By Katherine Matt Published July 15, 2026 at 9:33 AM ET WASHINGTON — Catholic sisters, survivor advocates, and lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to urge Congress to quickly pass bipartisan legislation they say would strengthen protections for victims of human trafficking and help prevent future exploitation. Hosted by the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the July 14 congressional briefing focused on the need to reaut... Read more

Andrés Martínez-Fernández, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation, testifies at the July 15th hearing: “Particularly strong polling conducted through 1,000 face-to-face interviews in of this year showed that 72% of Venezuelans felt the country was moving in a positive direction, 92% of Venezuelans were grateful to President Trump for the removal of Nicolas Maduro and 90% supported the U.S. becoming Venezuela’s primary ally.” The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith’s (R... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the below statement following the sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Lindsey Graham was an indefatigable and courageous fighter for the right to life, human rights, liberty and freedom. He was articulate and persuasive and brought both incisive candor and humor to debate. He was a national treasure and will be deeply missed. My wife, Marie, and I offer our deepest condolences to his family.” ### Read more

By Mark Magnier Published July 10, 2026 at 11:16 AM The heads of a US Congressional committee and a commission focused on China have called on the Justice Department to fully investigate a break-in and reported vandalism at a California museum commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown. “The Justice Department and FBI should investigate vandalism at the [June 4th Memorial Museum] to protect the inalienable rights of the Chinese diaspora seeking freedom in the United States,” said a three-page ... Read more

Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chairman of the House Select Committee on China, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the recent vandalism of the June Fourth Massacre Memorial Museum in El Monte, California, as a potential act of transnational repression. According to public reporting, unknown individuals broke into the Museum short... Read more

By ANCA Published July 9, 2026 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission convened back-to-back hearings on June 3 and June 30 documenting Turkey’s political imprisonment of dissidents, its denial of the Armenian Genocide, and its continued occupation of areas in the north of Cyprus. Witnesses called on Congress and the administration to expand Global Magnitsky sanctions against Turkish officials, designate Turkey a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations, p... Read more

By Nick Mordowanec Published July 9, 2026 at 12:36 PM EDT Two House lawmakers are calling on the federal government to step in following reported vandalism of a California museum. Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, sent a letter on Wednesday to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the recent vandali... Read more

By Kate Scanlon Published July 6, 2026 at 3:35 PM WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Ezra Jin Mingri, founder and pastor of an underground church in China and a prisoner of conscience in that country, was released from imprisonment and reunited with his family in the U.S. shortly before Independence Day, U.S. officials said. At a May summit in China, President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to release political prisoners of interest to the U.S., including Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong’s prominent C... Read more

By Madalaine Elhabbal Published July 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM China has freed underground Christian pastor Ezra Jin Mingri about two months after President Donald Trump publicly called for his release. Jin, who was arrested by Chinese authorities on Oct. 10, 2025, was reunited with his family in Los Angeles on July 3 ahead of America 250 celebrations. “I am profoundly grateful that Pastor Ezra Jin has been released and reunited with his family,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, a Catholic, said in a Ju... Read more

By Leif Le Mahieu Published July 6, 2026 A Christian pastor imprisoned for months reunited with his family after the Chinese Communist Party released him following pressure from President Donald Trump. Pastor Mingri “Ezra” Jin, the leader of one of the largest underground church networks in China, landed in the United States on the Fourth of July and was greeted by his family. Trump pushed Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Jin during his trip to China in May. “We truly witnessed a miracle ... Read more