Human Trafficking

Organizers of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking are hosting a cross-continental "prayer marathon" Feb. 8 to pray for an economy free of exploited, trafficked persons. ​​​​​​​

Mexican officials found 19 charred bodies in two burned-out vehicles Jan. 23 in municipality of Camargo, an area rife with organized crime activity, which sits opposite the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It's considered a popular spot for smugglers working with organized criminal groups to move migrants across the border.

As the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 marked its 20th year Oct. 28, the Catholic congressman who wrote it -- and four other anti-trafficking laws in the intervening years -- celebrated the historic legislation that holds every nation on the globe "to account on human trafficking matters."

Pope Francis encouraged people to put themselves in the shoes of victims of human trafficking.