It is here in our state, in our counties, even in our neighborhoods in some cases. Human slavery is at the epidemic level here and now. That really sucks. That should not be tolerated in any society. We fought a civil war in our country over slavery. Why is it happening now?
Some reports say it is actually worse now than it was in pre civil-war America. How can that be? We don’t see it. It isn’t obvious. We don’t see people in chains and shackles out working the fields.
However, in Tennessee, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were 110 cases reported in 2017. Those are just the ones we know about. No doubt, there are more that we don’t know about. Hundreds of tips are pouring into the state’s human trafficking hotline in Nashville.
Just so you know, in 2017, the hotline received 323 tips. Fast forward to 2019 and it more than doubled to 720 tips.
Homeland Security and ICE Special Agent, Robert Hammer said, “This is not a rich, poor problem, not a black and white problem, not a citizen, non-citizen problem, this is just a problem impacting all the communities across Tennessee.”
Why aren’t our politicians making this a priority? I read an article recently that said right here in northeast Tennessee we have parents selling their children to sex traffickers in exchange for drugs. The shocking part for me was the wording in the article. It used the word epidemic. Can you believe that?
Right here in northeast Tennessee there is an epidemic of parents selling their children for drugs. That is horrible. If I am elected to Congress in the 1st District I will make this my main priority.
I will research, investigate, probe, and inquire in a big way as to why this is happening, how it is happening, and mostly what can we do to stop it. Your vote for me will help to keep our children safe.
Steve Holder 