Public Policy

From coast to coast, anti-trafficking advocates are joining with worker rights and prison reform partners to prevent labor trafficking. 

Without enough inspectors, outreach staff, and other resources at the Department of Labor, we will continue to read about child labor in meat packing industries, back wages owed to workers, and other violations.

The Department of Homeland Security has taken an important step to protect noncitizen workers from exploitative  employers who threaten them with retaliation related to their immigration status.

Testimony from victims of crime is often the key to successful prosecution, but it can come at a significant cost to the victims themselves, who have to relive some of their most painful experiences.

The National Survivor Study used the experience and expertise from survivors to create a detailed picture of the arc of trafficking.

Polaris released a new report grading all 50 states and D.C. on their criminal record relief laws for human trafficking survivors. Since the first report in 2019, 17 states responded to the call for better statutes that are more inclusive and easier to access, while two states actually reversed their progress.

Since the launch of the credit repair process for survivors of human trafficking, survivors have repeatedly reached out to Polaris to let us know that these new processes are not working as they are supposed to be.

Polaris sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to include the ENABLERS Act in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. This legislation closes a loophole that allows some businesses to skirt anti-money laundering responsibilities.

National conversation has focused on trafficking within the context of governors sending migrants seeking asylum in this country to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington, D.C. for the purpose of making a political point. 

“Human trafficking is a complex and dynamic crime,” said Catherine Chen, CEO of Polaris. “Without an investigation of exactly what happened before migrants were put on a plane and unwittingly used for political gain, it would be irresponsible to accuse anyone of trafficking. 

Following the passage of the Debt Bondage Repair Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was tasked with creating a process for consumer reporting agencies to allow survivors of trafficking to block adverse information from their credit. This is what we know so far.

Keyana Marshall was just 15 when she was manipulated into selling sex by a female trafficker she originally went to work for as a babysitter. Throughout her teen years she was passed from one trafficker to another. Finally, law enforcement stepped in. But for Keyana, that only made things worse. She wound up serving nearly … Continued