Oliver Harper: [0:11] It's my great pleasure to have been asked yesterday to introduce Cindy McCain and Governor Christie. The Harpers have had the special privilege of being friends with the McCains for many years, social friends, political friends, and great admirers of the family. [0:33] Cindy is a remarkable person. She's known for her incredible service to the community, to the country, and to the world. She has a passion for doing things right and making the world better. [0:48] Cindy, after her education at USC in special ed, became a teacher at Agua Fria High School in special ed and had a successful career there. She also progressed to become the leader of the family company, Hensley & Company, and continues to lead them to great heights. [1:13] Cindy's interest in the world and special issues has become very apparent over the years. She serves on the board of the HALO Trust. She serves on the board of Operation Smile and of CARE. [1:31] Her special leadership as part of the McCain Institute and her special interest and where her heart is now is in conquering the terrible scourge of human trafficking and bringing those victims of human trafficking to a full, free life as God intended them to have. [1:57] I want to tell you just a quick personal experience with the McCains. Sharon and I will socialize with them often. We'll say, "What are you going to be doing next week, Sharon or Ollie?" [2:10] Then we'll ask the McCains what they're doing. She'll say, "John's in Afghanistan. I'm going to the eastern Congo. We'll be back next weekend. We'll see you then." Anyway, it's a remarkable privilege to be able to introduce Cindy. [2:24] Governor Christie, what a star he is on the political horizon. He just had a tremendous victory in New Jersey, a resounding victory in a state where his party was in the great minority. He proved himself a hero, a leader, and a man of the people during the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy. He showed up. He did what was right. He embraced people. He helped them on the road to rebuilding. He really became America's Governor for a period of time. [3:04] Governor Christie, born and raised in New Jersey, only left New Jersey to live in Delaware for four years, when he went to the University of Delaware. Met his wonderful wife, Mary Pat, there. He then came back. He entered significant public service when he was appointed as United States Attorney in September of 2001, and had a very successful career as a US Attorney, with a record of something like 130 convictions and no acquittals. [3:42] He's done a remarkable job for the State of New Jersey. If you'd permit me, I'm going to read a quote of his that he had in his address to the Republican convention, which sums up what he's all about. [4:01] The quote. "We are the great grandchildren of the people who broke their backs in the name of American ingenuity, the grandchildren of the Greatest Generation, the sons and daughters of immigrants, the brothers and sisters of everyday heroes. The neighbors of entrepreneurs and firefighters, teachers, farmers, veterans, factory workers, and everyone in between who shows up not just on the big days, but on the bad days and the hard days, each and every day, all 365 of them." [4:33] Governor Chris Christie shows up in force, all 365. It's my great pleasure, now, to introduce Cindy McCain and Governor Chris Christie. [4:45] [applause] Cindy McCain: [4:59] Thank you very much. Oliver: [5:01] You bet. Governor. Cindy: [5:07] Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming. Before we get going...I know I have a lot of questions for Governor Christie, but I'd like our Arizona Human Trafficking Task Force members to please stand up, show your faces, and let us acknowledge you for the hard work that you have done on this. [5:26] [applause] Cindy: [5:36] It's just the beginning. Governor, thank you so much for being here. Governor Chris Christie: [5:41] My pleasure. Cindy: [5:42] We, as a group of people that are working specifically on human trafficking, look to you this year because New Jersey has the next run at the Super Bowl, so we'd like to hear from you about not only what's going on, but how you have accomplished what you have accomplished in this short time, and what your goal is, the long-term goal. Gov. Christie: [6:04] First off, it's hard, I think, for folks in this country to grasp the fact that the Super Bowl is the biggest human trafficking event of the year in the United States. It's extraordinary to think that we will have young women, young men enslaved by folks who are coming to enjoy a football game. [6:34] The connection is interesting, because it's really almost any big event that this happens in. I can go through some of the legislation that we've passed, some of the work that we've done. I'm sure we'll talk about that over the course of our conversation. But the biggest thing for people here to make sure you grasp is why this is so difficult to uncover. [6:59] Remember that most of these young men and women come from countries where law enforcement is corrupt. When they come to this country, usually under the promise of a better life, a free life, a prosperous life in America...They get here. Their passports are taken. All their identity is stolen. They're put into either the sex trade or sometimes other types of involuntary servitude 12-14 hours a day. [7:35] It's not only that they fear for their family back home. Most of the time, what these folks will do is threaten them by saying, "We know where your mother lives. We know where your father lives. We know where your brothers and sisters are. If you don't do what we tell you, we'll have them killed." Imagine being a 15, 16, 17, 18 year old young man or woman, and being faced with that choice. [8:01] Secondly, they don't go to law enforcement because they think law enforcement's part of the problem, because in their countries law enforcement is corrupt. People say, "Why don't they say something when they run across a police officer or someone that could help them?" Well, they believe that they're all in the...and the captors reinforce that belief. They know the culture in their home country, and they reinforce the belief. [8:23] The reason this is so problematic and difficult is that normal law enforcement techniques are relatively ineffective in this way. That's why we have to do a lot of other different things that we've been trying to do. When you also bring into it the event of a Super Bowl, all the hundreds of thousands of people, both who work the event and who are going to the event, who come into an area like New Jersey or, next year, like here in Arizona, law enforcement is focused on a lot of other things. [8:55] Part of what our effort is in New Jersey and what yours is going to be here is to make sure that we put some of that focus on preventing this, because this ruins lives. It absolutely ruins lives. Cindy: [9:07] It does. You did some interesting things with your legislation, though. You have encouraged the use of the hotline and the posting of the hotline. You've encouraged a whole lot of things that are what I view as part of the NGO community in all of this. I think that's innovative, and I also think it's really necessary. [9:28] We're hoping that our governor does the same thing. She's been a remarkable supporter on this for us. We hope to have good things come out of this. [9:38] What is the difficulty in your proximity to Manhattan? How does this wind into this? Gov. Christie: [9:43] It's the situation that we have in New Jersey, and then our proximity to New York City also. First, start with New Jersey. We are the most densely populated state in America. Secondly, we are the most ethnically diverse state in America. [9:58] What does this mean for human trafficking? What it means is that you can hide in plain sight. No matter what ethnicity you are, there is a neighborhood in New Jersey -- usually a dense, urban neighborhood in New Jersey -- where you look like everybody else and you sound like everybody else. As a result, for law enforcement it's very difficult to discern who might be there by choice and who's there through coercion. [10:27] Secondly then, with New York City, the airports in New York and New Jersey, the three major airports -- Kennedy, La Guardia, and Newark Liberty -- combined, are the busiest air traffic point in the country. Policing those people coming in and out is incredibly challenging. [10:48] You add the ethnic diversity and density of New York City, and the ease of movement over the Hudson River, the opportunity to hide folks and to evade law enforcement is incredible.