BLUMENTHAL TO MEET WITH CHILD TRAFFICKING ADVOCATES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TO HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING TRAFFICKING VICTIMS AS BORDER CRISIS CONTINUES

(Hartford, CT) - At 12:45 p.m. on Monday, August 25, as the influx of unaccompanied minors on the border draws attention to the broader international crisis of child trafficking, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will meet with victim advocates and law enforcement at the New Haven headquarters of Love146 to discuss Connecticut’s response to child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

Blumenthal has advocated for stronger border security, more humane facilities and care for recently-arrived migrants, and a just and fair, child by child process to make asylum determinations, in addition to increased resources for the Central American nations from where the vast numbers of unaccompanied minors are fleeing. He has opposed efforts to roll back the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which some have proposed to expedite deportations of unaccompanied children at the border, some who may have been trafficking victims.

WHO

• U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
• Jim Ehrman, Executive Director, North America, Love146
• Leonela Cruz-Ahuatl, Program Manager, Project Rescue, Anti Human Trafficking Program, International Institute of Connecticut
• Krishna Patel, Deputy Chief, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Connecticut
• Officer Deborah Scates, Hartford Police Department
• Tammy Sneed, Director, Gender Responsive Adolescent Services, Department of Children and Families
• Dave Tompkins, Vice-President of Program Services, Klingberg Family Centers
• Erin Williamson, Connecticut Survivor Support Coordinator, Love146

WHERE

Love146

839 Chapel Street, 2^nd floor

New Haven, CT

WHEN

12:45 pm

Monday, August 25, 2014