells me. "Foreign guys just show up here. I've been with lots of them. They just show up like you." ...

Pia told me that one day she hopes to break out of prostitution. She said she had heard of charities that provide a home for girls like her.

"Every day I ask God to take me out of this life. Sometimes I do stop, but then I go back to the streets looking for men. The drug is bad, the drug is my weakness and the clients are always there willing to pay." ...

Mario Laguna-Guerrero had been dating his 17-year-old girlfriend for two years and even lived with her and her mother before he made a decision that would change their relationship forever.

Laguna, struggling to repay a debt to smugglers who brought him into the country from Mexico, decided to become a pimp -- driving his girlfriend to migrant labor camps in Hillsborough County, Florida, and selling her for sex.

Over four months in late 2009, as many as 80 men slept with the teenage girl while Laguna pocketed $25 a head. He later pressured his girlfriend to recruit high school classmates to work as prostitutes too.

Law enforcement agents arrested Laguna in April and charged him with sex trafficking of a minor, a federal crime.

More stories from ABC News' special series "Out of the Shadows: Illegal Immigration in America"

According to the affidavit, Laguna, 25, said his girlfriend, who's a U.S. citizen, agreed to help him pay off his debt by having sex for cash. But the girl, who has a mental disability and is only identified as "Victim #1," told detectives separately, "I don't wanna do this."

Investigators determined Victim #1 has an IQ of 58, which psychologists described to ABC News as "low-functioning," adding that she would have difficulties making decisions on her own.

"This girl was rescued from a nightmare which could only have gotten worse," said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee.

As national debate rages over ties between illegal immigration and crime, the Laguna-Guerrero case depicts a disturbing trend in human sex trafficking and, some immigration critics say, a consequence of the U.S. failure to secure its borders.

"This is a heinous crime, there are real victims left in its wake, and it's all unnecessary," said Ira Mehlman of the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform. "It could have been prevented if he weren't here illegally... Legal immigrants go through a vetting process that's designed to weed out criminals."

Laguna, who worked as a strawberry picker on a farm near Tampa, first arrived in the U.S. in 2002. He told investigators the smugglers who brought him into the country threatened to cut off his fingers if he did not soon pay his $2,000 debt.

While Mehlman praised Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for uncovering the case and prosecuting the "most egregious" crimes perpetrated by immigrants, he said more must be done to curb the "disproportionate" criminal activity of those in the U.S. illegally.

Disputes over illegal Mexican immigrants are already heating up in the United States, thanks in part to a new Arizona immigration law.

But global warming could bring the immigration issue to a boiling point in the coming decades, if a new study holds true.

According a new computer model, a total of nearly seven million additional Mexicans could emigrate to the U.S. by 2080 as a result of reduced crop yields brought about by a hotter, drier climate—assuming other factors influencing immigration remain unchanged.

"The model shows that climate-driven refugees could be a big deal in the future," said study co-author Michael Oppenheimer, an atmospheric scientist at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Using data on Mexican emigration as well as climate and crop yields in 30 Mexican states between 1995 and 2005, Oppenheimer and colleagues created the computer model to predict the effect of climate change on the rate of people crossing the border.

In that ten-year period, 2 percent of the Mexican population emigrated to the U.S. for every 10 percent reduction in crop yield.

Using the model to extrapolate this real-world figure over the next 70 years, the researchers calculated that 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans—a number roughly equal to 10 percent of Mexico's current adult population—could migrate to the U.S. by 2080.

The research is one of the first attempts by scientists to put hard numbers on how climate change can affect human migration patterns.

"Our study is the first to build a model that can be used for projecting the effects on migration of future climate change," Oppenheimer said...

U.S. Should Help Mexicans Adapt to Warming?

Despite its limitations, the Mexican-immigration model could help spur governments to start thinking about how they'll deal with so-called eco-migrants created by global warming, the University of Guelph's Smit said.

"The takeaway message for me of this study is that there is indeed a relationship between changes in crop yield and the movement of people," Smit said. "And to the extent that future climate change will introduce more of those stresses on yields, we can expect more pressures on the movement of people."

If the U.S. and other developed nations start thinking about climate change-related immigration now, before it becomes a major problem, they could take steps that would help reduce the amount of immigration in the first place, said Robert McLeman, a geographer who studies climate migration at Canada's University of Ottawa.

Toward this end, developed nations can do a lot to help their poorer neighbors, said McLeman, who wasn't involved in the modeling.

For example, the U.S. could make it easier for Mexican crops to reach U.S. markets, McLeman said. Or the U.S. could help Mexico create new, non-agricultural employment opportunities by encouraging other industries in rural areas.

"One of the things I encourage policymakers to think about is that people don't have to migrate if they have other means of adapting to climate change where they already live," he added...

No Downside to Preempting Global Warming Immigration?

In some sense, it may not matter whether the study is right or wrong.

The University of Ottawa's McLeman, for example, argues that many of the things the U.S. could do to help Mexico adapt to global warming will also help improve the quality of life for many of Mexico's poor.

"A lot of the things that we could be doing are things that we should be doing anyway," he said.

"Even if it turns out that our future projections about climate change impacts aren't right, it's still a good investment. I don't see any downside to it."

"Besides the news media's overall silence on illegal immigrants being terrorized, robbed and killed by Mexican authorities, the Obama Administration and US lawmakers are equally silent."

If the news media were truly unbiased in their reportage of Mexican illegal immigration and told the whole story, Americans would be shocked at the degree of President Felipe Calderon's hypocrisy.

...Calderon and his government appear to be unwilling to acknowledge their own hypocrisy in dealing with illegal immigrants who enter Mexico from Central American countries. Considered felons by the Mexican government, these immigrants fear detention, rape and robbery. Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels. Sometimes they are deported; more often officers beat them and simply take their money and possessions.

Anyone who doesn't believe the above treatment of illegal aliens by Mexican authorities should peruse reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

"This 128-page report examines the commission's work on more than 40 human rights cases, including recent abuses by soldiers involved in law enforcement operations, police crackdowns against demonstrators in Guadalajara and San Salvador de Atenco, and the killings of women in Ciudad Juárez over the past decade, among others. The report also examines the commission's role in addressing abusive laws, including restrictions on freedom of expression, and responding to important reforms..." states the Human Rights Commission report's preface.

Besides the news media's overall silence on illegal immigrants being terrorized, robbed and killed by Mexican authorities, the Obama Administration and US lawmakers are equally silent...

Undocumented Central Americans complain much more about how they are treated by Mexican officials than about authorities on the US side of the border, where aliens may resent being caught but often praise the professionalism of the agents scouring the desert for their trail, according to this writer's sources within the intelligence community.

If an immigrant is carrying any money, Mexican police officers or soldiers take it from the hapless illegal immigrant. And it's not just local cops: Federal (Federales) and state police officers are equally corrupt and brutal. There is no such thing as a sanctuary city in Mexico. And the illegal immigrants are lucky if the are confronted by police officers; the soldiers are far worse in their treatment of these foreigners. While most countries including the United States have some police corruption, the level of corruption in Mexico is shocking. To many, the only difference between Mexican organized crime gangs and the police is that the cops wear uniforms and badges.

While the Obama Administration praises Mexican cooperation with fighting a war on drugs, most law enforcement commanders know better. The Mexican government has been bought and sold by the drug gangs. The only time there is a crackdown on a drug gang is when a rival drug gang "requests" police action in order to eliminate their competition...

Human Trafficking is a global industry that transcends borders, regions, and cultures. Within the Western Hemisphere trafficking is an important issue that arguably helps to shape relations between Latin America and the United States. In June 2010, the State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) included, for the first time, in its ten year existence, a ranking allocated to the United States as well as 177 other countries. The TIP report helps substantiate the claim that the United States and Latin American governments must strive to improve the lives of millions of innocent people who increasingly are victims of human trafficking. The restaveks, Haitian youth forced into domestic labor without compensation, exemplify the lack of protective measures against [children,] who usually turn out to be the chief victims of trafficking.

The plight of these children, in Haiti and elsewhere throughout the region, reflect both the obvious and more subtle weaknesses in efforts to reduce human trafficking in Latin America. The trafficking of children is an immensely serious problem that regional governments, paired with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), must address. Moreover, the United States must actively engage with both the governments of other countries as well as foreign NGOs to facilitate this improvement...

The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report

The U.S. State Department releases the TIP Report annually. It discusses each country elaborating on improvements or regression and gives countries a grade: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2-Watch or Tier 3. Tier 1 countries are those deemed to comply fully with the minimum requirements provided by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA). Tier 2 consists of nations that do not fully comply with the TVPA, but are making substantial attempts to do so, while Tier 2-Watch nations make these efforts as well, but still have a significant increase in absolute number of trafficking victims. Tier 3 countries, such as the Dominican Republic, do not fulfill the minimum standards nor are they making attempts to do so. Some critics of the TIP report argue that some countries in the region attempt to meet TIP requirements out of fear of receiving a low rank in the compilation’s annual report and therefore do not implement measures specific to the nature and dimensions of the tempo of trafficking that is occurring within a given country.

Others speculate that the status of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Latin America serves as the driving force behind the grade each country receives. Opponents of the U.S., like Venezuela unquestionably [receive] a lower grade, than a country like Colombia which is rewarded for supporting U.S. interests in the region. For example, the United States ranks Cuba (a country with which the U.S. lacks basic diplomatic relations) as a Tier 3 country while Colombia receives the rank of Tier 1. Moreover, in 2005, Latin America had a higher percentage of Tier 3 countries than any other region in the world.

Even though it is difficult to produce a completely unbiased account of government efforts against trafficking without being swayed by foreign policy objectives, the TIP could at least try to find a balance between ethical concern and broader U.S. geopolitical goals and interests. This equilibrium is particularly important with regards to Latin American countries because the concept of migration and human trafficking are closely related to one another. Illegal immigrants who travel up through Mexico and Central America lack legal protection and are therefore more vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking. Moreover, strict immigration policies, such as those in the United States, provide only limited opportunities for legal migration that would go to protect immigrants. Restrictive human trafficking measures implemented by other countries in the region are likely to reduce the amount of trafficking in the United States.

The TIP Report as a Tool

In an interview with COHA, Mark Lagon, Former Ambassador to Combat Trafficking in Persons and current Senior Advisor of Corporate Responsibility for Lexus Nexus, uses the case of Venezuela to refute some criticism of the TIP report: “I advocated for raising Venezuela to a better ranking. The integrity of the report requires acknowledging improvement because all in all, there is no reason to give countries anything but an objective assessment.” In this capacity, Lagon contributed to global anti-trafficking policy and directed the compilation of the TIP report. Venezuela, a nation with which the United States has strained ties, had a Tier 2-Watch rank in 2007, but in 2008, it was moved down a level to Tier 3 class.

Lagon views the TIP report as a constructive tool for improving relations between the U.S. and Latin America.

He describes the improvement in US-Mexico relations with regards to human trafficking as a “quiet success,” which in part is due to the State Department’s decision to assign the U.S. a grade for the first time. Furthermore, Lagon contends, “Mexico continually hated any report where it was given a grade, but by including the U.S. in the TIP report we admitted weaknesses in a way that we had not done before. Consequently, this dialogue has led to a more constructive relationship, fostering cooperation in regards to preventing human trafficking.”

He went on to clarify that “the heart of human trafficking lies in exploitation; it’s not always about migration. Forty percent of trafficking victims in the U.S. come from Latin America. [We note that in December of 2009, Dr. Lagon's successor as director of the U.S. State Department TIP office, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, stated that Latin Americans comprise 60% of U.S. human trafficking victims. - LL] It is every bit as much for labor as for sexual exploitation.” A Congressional Research Report highlights the case of Mexico because it accounted for twenty-three percent of recognized human trafficking victims in the U.S. in 2008 alone. Thus, increased collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico regarding immigration and trafficking legislation will only yield positive outcomes. By examining the case of Mexico it is evident that a deepening of relations between the U.S. and Latin American countries could be facilitated by engaging in dialogue regarding human rights, especially trafficking.

The Nature of Child Trafficking

Countries that do not provide programs to combat child trafficking often receive more condemnation and higher rankings in the TIP report. One of the most unsettling aspects of human trafficking is the exploitation of children used for sex tourism. A significant discrepancy exists in the legal age of consent for females in Latin American countries. Averages range from fourteen to eighteen years [the age of consent is 12 in 19 of Mexico's 30 states], the legal age as provided by the Palermo Protocol. These disparities make victim identification more difficult. A 2008 article published in Human Rights Quarterly reports that “other forms of trafficking include using children as panhandlers, news agents, garbage recyclers (i.e. those who sort through the public dumps for recyclable materials), domestic help, in mining, in agriculture, [as victims of] illegal adoption and as child soldiers.” These types of forced labor jobs frequently occur within the borders of one country, as [is the case] with the restaveks in Haiti and child soldiers in Colombia...

The Importance of NGOs

Increased cooperation between the U.S. and Latin American countries regarding laws as well as punitive measures will be crucial to countering the efforts of traffickers in the region, but the legal canvas is not necessarily the only area of concern. Lagon pointed to the problem of corruption among law enforcement officials who “tend to blame victims instead of help them.” In order to assist victims not only in Haiti but also those to be found within the region, it is crucial that Washington step up its assistance to NGOs. For example, the Polaris Project is an NGO that focuses on victim identification and then provides social services and transitional housing as called for by advocates of stronger federal anti-trafficking legislation. Another NGO, International Justice Mission (IJM), works in many locations, such as Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras, to rescue victims of human trafficking, particularly children, and bring justice to their perpetrators. Lagon explains that “We need to move the needle by extending the capacities of NGOs. They are often seen as an irritant, but are an essential part of civil society. By assisting NGOs financially, we can help build the capacity to decrease human trafficking.” It is not merely a coincidence that Colombia, which has a flawed human rights reputation, nevertheless received a Tier 1 ranking and is the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the region as well as being among Washington’s primary military allies in the Caribbean.

Working Towards a Brighter Future

Human trafficking is a wealth-generating industry in which the risk to reward ratio eventually perpetuates the problem. A person can be exploited repeatedly, whereas drugs bear a one-time use restriction. This makes trafficking a lucrative matter for those involved.

Tensions over definition and desensitization on the trafficking issue have only weakened efforts to prevent it. Consequently, the United States and governments in the region need to work together and thrust human trafficking into more of a spotlight. This must be done not merely once a year when the State Department releases the TIP report. Progress in the fight against human trafficking in the region will not come to fruition until the United States is willing to not only assist the governments of the Latin American countries, but also help NGO’s identify as well as liberate victims. Washington must also resist any temptation to politicize the matter, as has been seen in the evaluation of Venezuela.

August 3/5, 2010

A march through the neighborhood of Hunting Park marks a decade since 5-year old I’riana DeJesus was raped and murdered. Her killer remains a free man.

"It’s sad, it’s sad that’s she’s gone," the girl's mother Lizasuain DeJesus said -- speaking through tears.

She says her heart breaks every time she thinks about what happened to her daughter on this day 10-years ago.

"She was an innocent kid," the mother said. "Why would someone want to murder her? She didn’t do nothing to nobody. It’s a shame it had to be my daughter."

Police and the FBI are searching for the little girl’s accused killer Alexis Flores.

He’s believed to be in hiding in his native Honduras and sources say recent information reveals he’s getting plenty of help from his family.

Flores was linked to I’riana’s murder after he was arrested in Phoenix on forgery charges in 2004.

A DNA match to I’riana’s murder came several years late and by that time Flores had already been deported.

"Now we have a DNA match. Now we have a name, now we have a face. You can run but you can never hide," Lizasuain said.

I’riana’s body was discovered inside a building at 6th and Pike Streets only a couple blocks from where she lived.

Just two weeks ago, a childcare center opened-up in its place giving new life to what had become a painful reminder of I’riana’s murder. The daycare is now named after the little girl.

"I knew that there was no way I could open up something like a childcare center or a preschool and not give back to I’riana," daycare owner Domonique Prince said. "What happed was just tragic."

Lizasuain says she’s glad to see her neighborhood moving forward and standing behind her -- never giving up hope that one day her daughter’s killer will be caught.

"People say let it go, let it rest. I just can’t rest until I know he’s been caught. I have a problem with that," Lizasuain said. "I want my justice and I believe that I deserve that."

Alexis Flores is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

An Englewood resident was arrested on July 29 on charges of sexually assaulting and endangering the welfare of a 12-year-old girl at his workplace in Bergenfield.

Under the investigation and direction of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, the Bergenfield Police arrested Rafael Antonio Guzman Jr., 27, around 7 p.m. at his place of employment, Play N Trade in Bergenfield.

An investigation was conducted by members of the county's sex crimes and child abuse unit.

Guzman, a manager at Play N Trade, was charged with one count of sexual assault, a second-degree crime, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a third-degree crime.

In lieu of bail, he was remanded to the Bergen County Jail. Bail was set at $50,000 with no 10 percent option by Superior Court Judge Robert L. Polifroni of Bergen County Civil Division. Arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 4.

A Lake Placid man was arrested Thursday on allegations that he had sex more than once with a 13-year-old girl, which led to her getting pregnant.

Pedro Valladares Martinez, 27, of Sudburry Drive, Lake Placid, was charged with lewd and lascivious acts on a victim 12 to 16 years of age.

He remained in the Highlands County Jail Friday under a $50,000 bond.

Law enforcement was alerted about the two after Highlands County Courthouse employees called and said the girl's family was trying to get a marriage license for her and Martinez, according to the Lake Placid Police Department.

"Interviews with the suspect and the victim found that sex occurred more than once at the victim's residence in Lake Placid, and resulted in the victim becoming pregnant," according to a press release.

Lake Placid Police Office Eddie San Miguel investigated the case and made the arrest.

Austin - With the release of two composite sketches, Austin police bolstered their search for a man they said pushed his way into an apartment and tried to sexually assault a teen girl last Tuesday.

Investigators are looking to the public for help in finding a suspect wanted for attempted sexual assault of a child after authorities said he made his way into a 16-year-old girl's home at 10:20 a.m.

The man tried to sexually assault her before punching her in the face and fleeing the apartment with her cell phone.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic male with a Spanish accent. He is 5 feet 5 inches tall with an overweight build and was last seen wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans and black sunglasses.

Authorities said the suspect is possibly driving a newer-model maroon, four-door Acura MDX.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the APD Child Abuse Unit at (512) 974-8694.

Bogota - The U.S. government has denied a visa to a prominent Colombian journalist who specializes in conflict and human rights reporting to attend a prestigious fellowship at Harvard University.

Hollman Morris, who produces an independent TV news program called "Contravia," has been highly critical of ties between illegal far-right militias and allies of outgoing President Alvaro Uribe, Washington's closest ally in Latin America.

The curator of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard, which has offered the mid-career fellowships since 1938, said Thursday that a consular official at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota told him Morris was ruled permanently ineligible for a visa under the "Terrorist activities" section of the USA Patriot Act.

U.S. Embassy and State Department officials refused to confirm the visa denial, citing privacy laws.

"We were very surprised. This has never happened before," said the Nieman curator, Bob Giles. "And Hollman has traveled previously in the United States to give speeches and receive awards." He said he had written the State Department to ask it to reconsider the decision.

Giles told The Associated Press by telephone that the only visa issues ever to arise with foreign Nieman Fellows have been over concerns they might try to remain in the United States — clearly not the issue in Morris' case. Colombia's President-elect, Juan Manuel Santos, was a 1988 Nieman Fellow.

"We're frankly shocked. We feel it's outrageous," Joel Simon, executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said of the visa denial.

He said the committee had discussed its concerns with State Department officials but was not provided with an explanation.

"They told us they discussed this with Hollman and that's just not true," Simon said.

The 41-year-old Morris, one of 12 foreign journalists admitted to the Nieman program for the 2010-2011 academic year, is among the most controversial chroniclers of Colombia's long-running leftist insurgency.

Among international awards he has received is one from Human Rights Watch in 2007 in which he was praise by Executive Director Kenneth Roth for "courage, an unswerving commitment to justice and genuine concern for the rights of all victims."

On various occasions, President Uribe has accused Morris of collaborating with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which killed Uribe's father in a 1983 botched kidnapping...

Reached by the AP, Morris would neither confirm nor deny that he had been turned down for the visa.

"Things are in motion," he said, adding that he had obtained a DAS document that described a campaign to discredit him internationally, including by stripping him of a visa.

Giles said the U.S. consular official cited Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Patriot Act as the reason for the visa denial. It renders ineligible for a U.S. visa anyone who engages in terrorist activities, belongs to a terrorist organization or endorses terrorist activities...