The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that “more than 500,000 women and girls in the United States are at risk of or have been subjected to FGM/C (Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting).”

The CDC says that some of these half million women and girls are cut in the United States. Others are sent abroad for mutilation.

Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other U.S. agencies are calling on the “global community” for an end to this abuse.

In the United States, FGM/C is a serious crime and officials have prosecuted individuals who performed the procedure.

FGM/C is also a form of child abuse.

Those who engage in this criminal procedure can be convicted and serve prison time. There are also immigration consequences.

Last year, the State of Texas took aim at FGM by passing legislation that provides for the prosecution of individuals who transport girls within or out of the state to undergo the procedure, reported Breitbart Texas at the time. The state already has a ban on the procedure.

Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on GAB @lanashadwick and Twitter @LanaShadwick2.