[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) (Tier 1) – Extracted from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of the United States fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.  The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore the United States remained on Tier 1.  These efforts included significantly increasing the number of victims served by federal grantees; increasing the number of Continued Presence and T nonimmigrant status approvals while decreasing the median processing time for both; establishing a new forced labor initiative to improve the government’s ability to identify and prosecute federal criminal forced labor violations; and increasing enforcement of the prohibition of imports made wholly or in part by forced labor.  Although the government meets the minimum standards, in some cases survivors continued to be arrested for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, and some victim-witnesses did not receive needed protections during their case.  There was a continued lack of progress to comprehensively address labor trafficking in the United States, such as in efforts to identify victims, including those who participate in U.S. visa programs; provide labor trafficking survivors with specialized services; and hold labor traffickers, including contractors and recruiters, accountable.  Funding for victim services remained inadequate, as did the availability of affordable, safe, and stable housing options for survivors.  The government continued not to mandate human trafficking screening for all foreign national adults in immigration detention or custody and did not screen for trafficking indicators among the people it removed.

Prioritized Recommendations

Increase efforts to comprehensively address labor trafficking in the United States, including identification of and provision of services to labor trafficking victims.

Implement screening throughout the juvenile justice, immigration, criminal justice, and child welfare systems for human trafficking indicators.

Assess government systems and programs to ensure they advance equity for and decrease the vulnerability of underserved communities to human trafficking.

Improve access to emergency, transitional, and longer-term housing for all trafficking survivors.

Increase access to and accessibility of specialized services for all survivors.

Increase oversight and address structural weaknesses of temporary worker or other nonimmigrant U.S. visa programs to decrease vulnerabilities to trafficking.

Increase the number of requests for Continued Presence.

Shorten processing times for trafficking-related immigration benefits and remove barriers for victims to obtain those benefits.

Encourage federal, state, local, and tribal authorities to implement effective policies to ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Support federal legislation to allow victims, in appropriate cases, to vacate federal convictions for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Increase meaningful engagement with survivors by incorporating survivor input into all stages of anti-trafficking efforts and establishing accessible mechanisms for providing compensation.

Evaluate the effectiveness of current federal law enforcement strategies in identifying and supporting victims and adjust strategies as necessary.

Train investigators, prosecutors, and judges to increase the number of forfeiture and mandatory restitution orders for trafficking victims, and use all available authorities to ensure restitution is paid.

Strengthen efforts to address demand for all forms of human trafficking.