SOTU| Agent who fights human trafficking Trump guest

WASHINGTON (AP)

A special agent who works to combat human trafficking is among President Donald Trump’s State of the Union guests.

Elvin Hernandez works in the New York office of Homeland Security Investigations. He and his colleagues began targeting a violent pipeline for prostitution through Tenancingo (ten-ahn-SEEN’-go), Mexico, in 2012. The final defendants were sentenced last month to decades in prison.

Trump has pushed the idea that human trafficking is a major reason why he needs $5.7 billion for a border wall, even though most trafficking victims come through ports of entry, according to data from the International Organization for Migration.

In total, Hernandez said during one investigation he and his colleagues brought down more than 80 defendants; rescued more than 150 victims, including 45 minors; and reunified 19 children with their mothers.