	Overview

Trafficking in persons (TIP), or human trafficking, is both an international and a domestic crime that is often also associated with violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards. Anti-TIP efforts have accelerated in the United States since the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), and internationally since the passage of the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (hereinafter, U.N. Protocol), adopted in 2000. This report focuses on international and domestic human trafficking and U.S. policy responses, with particular emphasis on the TVPA and its subsequent reauthorizations. Using a revised methodology, the ILO issued a new estimate in June 2012 on the number of victims of forced labor worldwide, concluding that some 20.9 million individuals were likely subjected to forced labor, including labor and sex trafficking as well as state-imposed forms of forced labor. However, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation has historically been the most commonly reported—and prosecuted—form of human trafficking globally. Ongoing demand for cheap, labor-intensive and low-skilled work, including for commercial sex, may also drive the markets for both domestic and international human trafficking. For further analysis of the various foreign policy responses, see CRS Report R42497, Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress , by Liana Rosen. According to the most recent U.S. government estimates, in 2004 as many as 17,500 people were trafficked into the United States annually. Aid Available to Victims of Trafficking in the United States

Under the TVPA, the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Labor (DOL) have programs or administer grants to other entities to provide services to trafficking victims. There is confusion over whether U.S. citizens, as well as noncitizens, are eligible for services under all the anti-trafficking grant programs in TVPA, and whether Congress has provided funding for programs that target U.S. citizen and LPR victims. Under the law, to receive these benefits and services, victims of severe forms of trafficking who are at least 18 years of age must be certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, as willing to assist in every reasonable way in the investigation and prosecution of severe forms of trafficking, having made a bona fide application for a T-visa that has not been denied, and being granted continued presence in the United States by the Secretary of Homeland Security to effectuate the prosecution of traffickers in persons. ORR also provides grants to organizations that render assistance specific to the needs of victims of trafficking, such as temporary housing, independent living skills, cultural orientation, transportation needs, access to appropriate educational programs, and legal assistance and referrals. Domestic Investigations of Trafficking Offenses

In addition to providing victims services, and educational outreach, U.S. domestic anti-TIP efforts include the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses by law enforcement. For a more in depth analysis of the issues surround the sex trafficking of children in the United States, see CRS Report R41878, Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress , by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]. How to Measure the Effectiveness of Global Anti-TIP Programs

It is often difficult to evaluate the impact of U.S. anti-trafficking efforts on curbing TIP. So far, few reliable indicators have been identified. Some have estimated that the number of minor sex trafficking victims could be in the hundreds of thousands. Enacted Legislation in the 113th Congress: The TVPA Reauthorization

On February 28, 2013, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( P.L. Title XII of P.L. P.L. 113-4 requires training on the identification of trafficking victims for appropriate personnel at the Department of Labor. 113-4 amends the grant program for state and local law enforcement's anti-trafficking programs that focus on U.S. citizen victims, so that the grants can be used for anti-trafficking programs for noncitizen victims. 113-4 reauthorizes appropriations for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 for FY2014 through FY2017, decreasing some authorization levels and increasing others. 106-386 ). The act's key provisions on human trafficking:
Directed the Secretary of State to provide an annual report by June 1, listing countries that do and do not comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and to provide information on the nature and extent of severe forms of trafficking in persons (TIP) in each country and an assessment of the efforts by each government to combat trafficking in the State Department's annual human rights report; Called for establishing an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, chaired by the Secretary of State, and authorized the Secretary to establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to assist the Task Force; Called for measures to enhance economic opportunity for potential victims of trafficking as a method to deter trafficking, to increase public awareness, particularly among potential victims, of the dangers of trafficking and the protections that are available for victims, and for the government to work with NGOs to combat trafficking; Established programs and initiatives in foreign countries to assist in the safe integration, reintegration, or resettlement of victims of trafficking and their children, as well as programs to provide assistance to victims of severe forms of TIP within the United States, without regard to such victims' immigration status and to make such victims eligible for any benefits that are otherwise available under the Crime Victims Fund; Provided protection and assistance for victims of severe forms of trafficking while in the United States; Amended the Federal Criminal code to make funds derived from the sale of assets seized from and forfeited by traffickers available for victims assistance programs under this act; Amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to allow the Attorney General to grant up to 5,000 nonimmigrant visas (T visas) per year to certain victims of severe forms of trafficking who are in the United States and who would face unusual and severe harm if they were removed from the United States. In addition, P.L. The total for domestic obligations does not include the costs of administering TIP operations or TIP-related law enforcement investigations. The bulk of U.S. anti-trafficking assistance programs abroad are administered by the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and DOL. DHS and the DOJ's International Criminal Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) also provide some anti-TIP training to law enforcement and judicial officials overseas. Some U.S. funding supports the anti-TIP efforts of the United Nations and other international organizations.
Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purposes of exploitation is believed to be one of the most prolific areas of contemporary international criminal activity and is of significant interest to the United States and the international community as a serious human rights concern. TIP is both an international and a domestic crime that involves violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards, and criminal law.
In general, the trafficking business feeds on conditions of vulnerability, such as youth, gender, poverty, ignorance, social exclusion, political instability, and ongoing demand for cheap labor and sex workers. Actors engaged in human trafficking range from amateur family-run organizations to sophisticated transnational organized crime syndicates. Trafficking victims are often subjected to mental and physical abuse in order to control them, including debt bondage, social isolation, removal of identification cards and travel documents, violence, and fear of reprisals against them or their families. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), in June 2012, some 20.9 million individuals were estimated to be victims of forced labor, including TIP. The most recent estimate from the U.S. government noted that as many as 17,500 people were believed to be trafficked into the United States each year, and some have estimated that 100,000 U.S. citizen (USC) children were victims of trafficking within the United States during the course of each year.
Human trafficking is of great concern to the United States and the international community. Anti-TIP efforts have accelerated in the United States since the enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, Division A of P.L. 106-386) and internationally since the passage of the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, adopted in 2000. Through the TVPA and its reauthorizations (TVPRAs), Congress has aimed to eliminate human trafficking by creating international and domestic grant programs for both victims and law enforcement, creating new criminal laws, and conducting oversight on the effectiveness and implications of U.S. anti-TIP policy. In March 2013, the TVPA was reauthorized through FY2017 in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Title XII, P.L. 113-4).
The United States engages in anti-TIP efforts internationally and domestically. The bulk of U.S. anti-trafficking programs abroad is administered by the State Department, United States Agency for International Development, and Department of Labor (DOL). In keeping with U.S. anti-trafficking policy, these programs have emphasized prevention, protection, and prosecution (the three "Ps"). Prevention programs have combined public awareness and education campaigns with education and employment opportunities for those at risk of trafficking, particularly women and girls. Protection programs have involved direct support for shelters, as well as training of local service providers, public officials, and religious groups. Programs to improve the prosecution rates of traffickers have helped countries draft or amend existing anti-TIP laws, as well as provided training for law enforcement and judiciaries to enforce those laws. However, it is difficult to evaluate the impact of international U.S. anti-trafficking efforts since few reliable measures of TIP have been identified.
Domestically, anti-TIP efforts also include protection for victims, education of the public, and the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses. The Departments of Justice (DOJ), Health and Human Services (HHS), and DOL have programs or administer grants to other entities to provide assistance specific to the needs of victims of trafficking. These needs include temporary housing, independent living skills, cultural orientation, transportation needs, job training, mental health counseling, and legal assistance. Both HHS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) administer public awareness campaigns on recognizing human trafficking victims. In addition, within the United States at the federal level, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in DOJ and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security both have primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting traffickers.
Some of the issues surrounding U.S. policy to combat human trafficking include whether there is equal treatment of all victims—both foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, as well as victims of labor and sex trafficking; whether current law and services are adequate to deal with the emerging issue of minor sex trafficking in the United States (i.e., the prostitution of children in the United States); and whether U.S. efforts to stem human trafficking internationally are efficacious.
In addition, the current budget situation has heightened interest in Congress on the funding and oversight of current efforts to fight TIP, to make sure that the grant programs authorized under the TVPA as amended do not duplicate efforts and that funding is being used in the most efficacious manner. Obligations for global and domestic anti-TIP programs, not including operations and law enforcement investigations, totaled approximately $82.5 million in FY2011. The TVPRA of 2013 authorized $127.75 million in global and domestic anti-TIP programs for FY2014.
The 113th Congress has made TIP a priority. In February 2013, Congress passed S. 47 (P.L. 113-4), which amended and reauthorized the TVPA. Among other things, P.L. 113-4 modified some of the grant programs, expanded reporting requirements, created new criminal penalties for trafficking offenses, and reauthorized appropriations from FY2014 through FY2017. It is expected that Congress will consider other TIP legislation during the 113th session dealing with the child welfare system's response to minor sex trafficking, trying to limit demand for prostitution, and addressing the issue of online advertisements for the commercial sexual exploitation of minor trafficking victims.
See also CRS Report R41878, Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report R42497, Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress, by Liana Rosen.