The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 created the first comprehensive federal law to address trafficking in persons.  The law provides a three-pronged approach that includes prevention, protection, and prosecution.  The TVPA was reauthorized through the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003, 2005, and 2008.

For more information about Federal and State Laws and policy activity in your area, go to the Polaris Project Policy Alert website.

Download a summary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and Reauthorizations. 

Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
Download the TVPA of 2000.

• Prevention
  • Establishes an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking within the State Department, which is required to report on and assess countries’ efforts to combat trafficking.
  • Launches public awareness and information programs, as well as international economic development programs, to assist potential victims.
  • Creates a federal inter-agency, cabinet-level task force to assist in the implementation of the TVPA.
• Protection
  • Provides protection and assistance to certain foreign national victims of human trafficking through a “Certification Program” administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Foreign national victims receiving certification are then eligible for federal and state benefits to the same extent as refugees.  Benefits include but are not limited to: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Food Stamps, housing assistance, employability services, and interpreting/translation services.
  • Establishes the T Visa, which grants victims of human trafficking temporary legal status in the US and leads towards a path of permanent residency. Certain immediate family members are also eligible through what are known as derivative T visas.
  • To be eligible for a T Visa, the applicant must be:
    • 1) A victim of “severe forms of trafficking;”
    • 2) Physically present in the US on account of trafficking;
    • 3) Willing to comply with any reasonable requests for assistance by law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of trafficking crimes; and,
    • 4) Able to demonstrate that he/she would suffer extreme hardship, involving unusual and severe harm, if deported.  
    • Note:  Minors are not required to assist in the investigation or prosecution of a case in order to receive a T Visa.
  • Creates a new temporary immigration status called “continued presence” (CP), which allows foreign national trafficking victims to remain temporarily in the US in order to aid law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of a case.  Only federal law enforcement can request CP on behalf of a victim.  A victim who receives CP is eligible for federal benefits to the same extent as refugees through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) certification program.  Victims with CP are also eligible for work authorization.
• Prosecution
  • Creates new federal crimes addressing trafficking in persons, including: forced labor (18 U.S.C. § 1589); trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor (18 U.S.C. § 1590); sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, or sex trafficking of children (18 U.S.C. § 1591); and unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of trafficking (18 U.S.C. §1592).
  • Mandates that restitution be paid to victims (18 U.S.C. § 1593).

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003
Download the TVPRA of 2003.

• Authorizes more than $200 million over two years to combat human trafficking.
• Creates new programs to disseminate information relating to child sex tourism
• Requires the US government to terminate contracts with overseas contractors who engage in trafficking in persons.
• Enhances assistance for family members of foreign national victims of trafficking in the United States.
• Allows the US Department of Health and Human services to consider statements from state and local law enforcement officials as part of the Certification process for foreign national victims of trafficking.
• Creates a new federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 1595) that enables victims to bring a civil action against their traffickers.
• Creates a new annual report that the Attorney General must submit to Congress which assesses US efforts to combat trafficking in persons within the United States.
• Establishes a Senior Policy operating group within the executive branch to address trafficking issues.
• Enhances the annual trafficking in persons report by amending minimum standards and adding the new Tier Two Special Watch List.
• Enhances research efforts by the US government to address trafficking in persons. 

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005
Download the TVPRA of 2005.

• Authorizes more than $300 million over two years to combat human trafficking.
• Requires US AID, DOS, and DOD to incorporate anti-trafficking protection measures into their post-conflict and humanitarian emergency assistance program activities.
• Requires the US agency for International Development to conduct studies of prevention and protection of trafficking victims abroad and authorizes $5 million for a pilot treatment program.
• Terminates all grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements with Federal contractors who engage in trafficking in persons or purchase a commercial sex act while grant is in effect.
• Provides US Courts jurisdiction over Federal government employees and contractors for trafficking offenses committed abroad.
• Enhances the efforts of the SPOG and the trafficking in persons report by adding new members and revising Minimum Standards.
• Requires the Department of Labor to develop a public list of goods made from child or forced labor.
• Creates two annual research studies on the trafficking in persons and the unlawful commercial sex industry in the United States.
• Establishes an annual anti-trafficking in persons conference.
• Authorizes new programs to serve victims of human trafficking who are US citizens, including a new pilot program providing shelter to juvenile victims.
• Establishes a grant program for state and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute acts of trafficking in persons.

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
Download the TVPRA of 2008. 
Download the TVPRA of 2008 Summary of Important Provisions.

Congress recently passed new legislation with important provisions and amendments that strengthen the U.S. government's efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States and abroad. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008 significantly enhances the tools available to prosecute traffickers and increases protection and services for U.S. citizen and foreign national victims in the U.S.  Other highlights of the bill include provisions that:

• Strengthen the State Department's rating system of other countries' anti-trafficking efforts, which is used as a diplomatic tool to urge those governments to improve their anti-trafficking policy
• Strengthen the role of the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office in both domestic and foreign policy
• Strengthen U.S. policy toward countries that use children in armed groups
• Improve employment-based visa processing to prevent trafficking of migrant workers to the United States
• Create new protections for unaccompanied foreign national children arriving in the United States
• Improve the T-visa (special visa for trafficking victims in the United States) to protect victims and their family members
• Authorize new studies, reports, and data collection mechanisms to improve our understanding of human trafficking globally and in the U.S.