Dottie Laster on Panel at Human Trafficking Summit

Human Trafficking Summit

Hosted by Texas State Representative Todd Hunter,

Del Mar College and Victoria College

Dottie Laster of Laster Global has been invited to participate in the panel discussion at the Human Trafficking Summit on Thursday, March 29 at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas.

During the 81st Legislative session, Todd Hunter served as the Chairman of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committee. While serving as Chairman of the committee, he was shocked to learn about the human trafficking issue currently present in Texas. It quickly became clear that this is an issue that Texas needs to focus on and strive to shutdown in all its forms. During the 82nd Texas Regular Legislative Session, Rep. Hunter filed and passed House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 68, which was signed on June 17, by Governor Rick Perry.

The U.S. State Department estimates that 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year by criminals. It is also estimated that approximately 20 percent of those individuals go through the State of Texas. In fact, Houston and El Paso are listed among the “most intense trafficking jurisdictions in the country” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

As part of the U.S. Attorney’s Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance, task force, Laster has trained over 5,000 police officers on the issue of Human Trafficking and worked directly with adult and child victims of trafficking. She was selected by the US Attorney’s Office to be certified by the Department of Justice to train law enforcement and others on human trafficking. She is the co founder of San Antonio’s Coalition Against Human Trafficking and the past Administrator of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force. Dottie Laster has successfully written for over $6.5 million in grants to assist children and victims of human trafficking.

Dottie Laster, the Anti-Trafficking Coordinator with the Bernardo Kohler Center, is an accredited representative recognized by the Bureau of Immigration Appeals under BKC. She is a nationally recognized expert in the field of human trafficking. She has been trained by the Department of Justice to train law enforcement on human trafficking. She has been the architect and leader of human trafficking task forces and coalitions in many cities in Texas and California. In her 8 year career she has been directly and indirectly responsible for the rescue and service of over 200 victims of trafficking in the United States. She is credentialed to practice immigration law.