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ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr says the federal government is awarding more than $100 million in grants to target human trafficking.
The money will go to task forces combatting human trafficking, to victim services and victim housing.
Barr made the announcement Monday in Atlanta with presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
“This is one of the top enforcement priorities of the department and we’re on the forefront of this fight,” Barr said.
President Donald Trump’s administration in August awarded $35 million in Justice Department grants to organizations that provide safe housing for victims of human trafficking.
“It’s only by cooperating with all our partners, our state and local partners and those in the private sector that we’re going to be able to make any progress and ultimately end the victimization of those boys and girls,” Barr said.
The wife of the Republican Kemp, Marty Kemp, has made human trafficking a focus of her work as Georgia’s first lady.
“The governor and the first lady here have been second to none in the nation in taking this fight on and working closely with the federal government and I really appreciate that,” Barr said.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said grants are already helping to pay for agents on a state task force that investigates human trafficking.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, an elected Republican, said money for housing for victims is crucial, saying it “means safety and it means security, and it means wraparound services.”