FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 1, 2015
Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216
Las Cruces, NM – As part of his commitment to combat human trafficking, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announced today the award of $1.5 million in federal grant funding to combat human trafficking in New Mexico. The collaborative grants will fund efforts across New Mexico to fight human trafficking, provide services for victims and expand research.
New Mexico is one of 16 sites selected for an anti-trafficking task force award, receiving $1.5 million to support law enforcement efforts and victims’ services for the next three years.
“Human trafficking, modern-day slavery, is not someone else’s problem; it’s happening across New Mexico, in our communities and in our neighborhoods. The callous disregard of traffickers for the lives of their victims is a tragedy and we cannot delay in acting to end it,” said New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas. “My office is committed to cracking down on violent offenders in New Mexico and on criminals who prey on our most vulnerable citizens.”
Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States, made the following remarks announcing the grant awards, “I am pleased to announce that the Department of Justice is expanding our support by awarding $44 million in grant funding to combat human trafficking. These grants – administered by the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime and the National Institute of Justice – will fund efforts across the country to fight human trafficking, to provide services for survivors and to expand research going forward. The grants include nearly $23 million as part of a DOJ initiative called the Enhanced Collaborative Model, which is designed to bring together law enforcement and victims’ services providers to address human trafficking in a comprehensive way.”
For more information on the Department of Justice grant, visit http://ojp.gov/ovc/grants/pdftxt/FY15_ECM_Competitive_Solicitation-508.pdf.
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