* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. SPEAKING EVERYONE, [00:00:01] THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY [Press Conference: "Human Trafficking Prevention Checks Presentation"] TO CELEBRATE THE GOOD THAT COMES WHEN COMMUNITIES COME TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER. I AM SABA, PA SHAUL WITH CITY OF HOUSTON, HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEMS. UH, TOGETHER WITH ME, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO RECOGNIZE OUR MAYOR, SYLVESTER TURNER, MR. JUDSON MURDOCH, CBP, DIRECTOR OF FIELD OPERATIONS, AND ALSO, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, DAVID ROBINSON, EDWARD POLLARD, SALLY ALCORN, TIFFANY THOMAS, AND ROBERT GALLEGOS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU. WE ALSO HAVE, UH, REP REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR CORNY. JAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, INCLUDING LEADERSHIP. MR. ANDY EON, HOUSTON CITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, MR. MARY O. DIAZ, DIRECTOR OF AVIATION FOR HOUSTON AIRPORTS, MR. BRIAN FRIEDMAN, PRESIDENT OF BAY AREA, HOUSTON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP, AND MY COLLEAGUE, MS. MINAL PATEL DAVIS, DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. AND ALSO WE CAN'T DO IT WITH OUR SPONSORS, ALLOW ME TO RECOGNIZE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR ESTEEMED SPONSORS, SCHLUMBERGER MARATHON OIL, NOV, HOUSTON, FIRST, THE PORT OF HOUSTON, AND OF COURSE, BEJA. AS YOU ALL KNOW, JANUARY IS DEDICATED TO THE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. THIS IS A VIOLENT AND DISTURBING CRIME THAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR BACKYARDS, NOT AT SOME FAR AWAY PLACES OR ONLY TO OTHER PEOPLE. FEDERAL STATISTICS SHOWS THAT 70% OF VICTIMS ARE TRAFFICKED, UNFORTUNATELY THROUGH TRA, THROUGH THROUGH AIRPORTS. UM, THAT IS WHY HOUSTON AIRPORT IS COMMITTED AND DEDICATED TO THIS FIGHT. IF YOU RECALL, IN NOVEMBER, WE AMPLIFIED ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING EFFORTS THROUGH AN UNPRECEDENTED PARTNERSHIPS. WE HAD MAYORS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, BIPARTISAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, FAITH LEADERS, ADVOCACY GROUPS, AND OF COURSE SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. THIS WAS TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER THE PUBLIC. FROM THIS ONE EVENT, WE WERE ABLE TO TRAIN OVER 450 PARTICIPANTS TO PROACTIVELY TAKE, UM, ACTION SHOULD THEY SUSPECT OR ENCOUNTER ANY KIND OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. WE ALSO RAISED $30,000 THANKS FOR ANSWERS TO HELP FUND THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE SUPPORTING SURVIVORS. I AM VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT TODAY WE SHALL BE PRESENTING $10,000 CHECKS TO BRIDGE OVER WATER, OVER TRAVEL WATER. RED M UNBOUND. NOW HOUSTON. THANK YOU, MA'AM. TOGETHER WE WILL END HUMAN. WE ARE HERE TOGETHER AND THIS IS A TESTAMENT THAT IN NUMBERS, THEIR STRENGTH AND IN KNOWLEDGE, THERE'S POWER. MAYOR, THE CITY'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS ARE SAVING LIVES AND HAS BEEN A GREAT MODEL TO OTHER COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. LOOK, LET ME JUST START OFF BY THANKING SABA FOR HER, FOR HER LEADERSHIP, HER HER DIRECT INVOLVEMENT, UH, IN HELPING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. AND PLEASE GIVE IT UP TO SABA. OKAY. SHE IS VERY, VERY, VERY COMMITTED TO EFFORTS AND SO I APPRECIATE HER LEADERSHIP. UM, AND THEN LEMME JUST SAY IT WOULD NOT ALSO BE HAPPENING WITHOUT THE DIRECTOR OF A HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM. SO, MARIO DIAZ HAS BEEN VERY, VERY ENGAGED, UH, IN THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. GIVE IT UP TO MARIO DIAZ. LOOK, I CAN'T RECALL WHEN, UH, WHEN WE WERE AT ELEPHANT FIELD, UH, IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR. THE TURNOUT WAS TREMENDOUS. UH, THE SUPPORT COMING FROM ALL SPECTRUMS, UH, WAS VERY, VERY VISIBLE. UH, AND THERE WAS NO QUESTION THAT EVERYONE WAS COMMITTED IN ADDRESSING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN, UH, TO, UH, ELIMINATE, UH, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND GET DOWN TO ZERO TO THE ZERO LEVEL. UH, I WANT TO THANK WHEN WE, WHEN I FIRST CAME INTO OFFICE, UH, SEVEN PLUS YEARS AGO, UH, THE COMMITMENT ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING. AND SO I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND GIVE IT AND, UH, AND GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO MEENA PATEL DAVIS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. LOOK, SO LEMME JUST SAY GOOD MORNING TO EVERYONE AND TO ALL YOU FOR JOINING US AS WE RECOGNIZE HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH. UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M JOINED BY A NUMBER OF FOLK, UH, WHO ARE HERE. I WILL BE REMISS NOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AGAIN, UM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, BECAUSE IT DOES TAKE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. UH, AND WE MEET AND WE ARE SINGULARLY FOCUSED ON ADDRESSING THIS. AND AS [00:05:01] YOU CAN TELL, WITH THE REPRESENTATION FROM CITY COUNCIL, IT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. REPRESENTATIVE SALLY ALCORN, REP, HARM REP, REP REPRESENTATIVE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT THEM TO BE REPRESENTATIVES AT THIS TIME. UH, TIFFANY THOMAS, DAVID ROBINSON, ROBERT D***S, EDWARD POLLARD. UH, SO PLEASE GIVE IT UP TO THESE COUNCIL MEMBERS. AGAIN, LOOK, UH, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL BE RECEIVING, UH, UH, UH, THESE, THIS FINANCIAL SUPPORT, UH, CERTAINLY WORTHY OF IT. THEY HAVE DONE SOME INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE WORK. AND SO ANYTIME WE CAN SOW SEED INTO WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS A PLUS. SO I DO AGAIN, WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE UNBOUND NOUN BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER AND RED IN MP, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING AND THE WORK THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO. GIVE IT UP TO HIM ONE MORE TIME. YOU KNOW, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH ALSO PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REAFFIRM THIS ADMINISTRATION'S COMMITMENT SINCE MY FIRST YEAR AS MAYOR, UH, TO ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN OUR CITY THROUGHOUT NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, UH, MUNICIPAL RESPONSE. UH, THIS OFFICE HAS WORKED TO INSTITUTIONALIZE THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S RESPONSE HUMAN TRAFFICKING BY MOBILIZING TO DATE 10 CITY OF HOUSTON DEPARTMENTS AND DIVISIONS TO EMBED A TRAFFICKING RESPONSE IN THEIR DAY TO DAY DUTIES. UH, THIS ENCOMPASSES WORK AT THE POLICY LEVEL SUCH AS OUR ANTI-TRAFFICKING, HOTEL ORDINANCE AND SCREENINGS OR POTENTIAL VICTIMS BY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT CLINICIANS. SECURING PUBLIC PRIVATE FUNDS, UH, HAS BEEN CRUCIAL IN THIS WORK AS WE LEVERAGE THESE DOLLARS TO INNOVATE AND BRIDGE GAPS RATHER THAN DUPLICATE EXISTING EFFORTS. SINCE THE CREATION OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, WHICH NOW INCLUDES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, WE HAVE RAISED OVER $8 MILLION IN PUBLIC PRIVATE FUNDS. AND BECAUSE OF THESE DOLLARS, WE COULD INVEST IN NEW SOLUTIONS, PROVE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND CEMENT THEIR INSTITUTIONALLY AS PART OF OUR COORDINATED RESPONSE. THIS INCLUDES OUR COUNTY HEALTHCARE PARTNERS, UH, HIRING A FULL-TIME POSITION TO SCREEN AND PROVIDE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. AFTER WE SECURED A TWO YEAR, TWO YEARS OF FUNDING FOR A PSYCHOLOGY FELLOW, WE KNOW THAT THIS, THAT THIS WORK CANNOT BE DONE ALONE, WHICH IS WHY THIS OFFICE HAS ALSO DISTRIBUTED FUNDS TO PARTNER NONPROFITS TO ENSURE A COORDINATED ANTI-TRAFFICKING RESPONSE. THAT LIST INCLUDES THE LANDING UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING 1211 PARTNERS. AND BECAUSE OF OUR LONGSTANDING WORK TO MOBILIZE CITY OF HOUSTON DEPARTMENTS AND DIVISIONS, I AM EXCITED TO SEE HOUSTON AIRPORTS SELF MOBILIZE AND TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO LEVERAGE THEIR POSITION TO SUPPORT OUR LARGER FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING. I CANNOT APPLAUD THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM ENOUGH AND THE LEADERSHIP OF MARIO. AND WITH, WITH, UH, SAABAS SUPPORT IN GRANTING UNBOUND NOW BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER AND RED M $10,000 EAST TO ADVANCE THEIR MISSION. AND I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE SPONSORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT. UH, DURING MY TIME IN OFFICE, HOUSTON HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES TO STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING. OUR HOPE IS THAT THE LIGHT WE HAVE IGNITED WILL CONTINUE TO GUIDE A PATH FORWARD. DURING AVIATION DIRECTORS MARIO DIAZ LEADERSHIP, HOUSTON BECAME THE FIRST AIRPORT SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY TO FORMALLY PARTNER WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO TRAIN AIRPORT EMPLOYEES ON HOW TO HELP HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. MARIO, YOU'VE DONE SOME INCREDIBLE WORK. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE PLANES TAKE OFF AND LAND SAFELY, BUT IT'S ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO GO IN AND OUT OF OUR AIRPORT CAN GO TO THEIR HOMES SAFELY AND THAT WE RID OURSELVES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. SO, I APPLAUD YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. I THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS, UM, AND, AND I KNOW, UH, THAT THIS WORK WILL CONTINUE UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP. SO LET ME NOW INTRODUCE TO YOU, I BRING TO YOU MARIO DIAZ. THANK YOU MAYOR TURNER. AND, AND TO SABA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT AND COMMITMENT TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT CAUSE. YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE STARTED IN THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM AND THROUGH THE AIRPORT SYSTEM ITSELF IS MAKING A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE AS WILL BE WITNESSED HERE TODAY. NOW IN LINE WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY, HOUSTON AIRPORTS IS COMMITTED TO FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFIC. WE STAND IN SUPPORT OF THE VICTIMS FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME, AND WE ASSIST IN THE DETECTION [00:10:01] AND REPORTING OF ALL SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES. LIKE SALA HAS SAID, IN 2019, HOUSTON BECAME THE FIRST AIRPORT SYSTEM IN THE US TO PARTNER WITH DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AND ITS BLUE LIGHTNING INITIATIVE. IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM HAS TRAINED, AS THE MAYOR SAID, MORE THAN 20,000 BADGED EMPLOYEES TO HOW TO IDENTIFY AND SAFELY REPORT HUMAN TRAFFICKING. IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM, UM, HAS ARMED ITS EMPLOYEES WITH LIFE SAVING SKILLS, UM, WHO CAN SPEAK UP, UM, WHEN THEY SHOULD. IF THEY SUSPECT ANYONE IS IN DANGER, WHETHER OUR OUR TERMINALS OR THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITIES, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE THAT LIFE SAVING TRAINING CONTINUES. HUMAN TRAFFICK, INABA HAS SAID IS NOT A CRIME THAT'S EXCLUSIVE TO FAR OFF PLACES OR HOLLYWOOD. UM, LOUIS PLOTS DURING OUR COMMUNITY-WIDE TRAINING IN NOVEMBER, I HEARD FROM LOCAL SURVIVORS, THEY COURAGEOUSLY SHARED STORIES OF HOW THEY WERE TARGETED AND GROOMED BY CRIMINAL OPERATING, OPERATING IN OUR COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE HOUSTON AREA. THEY SPOKE OF THE RESOLVE AND THE RESOURCES IT TOOK FOR THEM TO SAFELY ESCAPE THEIR CAPTORS. THEIR STORIES ARE WHY I AM INCREDIBLY PROUD OF HOUSTON AIRPORTS AND THE PARTNERSHIP WE ARE CREATING AND FOSTERING. THE MISSION OF THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM IS TO CONNECT THE BE PEOPLE, BUSINESS, CULTURES, AND ECONOMIES OF THE WORLD TO HOUSTON, BUT TO DO IT IN A SAFE MANNER FOR ALL TRAVELERS IN CONNECTIONS THAT MAKES HOUSTON STRONGER AND SAFER. SABA, THANK YOU MAYOR MARIO. THANK YOU. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, HOMELAND SECURITY, WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOU. NOW I'D LIKE TO BRING BRIAN FRIEDMAN, THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE BAY AREA HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP TO KINDLY PRESENT THE CHECKS THAT WE HAVE. THANK YOU. AND GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS BRIAN FRIEDMAN. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE BAY AREA HOUSTON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP. MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE. UM, MARIO AND SABA, THANK YOU. AND ALL THE AIRPORT SYSTEM, UH, HAS DONE TO ADVANCE, UM, IN ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. THE BERRY HOUSTON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP WAS EXCITED TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THE AIRPORT SYSTEM, UH, TO BE A PARTNER IN THIS EVENT. UH, AND NOW I'M EXCITED TO PRESENT, UH, THE CHECKS AND, UH, OUR WAY OF SAYING THANK YOU TO THE GREAT FOLKS WHO ARE AT THE FRONT LINES OF ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. FIRST UP, I THINK I'D LIKE TO INVITE THE BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS TO JOIN US. I'D NOW LIKE TO INVITE UP THE TEAM FROM UNBOUND, NOW HOUSTON, AND NOW THE TEAM FROM RED IN SPITE OF YEAR . [00:15:54] LOOK, THEN LET ME, UH, LET ME THANK ALL OF YOU, UH, FOR BEING PRESIDENT. AND AGAIN, SA LET ME THANK YOU FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE LEADERSHIP. YEAH, PLEASE GIVE IT. SO, OKAY, I THINK WE ARE. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. STAY SAFE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.