Katie Britt accused of mischaracterising story in State of the Union rebuttal

Katie Britt, the Alabama Senator who delivered the Republican’s rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, is being accused of misrepresenting a graphic story about a human trafficking survivor in Mexico to criticise Mr Biden’s border policy.

During her speech on Thursday, Ms Brittelevated Republicans’ rhetoric and concerns about the US-Mexico border by recounting the time she travelled to Del Rio, Texas in 2023 and met with a young woman who was allegedly trafficked by Mexican cartels at the age of 12.

Ms Britt briefly described the horrific crimes the young woman experienced before calling for different border policies.

“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 started acting like it. President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable,” Ms Britt said on Thursday.

Though Ms Britt did not name the individual she was speaking about, an independent journalist, Jonathan Katz, said that it appeared she was speaking about Karla Jacinto.

Ms Jacinto is a human trafficking survivor whom Ms Britt, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde-Smith, met last year while visiting the border. Ms Jacintoappeared briefly in a video with the Alabama senator.

Though Ms Britt has not confirmed this is the individual she’s speaking about, Ms Jacinto shares an almost identical story to the one Ms Britt spoke about.

In 2015, Ms Jacinto testified to Congress about being trafficked in Mexico beginning when she was 12 years old in 2004 until she was rescued at 16 years old in 2008. Her testimony was used as evidence in support of International Megan’s Law.

Ms Jacinto never testified to