Civil rights meeting focuses on human trafficking

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Federal prosecutors in Kansas and Missouri have formed teams to fight human trafficking in the area.

The Kansas City Star reports that efforts to fight human trafficking were announced Friday during a civil rights symposium in Kansas City, Kan.

Thomas Perez, an assistant attorney general in Washington, heads the civil rights division for the U.S. Department of Justice. He attended the symposium and called for help from police and private groups that work with immigrants and victims.

Perez said human trafficking is an epidemic.

Cynthia Cordes, an assistant federal prosecutor in Kansas City, said the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri has filed more such cases than any other federal district because of a task force formed in 2006 to find human trafficking cases and prosecute it.


Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com