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President Donald Trump on Jan. 31 signed an executive order on combating human trafficking, including the creation of a new White House position that will be dedicated to the task.
Trump has made combating human trafficking a key goal of his administration and has often spoke publicly about the issue. He signed the executive order upon the conclusion of a White House summit on human trafficking, while surrounded by administration officials, members of Congress, and trafficking survivors.
At the event, which ran for roughly 25 minutes, the president said it was a “historic” day, and praised the passion of the advocates and supporters in the room. He declared his administration “100 percent committed to eradicating human trafficking from the earth,” and called it a form of “modern-day slavery.”
A candidate has yet to be picked for the new post, which will be part of the Domestic Policy Council, officials said.
Trump, during a “shoutout” portion of his remarks, said that while there were a number of senators who “wanted to be here,” it was the day the Senate voted to block witnesses from being called in the president’s impeachment trial.
In his speech, he also thanked his daughter Ivanka Trump, who also is a senior adviser, for her efforts on both the human trafficking issue and jobs, saying, “She has taken this under her wing.” Ivanka stood on stage alongside her father.
Earlier in January, Ivanka Trump toured housing that had been provided for trafficking victims in Atlanta.
“This issue has been so important to her—this, and being sure people are ready to work,” Trump said.
Trafficking is a global, daily issue hidden in plain sight. About 1 in 800 people in the United States are living in “modern slavery,” according to 2018 data by the Walk Free Foundation. The phrase is a broad term used to describe victims of forced labor, sexual exploitation or servitude, and forced marriages, among numerous other abuses.