Houston Daily

U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the bipartisan Task Force on Enhancing Security for Special Events, led a hearing focused on human trafficking at mass gatherings. The session, titled "A Scourge Against Humanity: Addressing Human Trafficking at Mass Gatherings," included testimony from leaders in law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and survivor networks.

During the hearing, McCaul discussed the Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign with Eliza McCoy, vice president of programs and impact at the American Hotel and Lodging Association Foundation. He asked about the campaign's progress in combating human trafficking.

McCoy responded: "Thank you. Yes, I'm happy to. We are strong partners with the DHS Blue Campaign. We meet regularly to align our tactics and strategies and training and community outreach and awareness-raising. And we certainly think they continue to benefit from our ongoing support, particularly as they are making great strides in integrating survivor perspective and lived experience in the work that they do, and we are happy to stand alongside them in those efforts."

McCaul also raised concerns about nearly 500,000 unaccompanied children who entered the U.S. under the previous administration, highlighting their vulnerability to human trafficking. He stated: "Over the last four to five years, we've had almost 500,000 unaccompanied children that came into this country — primarily at the hands of drug cartels, sex traffickers. It was one of the largest human trafficking events in the United States, really, of our lifetime."

Jonathan Thompson, executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs' Association, commented on data challenges related to these cases: "Mr. Chairman,you've taped [and] bookended the situation very well. We believe it is about 400,000. We don't know. Let's be honest. The records that were developed and usedfrom all indications and all reports and briefings I've received from the government are deeply disturbing, [as is] our inability to find [them] and assure this Congress and the nation's public that these individuals are not dead or being trafficked in one way, shape or form... What I can tell you that we're looking at with the administration is how do we get our arms around the data... And those two steps alone are incredibly labor and financially costly..."

The hearing also featured Courtney Litvak, a survivor of human trafficking who now directs survivor leader initiatives at No Trafficking Zone. She described how criminal enterprises operate during major events like Super Bowls or World Cup games:

"Absolutely. Thank you, Chairman McCaul... I'm so blessed to work alongside the No Trafficking Zone because we are truly a survivor-led and trauma-informed organization... My traffickers specifically would study the laws... In Harris County alone... there's an average of over 200 runaway minors daily... So my lived experience in NRG Park and in surrounding hotels... I was trafficked during Super Bowl 2017..."

She added insights on how organized crime networks operate across different levels—from street gangs to corporate actors—and highlighted gaps in law enforcement resources.

McCaul concluded by emphasizing that efforts should target all levels within trafficking organizations: "...in this case we shouldn't just go after the lowest level of these organizations. We need to go up to the very top..."

Congressman McCaul has maintained his seat through several election cycles; he won against Theresa Boisseau in 2024 with 63.6% of votes (221 votes versus 118), continuing a series of victories since 2014.