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What Fuels Human Trafficking Into Arizona?

360 Javier Osorio
AZPM Staff
Javier Osorio with Lorraine Rivera in the Arizona 360 studio.

The number of children and families apprehended in Custom and Border Protection's Yuma Sector has doubled over the last fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Unaccompanied minors taken into custody went from 2,229 to 4,762. Agents have also apprehended 10,736 family units, an increase of 127 percent from the previous fiscal year. Border Patrol agents claim many are victims of human trafficking. We explored the issue with insight from Javier Osorio, an associate professor at the University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy, who's an expert on criminal violence in Latin America.