Country music star John Rich touted a movie “every parent in America” should watch while discussing the alarming rise in human trafficking victimizing children in the U.S.
Rich joined Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley for a special edition of “Morning Wire,” which aired Monday, and talked about his advocacy for the new film “The Sound of Freedom.” The movie, starring Jim Caviezel, follows former government agent-turned-activist Tim Ballard who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue dozens of children from human trafficking.
“I think people know it’s out there, but I don’t think they really understand how big it is,” Rich said of the human trafficking problem plaguing the country. “When you walk out of your back door or drive out of your driveway, you assume, ‘It’s going on somewhere, but it’s not going on in my neighborhood.’”
“And this movie shows you that it’s actually going on everywhere all the time,” Rich added. “What was so unbelievable about the way they built this film was it put you in the room. … You felt it. If you’re a parent, and you watch this movie — and trust me, every parent needs to go watch this movie — there is no way to not be completely gripped.”
The movie hit $10 million in box office presales before its July 4 opening, and the studio is eyeing a $20 million six-day start, Deadline reported.
According to a press release, the film “shines a light on even the darkest of places. After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy’s sister is still captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.”
In 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said “they received more than 29.3 million CyberTipline reports, which contained around 85 million images, videos, and other content related to suspected child sexual exploitation,” Bickley noted. “That was up around 30% over the previous year.”
Asked why there hasn’t been more focus on the human trafficking crisis, Rich responded by expressing exasperation at the failure of government officials to act. “We’ve got all these powerful people who can do something about it, yet nothing’s happening,” he said.
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The musician then addressed how the illegal immigration crisis has worsened child exploitation in recent years. Since 2021, 250,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the southern border illegally, raising serious questions in Rich’s mind.
“There are a quarter of a million kids in the U.S. right now that entered the country unaccompanied. Where are they?” Rich asked. “Have you seen 250,000 amber alerts on your iPhone? No.”
“Why are the people in power that actually have the ability to do something about it not doing something about it? … I don’t know how this ever gets fixed other than the American public waking up en masse and finding the organizations out there [fighting child trafficking].”
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