Witnesses on Tuesday told the House Homeland Security about the inhumane conditions faced by unaccompanied migrant children who cross the southern border, many of whom are trafficked before and after entering the country.
Witnesses included a human trafficking expert, the former high-ranking official at an unaccompanied minor site, and a retired border patrol agent. Together, their testimony painted a grim picture.
Ali Hopper, a human trafficking expert, said she visited a path used by migrants lined with what cartels refers to as “rape trees,” areas where minor migrants are forced to perform sexual acts to help pay for their journey. According to Hopper, underwear hung from the branches of one such tree.
Hopper said the pathway was also lined with discarded passports and other IDs, “often burned, torn, or buried,” including the passport of a five-year old Colombian girl. While…
