Alene Moris Women’s Center

Federal Legislation

Federal Legislation Addressing Human Trafficking: Adult and Minors

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, making the trafficking of persons a federal crime.  Since then, TVPA has been reauthorized three times:

  1. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPA 2008)
  2. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPA 2005)
  3. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPA 2003)

As a requirement of TVPA, The Department of State issues an annual report, Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report, assessing governmental anti-human trafficking efforts.

In 2003, President George Bush signed into law the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act (PROTECT Act) of 2003, which strengthened sentences for sexual exploitation of minors and established penalties again sex tourism

In 2005, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) was enacted as part of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005. IMBRA requires International Marriage Brokers (IMBs) to provide specific background information to noncitizen fiancés and/or spouses seeking a visa to immigrate to the U.S.  Such information must include the criminal and marital background of the petitioning U.S. citizen, as well as an information pamphlet about the legal rights and resources for immigrant victims of domestic violence. [1]

In 2008, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a follow-up studying on the extent to which the Act has been implemented.  The GAO study found that “Agencies have implemented some, but not all of the Act’s requirement”.  To read more, click here.

 

[1] Center for Women and Policy Studies. United states federal laws. Retrieved from http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/trafficking/federallaws/default.asp on Feb 2012