On September 24, the House Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 2620) to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 (P.L. 106-386). The House International Relations Committee approved H.R. 2620 on July 23 (see The Source, 7/25/03).
Trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, has become one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. The U.S. government estimates that as many as 800,000 people are trafficked each year for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation. Victims of trafficking are typically from less developed countries in Asia, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe.
As part of the TVPA, Congress mandated an annual State Department report on the global trends in trafficking. The annual report rates countries according to whether they meet minimum standards for addressing the global problem.
Sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), H.R. 2620 would authorize $105.85 million in FY2004 and FY2005 for programs to combat trafficking and would expand the U.S. government’s trafficking prevention activities. The bill would direct the President to create programs that train trafficking survivors to educate border patrol and law enforcement officials to identify traffickers and victims of trafficking. It also would allow the President to cease funding or cooperation with organizations if they or their employees engage in human trafficking while living in the United States. In addition, the President would be granted the authority to encourage the media to make documentaries about trafficking.
The bill also would seek to discourage U.S. citizens and foreign nationals traveling within the United States from participating in sex tourism, which is linked to a demand for the trafficking of women. Under H.R. 2620, all airlines operating in the United States would be required to develop and disseminate materials alerting travelers that sex tourism is illegal and will be prosecuted under U.S. law.
Finally, H.R. 2620 clarifies a provision in the original bill that determined whether a foreign government is meeting the minimum standards to combat trafficking by requiring the State Department to consider a foreign government’s record on convictions and sentences for trafficking violators, in addition to the investigations and prosecutions as the TVPA currently provides.
During consideration of the bill, Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN) offered an amendment that would have ensured that illegal immigrants who are voluntarily smuggled into the United States would not be eligible for temporary visas (T-visas) reserved for victims of trafficking under TVPA. International Relations Committee Chair Henry Hyde (R-IL) pointed out that many women are lured to the United States under false pretenses, and although they may have paid their own expenses, they should be eligible for the T-visas if forced into sexual servitude. The amendment was defeated by voice vote.
