President Trump Signs Trafficking Survivors Relief Act into Law

The CPAC Center for Combating Human Trafficking celebrated the signing of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act by President Donald J. Trump in January.

This is a victory in the fight against modern day slavery and offers survivors a second chance at freedom. The signing of the the Trafficking Survivor's Relief Act is another example of conservative leadership in the fight to end human trafficking following President Trump’s pardons for survivors and the declaration of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month earlier in January.

Human trafficking victims are often coerced into committing crimes, such as prostitution, fraud, and identity theft, by their traffickers but once in the justice system, receive no recognition of their victim status, only a criminal record that damages their chances of escaping trafficking and the cycle of crime. This law advocates for human trafficking victims by offering expungement or sentence mitigation only for the crimes committed as a direct result of their trafficking, while ensuring survivors continue to work alongside law enforcement to hold the criminals behind these horrific crimes accountable.

The Trafficking Survivor’s Relief Act offers hope for trafficking victims by offering a pathway to break free from traffickers – while also breaking the cycle of crime that results from this version of modern day slavery. CPAC's Center for Combating Human Trafficking has supported this bill since its inception including its passage in the House Judiciary Committee in September, in the U.S. House of Representatives in December, and in the U.S. Senate. Thanks to the leadership of Representative Russell Fry, Representative Ann Wagner, and Speaker Mike Johnson, the Trafficking Survivor's Relief Act successfully moved through Congress and thanks to the leadership of President Trump is now officially law, offering second chances to many victims and taking a step toward ending modern-day slavery.