Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt rebuts Biden’s speech from kitchen table
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt called President Joe Biden a “dithering and diminished leader” in the Republican rebuttal to his State of the Union address.
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There is no better example of the damage done by President Joe Biden’s border policies than the story of Karla Jacinto, Sen, Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, told Americans last week.
The Senator recounted Jacinto’s experience Thursday evening as Britt provided a response to the State of the Union address for the Republican Party, sharing that she had heard the testimony of a woman who was sex trafficked by cartels at the age of 12 after traveling to the Del Rio sector of Texas, USA TODAY previously reported.
“We wouldn’t be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America, and it’s past time we start acting like it,” Britt said. “President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace.”
The anecdote, as told by Britt, was not entirely accurate.
Jacinto was a victim of child sex trafficking, but the series of events described by Britt took place in Mexico while former Republican President George W. Bush was in office, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.
The woman Britt mentioned in her response was not initially named, later confirming to the Associated Press that the details she divulged were part of Jacinto’s story.
People are still victims of “disgusting, brutal trafficking by the cartels,” Britt said.
Here’s what we know about Karla Jacinto, the anti-trafficking advocate whose story Katie Britt thrust into the spotlight.
Who is Karla Jacinto?
Karla Jacinto was a victim of child sex trafficking in Mexico, who now uses her voice to empower others.
“I work as a spokesperson for many victims who have no voice, and I really would like them to be empathetic: all the governors, all the senators, to be empathetic with the issue of human trafficking because there are millions of girls and boys who disappear all the time,” Jacinto told CNN.
Jacinto went on to say that Britt should have first taken into account “what really happens to people who are really trafficked and abused before telling a story of that magnitude.”
Jacinto was quick to correct the narrative, telling CNN Sunday that she was trafficked from 2004 to 2008 in Mexico. President Joe Biden was a senator then, not finishing his last term until January 2009.
She also said that she was not trafficked by Mexican drug cartels, but by a pimp who operated as part of a family that entrapped vulnerable girls to force them into prostitution, CNN reported.
Jacinto did confirm meeting Britt, explaining that they met an event at the southern border with other government officials and anti-human-trafficking activists, according to CNN.
How has Karla Jacinto responded?
This isn’t the first time politicians have used Karla Jacinto’s story to make a point, telling CNN that its happened in Mexico.
“I hardly ever cooperate with politicians, because it seems to me that they only want an image. They only want a photo — and that to me is not fair,” Jacinto reportedly said.
“Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream asked Britt on Sunday whether she meant “to give the impression that this horrible story happened on President Biden’s watch?,” USA TODAY reported.
Britt said no and that it was clear from her remarks she was referring to an event that took place years ago: “I didn’t say a teenager. I didn’t say a young woman. A grown woman, a woman, when she was trafficked when she was 12.
Britt went on to criticize immigration policies, including a pause on border wall construction and deportations. (Border wall construction resumed last fall, and Biden’s attempt to temporarily pause deportations was stopped by a judge.), USA TODAY reported.
Britt said the reason for mentioning Jacinto’s story was to raise awareness of sex trafficking, according to USA TODAY reporting.
“We have to tell those stories, and the liberal media needs to pay attention to it, because there are victims all the way coming to the border, there are victims at the border and then there are victims all throughout our country,” she said during the Fox interview.
