Congress to look at human trafficking
 
By Mike Weland
Kootenai Valley Press
 
Last summer, Idaho legislators met with local elected officials and one of the concerns raised by Bonners Ferry Mayor Darrell Kerby was the apparent arrival in Boundary County a splinter group of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, FLDS, after a schism in the group brought about by fugitive leader Warren Jeffs.

"Right now, we don’t know a lot," Kerby said in a recent interview. "There are a lot of questions and we need to know the truth of what we’re facing so we can take appropriate action, if necessary."

On Wednesday, March 30, the legislature took its first step in determining what the truth is, forming an interim study committee to look into allegations of human trafficking in Idaho, not only as a result of former residents of Bountiful moving to Boundary County, but reports that men are bringing wives from other countries to the Nampa area and forcing them into prostitution or slave labor.

"I can’t really tell you much," said Representative George Eskridge, who advocated the formation of the study group. "We passed a House resolution that sets up the committee to look into human trafficking in Idaho. We want to see where it’s occurring and develop legislation to bring it to an end."

Kerby brought the issue to the attention of House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, who called for the formation of the study group, telling Congressional leaders, "I didn’t think there was a problem in the state of Idaho until we went to Bonners Ferry."

The concerns over the influx of members of the FLDS into Boundary County, led by former "Bishop of Bountiful" Winston Blackmore after his ouster at the hands of Jeffs, include the alleged transporting of underage girls between FLDS compounds in Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Texas and Bountiful, British Columbia, for arranged marriages as "celestial brides" to often much older and already married men, some with several wives.

A federal law targeting human trafficking was passed five years ago, asking states to pass complementary laws. According to Eskridge, formation of the study group is the first step in this process.
 
kvpress.com
Originally published April 6, 2005
 
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