Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said he was proud to participate in the president's Human Trafficking Summit at the White House Friday with President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump, who organized the event.

"It was an honor to represent Georgia at today's Presidential Summit on Human Trafficking," Carr said in a news release Friday.

Certain other lawyers concerned about the issue were notably absent. The Washington Post reported Friday that some prominent anti-trafficking organizations and advocates decided to boycott the event. Those included Polaris, the nonprofit organization that runs the national human-trafficking hotline, and the leader of Freedom Network USA, the country's largest anti-trafficking coalition. Their decision followed months of anguish over what they described as an act of public deception. They said that, although the president frequently invokes human trafficking, his administration is actively endangering a significant portion of trafficking victims: immigrants.

"We have such a chasm between rhetoric and reality," Martina Vandenberg, founder of the Human Trafficking Legal Center, a network of attorneys who take on trafficking cases, said in the Post report. "This administration is undermining protections carefully built for trafficking victims over two decades."

But Carr had no such qualms.

"I cannot thank the Administration enough for what they have done and continue to do to fight human trafficking," Carr said. He declined to respond to the criticisms directed at the White House.

The summit marked the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. During the event, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to further combat human trafficking and online child exploitation.

Speakers at the summit included trafficking survivors, congressmen, representatives from tribal governments, the president, Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and the president's daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump—who recently traveled to Atlanta to meet with Gov. Brian Kemp, his wife and trafficking survivors.

Carr appeared on a panel about fighting human trafficking on a state, local and tribal level. Other speakers there included:

  • Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez;
  • Joe Grogan, assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council;
  • U.S. Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, R-Wisconsin;
  • Chief Judge Richard C. Blake of the Hoopa Valley Tribe;
  • Michael Spisz, county commissioner of Oakland County, Michigan; and
  • Sheriff Jim Skinner of Collin County, Texas.

Carr said he highlighted Georgia's collaborative approach to fighting human trafficking. He mentioned state initiatives such as the Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education (GRACE) Commission founded by Georgia first lady Marty Kemp and the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. He also talked about private efforts such as those of Delta Air Lines and UPS to train employees to spot and report signs of people being trafficked for labor or sexual servitude.

UPS announced its new effort last week. Company executives delivered news of the training program to 200 employees gathered at the company's global headquarters in Atlanta. Speakers included UPS' president of U.S. operations, George Willis, and Danelle McCusker Rees, president of human resources and a member of the GRACE commission along with the AG, first lady, U.S. Attorney Byung J. "BJay" Pak, GBI Director Vic Reynolds and others.

"In Georgia, we are laser-focused on three issues: training strategic partners and raising awareness, investigating and prosecuting buyers and traffickers and, most importantly, supporting victims," Carr said. "We have incredible public and private partners in Georgia, including Wellspring Living survivor advocate, Jessica, who spoke during today's program, and I am thankful for each and every one of them."