Washington, D.C. – To kick off Human Trafficking Awareness Month, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is celebrating the passage of bipartisan legislation she cosponsored to help clear the criminal records of human trafficking survivors who were forced to commit nonviolent offenses as a result of being trafficked.
The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, led by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), passed both the House and the Senate unanimously in December. It now goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“Survivors of human trafficking deserve support along the path to healing,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It is unfair to limit their access to employment and housing because they were forced to commit nonviolent crimes while being trafficked. I urge President Trump to swiftly sign this bill into law to begin providing relief to these survivors.”
In addition to allowing survivors of human trafficking to have nonviolent federal criminal convictions or arrest records they incurred while being trafficked vacated and expunged, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act would also:
- Allow for an individual’s status as a victim of trafficking to be a mitigating factor for courts to consider when imposing a prison sentence;
- Require U.S. attorneys to submit a report one year after enactment detailing the number of motions filed under the law; and
- Ensure that DOJ Office for Victims of Crime and Office on Violence Against Women grant funding can be used for legal representation for post-conviction relief activities.
Senator Cortez Masto has fought to prevent human trafficking and deliver justice for the survivors of sexual violence since her time as Nevada’s Attorney General. Recently, she urged the chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to immediately hold a hearing on Jeffrey Epstein’s use of the U.S. financial system to perpetrate his heinous crimes. Prior to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and before the 2024 Super Bowl LVII, Cortez Masto urged FIFA and the NFL, respectively, to take steps to prevent human trafficking at the events. Cortez Masto recently called on Congress to further fund the Crime Victims Fund, which provides services and resources for survivors of sexual assault.
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