Rep. Smith Meets With Trump; Says Int'l Megan's Law Is Working

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Your local congressman, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ4) held a press conference with U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Tuesday, where he talked about the success of his 2008 bill, International Megan's law.

And on Friday, Smith joined President Trump, Vice President Pence, Ivanka Trump and Attorney General William Barr at the Human Trafficking Summit, which marks the 20th anniversary of Smith's first Human Trafficking Law.

In 2008, Smith introduced International Megan’s Law, named in honor of Megan Kanka of Hamilton, Smith's hometown. In a case that will live on in New Jersey infamy, Kanka was just 7 years old when she was kidnapped, raped and brutally murdered in 1994.

The man who raped and killed her lived right across the street. Unbeknownst to her family and other residents in the neighborhood, he was a convicted repeat sex offender. Megan's Law —where convicted New Jersey sex offenders must publicly register online — was created after her death.

International Megan's Law takes it one step further, said Smith this week. Now, convicted child sex offenders who travel abroad must provide notice to the U.S. government prior to departure of all planned destinations. Upon receipt of the travel itinerary, the U.S. government informs the destination country of those plans.

International Megan’s Law also requires the passport of convicted child sex offenders to carry this endorsement: “The Bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor and is a covered sex offender."

"The law is working," said Rep. Smith this week. "In just about two years, 10,541 covered sex offenders had been noticed by the U.S. government to foreign countries — and 3,681 individuals as of July who were convicted of sex crimes against children were denied entry into those nations."

"We know from law enforcement and media documentation that Americans on the U.S. sex offender registries are caught sexually abusing children in Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and, frankly, everywhere," he continued.

For example, at least 4,500 U.S. passports were issued to registered sex offenders in fiscal year 2008 alone, he said. Also, a passport is typically valid for 10 years.

A group called Truckers Against Trafficking was also in attendance on Tuesday; they aim to educate trains truck drivers to recognize and report instances of human trafficking; Smith called them "the eyes and ears on the highways."

Last January, Smith authored another bill that was signed into law by President Trump: The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act, which seeks to education young people about the dangers of human trafficking.

The law provides age-appropriate information to students on how to avoid becoming victims of sex and labor trafficking, and educates school staff to recognize and respond to signs of sex and labor trafficking.

Smith is also working with the airlines to train flight attendants, pilots and other personnel about how to identify signs of human trafficking. To date, there have been 117 airport training seminars, including at Newark International airport.