Ivanka Trump announces Donald Trump administration will increase anti-human trafficking budget in 2021

Ivanka Trump, senior political adviser to President Donald Trump had some good news to share during the White House summit on human trafficking. According to the First Daughter, President Trump will be proposing a $42 million increase in the 2021 budget for efforts to prosecute criminals and to support human trafficking victims, Fox Business reported.

“We are resolved, and we are relentless in the fight to hold perpetrators accountable and restore dignity for victims,” Ivanka Trump said during the summit. “This administration has fought and will continue to fight this crime and ensure that survivors can access the services they need.”

“Human trafficking is believed to be one of the largest criminal activities in the world—with an estimated 24.9 MILLION people trapped in forced labor, domestic servitude, or commercial sex trafficking,” Ivanka added.

Criminal syndicates engaged in human trafficking make more than $150 billion in profits per year. The worst part is that the traffickers exploit the most vulnerable members of society such as children, women, runaways and the homeless.

Ivanka also highlighted her father’s, Donald Trump, efforts to address the issue. The president has signed nine pieces of legislation into law that directly address human trafficking.

These include the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017, The Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018, and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017.

Ivanka introduced Jessica Hamlet, a survivor of human trafficking, who narrated her experience of drugs and exploitation when she was still between the ages of 8 and 12. They met when the presidential adviser visited the Atlanta, Georgia-based nonprofit women’s advocacy organization WellSpring Women’s Academy.

Hamlet then narrated her horrifying experience with trafficking, which started at a very young age. “My life didn't start out looking very hopeful,” the survivor said. “I was born into a situation that set me up to fail. At the age of 8, I was introduced to drugs, and at the age of 12, I was exploited.”

But she found hope when she discovered WellSpring five years ago. “The people there loved and accepted me in such a way that I thought I was being set up,” Hamlet said. “Five years ago, I had no hope. ... Today, I'm filled with hope.”