GOVERNOR PERRY TARGETS HUMAN TRAFFICKING

  

This past Saturday an unidentified man from Mexico was killed while 22 others were injured in Fayette County, when the pickup truck they were riding in rolled over.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s office has reported several traps involving pickup trucks and other vehicles, crammed with people traveling through the county, and often, according to Lt. David Beyer of the Fayette County Sheriff’s office, these are people who have entered the country illegally.

The activity is known as human trafficking, something that Gov. Rick Perry said yesterday (Tuesday) was a form of modern day slavery.

The governor launched a statewide advertising campaign to combat human trafficking in Texas.  He said the campaign would consist of public service billboards in 15 Texas cities.  The campaign would also include radio and television advertisements.

The campaign is a joint venture between the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition, Outdoor Advertising of Texas and the FBI.

In 2011 Gov. Perry signed into law two bills that increased penalties for individuals  who commit human trafficking offenses in Texas.  Gov. Perry says human traffickers were ‘the very worst of criminals.’