Fri, Nov 3rd, 2023 - 2:40pm
November 07, 2023 - 4:50pm | By Tom Tucker
(Fargo, ND) -- U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven are among a group of senators introducing legislation they say is aimed at combating human trafficking and child recycling.
The bill is called the Preventing the Recycling of Immigrants is Necessary for Trafficking Suspension (PRINTS) Act.
The legislation would empower Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to fingerprint non-citizens under the age of 14 to combat trafficking and child recycling.
It would also require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publicly report the number of apprehensions in a given month involving child traffickers who falsely claimed an accompanying child was a relative.
Additionally, the PRINTS Act would criminalize child recycling; require DHS to submit an annual report to Congress identifying the number of minors who were fingerprinted; and remove the Attorney General’s authority to waive fingerprinting requirements for those illegally crossing the southern border.
“The exploitation by traffickers at the southern border is vile,” said Senator Cramer. “Fingerprinting minors is a step to stop child trafficking and protect vulnerable children at the border.”
Current DHS regulation and federal law prohibit CBP agents from fingerprinting children under the age of 14.
