Human Trafficking Laws & Regulations

Below is a non-exhaustive list of human trafficking related laws, regulations and policies relevant to DHS.

Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and Its Reauthorizations

• Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386 (Oct. 28, 2000)
• Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-193 (Dec. 19, 2003)
• Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-164 (Jan. 10, 2006)
• William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-457 (Dec. 23, 2008)
• Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-4, title xii (Mar. 7, 2013)
• Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-392 (Dec. 21, 2018)
• Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-393 (Dec. 21, 2018)
• Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-425 (Jan. 8, 2019)
• Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-427 (Jan. 9, 2019)

Related Legislation

• Violence Against Women Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796, 1902 (September 13, 1994)
• Violence Against Women Act 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-162 (Jan. 5, 2006)
• Technical Corrections to Violence Against Women Act 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-271 (Aug. 12, 2006)
• Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-22 (May 29, 2015)
• Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, Div. W. of Pub. L. No. 117-103 (Mar. 15, 2022)

Enforcement

Criminal Statutes

• 18 U.S.C. § 1589, Forced Labor
• 18 U.S.C. § 1591, Sex Trafficking of Children OR by Force, Fraud or Coercion
• 18 U.S.C. § 1592, Unlawful Conduct with Respect to Documents in Furtherance of Trafficking, Peonage, Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, or Forced Labor (aka Document Servitude)
• 18 U.S.C. § 1594, Attempt/Conspiracy/Forfeiture
• 18 U.S.C. § 1597, Unlawful Conduct Regarding Immigration Documents
• 18 U.S.C. § 1351, Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting
• Additionally, DHS conducts criminal investigations of related offenses that traffickers commit including fraud, drug trafficking, immigration, human smuggling, money laundering, visa fraud, child sexual abuse materials, interstate prostitution, sexual exploitation of children, and obstruction.

Trade Enforcement Related to Forced Labor

• Tariff Act of 1930, Pub. L. No. 71-361 (June 17, 1930), as amended by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-125 (Feb. 24, 2016)
• Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Pub. L. No. 115-44 (August 2, 2017)
• Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Pub. L. No. 117-78 (Dec. 23, 2021)
• 19 U.S.C. § 1307 Convict-made Goods; Importation Prohibited
• 19 C.F.R. § 12.42-45 Merchandise Produced by Convict Forced, or Indentured Labor
• CBP Publication No. 1793-0522, UFLPA Operational Guidance for Importers (June 13, 2022)
• Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People's Republic of China (June 17, 2022)

Victim Protections

Victims’ Rights

• Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, Pub. L. No. 97-291, 96 Stat. 1248 (1982)
• Victims of Crime Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-473, 98 Stat. 2170 (1984)
• Federal Guidelines for Treatment of Crime Victims and Witnesses in the Criminal Justice System, 18 U.S.C. § 1512 (1984)
• Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-647 (1990)
• Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990, 34 U.S.C. § 20141 (2006)
• Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004, 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (2006 & Supp. III 2009)
• U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance (2023)

Section 1367 Confidentiality Protections

• 8 U.S.C. § 1367, Penalties for Disclosure of Information
• DHS Directive Number 002-02, Rev. 00.1, Implementation of Section 1367 Information Provisions (Apr. 29, 2019)
• DHS Instruction Number 002-02-001, Rev. 00.1, Implementation of Section 1367 Information Provisions (May 28, 2019)
• DHS Instruction Number 215-02-002, Rev. 00, Implementation of Section 1367 Information Provisions in the Processing of Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests (Sept. 2, 2021)
• DHS Instruction Number 215-01-002, Rev. 00, Disclosure of Section 1367 Information to Law Enforcement Officials for Legitimate Law Enforcement Purposes (June 18, 2016)
• DHS Instruction Number 215-01-001, Rev. 00, Disclosure of Section 1367 Information to National Security Officials for National Security Purposes (Nov. 7, 2013)

Children

• 8 U.S.C. § 1232, Enhancing Efforts to Combat the Trafficking of Children

Continued Presence

• 22 U.S.C. § 7105(c) Authority to Permit Continued Presence in the United States
• 28 C.F.R. § 1100.35 Authority to Permit Continued Presence in the United States for Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons
• DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, Continued Presence Resource Guide for Submitting Law Enforcement Agencies and Civil Attorneys (July 2021)

T Visa

• INA § 101(a)(15)(T); 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(T)
• 8 U.S.C. § 1101(i) Definitions
• 8 U.S.C. § 1184(o) Nonimmigrants Guilty of Trafficking in Persons
• 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(13) Temporary Admission of Nonimmigrants
• 8 U.S.C. § 1255(l) Adjustment of Status for Victims of Trafficking
• 8 C.F.R. § 214.11 Alien Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons
• 8 C.F.R. § 212.16 Applications for Exercise of Discretion Relating to T Nonimmigrant Status
• 8 C.F.R. § 212.18 Applications for Waivers of Inadmissibility in Connection with an Application for Adjustment of Status by T Nonimmigrant Status Holders
• 8 C.F.R. § 245.23 Adjustment of Aliens in T Nonimmigrant Classification
• USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part B: Victims of Trafficking
• Department of Homeland Security, T Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide for Federal, State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, Judges and Other Government Agencies

U Visa

• INA § 101(a)(15)(U); 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U)
• INA § 214(p); 8 U.S.C. § 1184(p)
• 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(14), Admission of Nonimmigrants; Requirements Applicable to U visas
• 8 U.S.C. § 1255(m), Adjustment of Status for Victims of Crimes Against Women
• 8 C.F.R. § 214.14, Alien Victims of Certain Qualifying Criminal Activity
• 8 C.F.R. § 212.17, Applications for the Exercise of Discretion Relating to U Nonimmigrant Status
• 8 C.F.R. § 254.24, Adjustment of Aliens in U Nonimmigrant Classification
• USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part C: Victims of Crimes
• Department of Homeland Security, U Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide for Federal, State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, Judges and Other Government Agencies

VAWA Self-Petition

• 8 C.F.R. § 204.2, Petitions for Relatives, Widows and Widowers, and Abused Spouses and Children
• USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part D: Violence Against Women Act

Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification

• INA § 101(a)(15)(J), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(1527)(J)
• 8 C.F.R. § 204.11, Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification
• 8 C.F.R. § 245.1(e)(3) Special Categories, Special Immigrant Juveniles (adjustment of status)
• 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(4), Allocation of Immigrant Visas, Preference Allocation for Employment-Based Immigrants, Certain Special Immigrants
• 8 U.S.C. § 1255(h), Adjustment of Status, Application with Respect to Special Immigrants
• 8 U.S.C. § 1357(h), Protecting Abused Juveniles
• USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 6, Part J: Special Immigrant Juveniles

Asylum

• 8 C.F.R. § 208, Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal (DHS)
• 8 C.F.R. § 1208, Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal (Executive Office for Immigration Review)
• USCIS Asylum Division Memorandum, Implementation of Statutory Change Providing USCIS with Initial Jurisdiction over Asylum Applications Filed by Unaccompanied Alien Children (Mar. 25, 2009)

Protection from Removal

• ICE Directive 11005.3, Using a Victim-Centered Approach with Noncitizen Crime Victims (Aug. 10, 2021)
• ICE Policy Number: 10076.1, Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs (June 17, 2011)

DHS Policy

• Department of Homeland Security, DHS Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, and Child Sexual Exploitation (2020)

Federal

• White House, National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (Dec. 2021)
• Executive Order 13923, Establishment of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force Under Section 741 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (May 20, 2020)
• Executive Order 13903, Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States (Jan. 31, 2020)
• Executive Order 13773, Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking (Feb. 9, 2017)
• Executive Order 13627, Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts (Sep. 25, 2012)
• Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Oct. 25, 2022)