Missionaries of the Sacred

In October 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) was signed into law. The TVPA was the first comprehensive federal law in the USA to protect victims (both U.S. citizens and non citizens) of trafficking and to prosecute their traffickers. The law (reauthorized in 2003, 2005, 2008) created two new types of non-immigrant visas (the T-visa and the U-visa) to help victims of human trafficking or those who have information about various types of criminal activities, including trafficking. The most recent reauthorization of the TVPA, signed by President Bush on December 23, 2008, extends services and benefits to victims as well as to children who face a higher risk of being trafficked. For instance, victims of trafficking whose application for a visa is pending will now be immediately eligible for benefits, children who are believed to have been victims of trafficking will receive assistance for 120 days as they wait to see if they will be determined eligible for assistance by the federal government, the process for children applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) has been reformed, and protections have been added for children who are determined to be ineligible for legal status in the United States and must return to their home country.

In Fiscal Year 2007, the United States Government spent approximately $23 million on domestic programs to fight human trafficking. These funds supported programs aimed at strengthening anti-trafficking law enforcement, identifying and protecting victims, prevention and raising awareness of trafficking in persons. During Fiscal Year 2007, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney's Offices started 182 investigations and charged 89 people in cases which had to do with human trafficking. There were 103 convictions and the average prison sentence was 9.4 years.

As of the end of 2007, 33 states had passed legislation criminalizing human trafficking. According to the 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) certified 270 adult survivors of human trafficking in Fiscal Year 2007. HHS issued eligibility letters to 33 minors during the same period of time. Since October 2000, HHS has certified/issued eligibility letters to 1,379 people identified as victims of human trafficking.

In Fiscal Year 2007, HHS initiated two pilot programs with the goals of raising awareness of human trafficking in the United States and better identify victims. One program focuses on unaccompanied minors who are not US citizens in order to hopefully better identify trafficking. The second program provides suspected victims who are U.S. citizens with information about services for which they may be eligible. The national hot-line for victims of human trafficking in the United States is 1-888-3737-888.

According to the website of the National Immigration Law Center, non U.S. citizens are eligible for a T-visa if they are physically present in the United States (or a port of entry, Samoa, or the Mariana Islands) and can demonstrate that they have been the victim of a "severe form" of human trafficking and would suffer extreme hardship if deported. Applicants 15 years old and older must cooperate if asked in the investigation or prosecution of a case involving human trafficking. A maximum of 5,000 T-visas may be issued each year. However, according to the U.S. Department of State's June 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report, the Department of Homeland Security issued 279 T-visas to survivors of human trafficking and another 261 to immediate family members in Fiscal Year 2007. T-visas are issued for a period of three years, after which the individual may apply for permanent residency.

Read more about the legal protection of victims of human trafficking in the United States.

The United States also makes an effort to reunite identified victims of trafficking with their families. The Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migrations provides funding for the Return, Reintegration, and Family Reunification Program for Victims of Trafficking, which was started in 2005.  Of the 104 people the program helped in calendar year 2007, 5 chose to return to their country of origin and 99 family members were reunited with survivors of trafficking in the United States.