Tillerson, Ivanka Trump to release report on human trafficking
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will unveil the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report alongside first daughter Ivanka Trump on Tuesday. Ms. Trump is expected to give remarks at the event, which will be held at the State Department at 10:30 a.m.
The State Department describes the TIP Report as "the U.S. Government's principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking." The department uses the report to address human trafficking issues in dialogues with foreign governments. The report sorts every nation into one of three tiers based on each government's efforts to eliminate human trafficking.
On Monday, the Department of State Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons tweeted photos of the report being printed.
Ms. Trump has identified ending human trafficking as one of the policy issues she will be working on as an Assistant to the President. Her first White House meeting on ending human trafficking was in February, and included leaders from International Justice Mission, United Way, Hope for Justice and others.
In that meeting, President Trump thanked his daughter and national security aide Dina Powell for organizing the event. Mr. Trump went on to call human trafficking an "epidemic" and said his administration will work to end it.
"I am prepared to bring the full force and weight of our government to the federal and at the federal level, and the other highest levels, whatever we can do, in order to solve this horrific problem," he said.
Ms. Trump later convened an additional meeting in May with representatives from some of the same anti-trafficking organizations, as well as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-California, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, and other members of Congress. Ms. Trump called the issue a "major priority" for the Trump administration.
A White House official said Ms. Trump is pushing for funding of the State Department's current anti-trafficking programs, even though Mr. Trump's budget proposal seeks to cut funding at the State Department by 28 percent.
CBS' Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
