White Lake Lawmaker Leading Fight Against 'Very Real' Problem of Human Trafficking

Eighteen pimps arrested last July in metro Detroit – more than in any other city in the 76-city FBI sweep – has confirmed what a White Lake lawmaker suspected when she introduced legislation better arming law enforcement in the fight against human trafficking:

Despite a severe lack of high-quality Michigan-specific human trafficking data, the state has a huge problem.

Rep. Eileen Kowall, R-White Lake, introduced HB 5012, which requires law enforcement to refer minors found to be engaged in prostitution to the Department of Human Services for appropriate treatment. A major tenet in the proposed legislation is the presumption is that the minor is a victim of human trafficking, which allows authorities to immediately act.

“Labor and sex trafficking combined have become the second largest organized crime in the world today, yet it goes on largely unnoticed and sometimes takes place right under our noses,” Kowall said when she announced she would be introducing the legislation.

Among the places authorities think human trafficking may be occurring is Fenton, where a massage parlor was locked down last week on suspicion of prostitution. The Lake Spa in Fenton advertises on the online classifieds site Backpage.com, which the National Association of Attorneys General says is the premier web site for human trafficking in the United States.

The recent annual report of the Michigan Commission on Human Trafficking has changed at least one lawmaker’s mind about the extent of the problem, according to an Observer & Eccentric report.

Rep. Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth Township, said he was worried that “we’re inventing a crisis where none really exists,” but the report convinced him “the problem is real.”

Heise has introduced HB 5026, which would provide safe harbor for minor sex trafficking victims by ensuring the state’s Department of Human Services treats them as victims instead of delinquents.

In the FBI sweep in July that resulted in the arrests of 18 pimps, 10 children forced into sex trade were recovered. The only city where more children were recovered was San Francisco, where 12 were rescued.

The Michigan task force’s report found that 20.9 million men, women and children worldwide are trafficked for sex or forced labor in what is akin to “modern-day slavery.”

The Michigan House passed both HB 5012 and HB 5026 and tie-barred them together. Also passed before the holiday recess was a resolution to amend the Federal Communications Decency Act to prohibit human traffickers to exploit victims on online classified sites, such as Backpage.com.

>>> Read the full report of the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission.