U.S. Dep't of State, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: United States

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Tier 1) The Government of the United States fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore, the United States remained on Tier 1. These efforts included increasing the number of T nonimmigrant status approvals; significantly increasing the number of sex trafficking investigations; and increasing enforcement of the prohibition of imports made wholly or in part by forced labor. Although the government meets the minimum standards, in some cases victims continued to be arrested for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, and trafficking survivors with criminal records resulting from their trafficking faced ongoing barriers to employment, housing, education, and other essential needs for safety and recovery.

There was a decrease in federal human trafficking prosecutions and a significant decrease in federal convictions of human traffickers. Support for victim services remained inadequate, as did the availability of affordable, safe, and stable housing options for survivors. The government continued not to mandate human trafficking screening for all individuals in immigration detention or custody. PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Increase efforts to comprehensively address labor trafficking in the United States, including the expansion of investigatory capacity, and the identification of and provision of services to labor trafficking victims.

Enhance and expand screening for both sex and labor trafficking indicators throughout the juvenile justice, immigration, criminal justice, healthcare, social services, and child welfare systems. Increase access to specialized services, including housing, for all survivors. Increase efforts to prevent online sex trafficking. Consistently enforce regulations related to and oversight of foreign labor recruitment companies, including holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.

Increase intensive training and support to local and federal law enforcement partners regarding implementation of Continued Presence provisions to help increase the number of requests for Continued Presence. Shorten processing times for T nonimmigrant status. Develop guidelines and best practices that address evidentiary challenges in proving coercion and intent in trafficking cases in which controlled substances were used as tools of coercion and manipulation to further the trafficking scheme. Encourage federal, state, local, and tribal authorities to implement more effective policies to ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; and support efforts to develop federal legislative proposals establishing procedures for victims to seek relief from inappropriate convictions or penalties.

Ensure prosecutors take all necessary steps to request mandatory restitution orders in trafficking prosecutions and financial litigation units use all available authorities to pursue collection and enforcement actions to ensure restitution is paid. Increase enforcement of import prohibitions against products made with forced labor by issuing more Withhold Release Orders (WRO). Continue to prioritize and expand survivor leadership in anti-trafficking efforts and establish mechanisms to provide fair compensation for survivors’ expertise. Engage with tribal communities, tribal governments, and relevant parties to comprehensively address human trafficking in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, including by increasing resources for tribal justice systems and service provision.

Evaluate human trafficking trainings and resources to ensure they are survivor-informed, industry-specific, and designed to help law enforcement and service providers accurately identify victims without causing harm. As described in the Methodology section of this report, these recommendations were drawn from input solicited from entities across the anti-trafficking community, such as government agencies and anti-trafficking experts (including NGOs, academia, survivors, and other subject matter experts with lived experience of human trafficking) on how the United States could better meet the minimum standards set forth in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

PROSECUTION

The government maintained prosecution efforts. The TVPA, as amended and codified at Title 18 U.S. Code sections 1581, et seq., criminalizes sex and labor trafficking. U.S. law confers extraterritorial jurisdiction for these human trafficking offenses, as long as the defendant (whether individual or entity) is a U.S. national or a U.S. lawful permanent resident, or is present in the United States, regardless of the defendant’s nationality. The penalties prescribed under these provisions, which can include up to life imprisonment, are sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with the penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape.

U.S. law prohibits conspiracy and the attempt to violate these provisions, obstruction of the statutes’ enforcement, and knowingly benefiting, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture that has engaged in such acts. Additionally, a criminal statute prohibits the use of fraud to recruit, solicit, or hire workers abroad to come to the United States to work, or to recruit workers to work on a U.S. government contract performed outside the United States, on U.S. property, or on military installations outside the United States. The U.S. Congress passed bills that the President signed into law that: authorized and expanded the victim assistance program within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); granted the Department of State (State) expanded authority to investigate transnational violations of the crimes listed in Title 18 U.S. Code sections 1581, et seq., which includes trafficking, in which part of the offense occurred outside of the United States or involved one or more foreign nationals; and expanded requirements for online technology platforms to report potential instances of child sex trafficking to the national hotline for child sexual exploitation. The Department of Justice (DOJ), DHS, Department of Defense (DoD), and State are the primary investigating agencies for federal offenses involving human trafficking and related conduct.

The Department of Labor (DOL)’s inspector general uses its authority to criminally investigate labor trafficking offenses related to DOL programs, including offenses that involve unscrupulous employers who circumvent DOL foreign labor certification programs. DOJ prosecutes federal human trafficking cases. DOJ, DHS, and State support victims by engaging law enforcement victim assistance specialists during trafficking investigations and prosecutions, including by connecting identified victims to victim service providers. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, DHS forensic interview specialists conducted 2,033 forensic interviews, a decrease from 2,085 in FY 2023, but did not report how many were related to human trafficking specifically.

DHS victim assistance specialists assisted 818 victims of human trafficking, an increase from 731 in FY 2023. DOJ forensic interview specialists conducted 183 human trafficking forensic interviews of victims, an increase from 150 in FY 2023, and DOJ’s 173 victim specialists provided services to human trafficking victims in 534 cases, compared with 173 victim specialists and 550 cases in FY 2023. State performed outreach overseas and domestically to approximately 263 individuals identified as human trafficking victims in investigations, compared to approximately 275 individuals in FY 2023. DOJ, in collaboration with DHS and DOL, continued to advance criminal investigations and prosecutions of forced labor and related crimes in multiple jurisdictions.

Among DOJ’s prosecutions in FY 2024 resulting from this initiative, DOJ secured a life sentence and $80,000 in restitution in a forced child labor case. In 2024, DOL continued to lead the interagency task force to combat exploitative child labor through new partnerships and collaborations with labor departments in New York and New Jersey to help employers comply with labor laws through joint investigations and sharing training materials and information. DOJ and DHS continued to advance bilateral human trafficking investigations and prosecutions of transnational criminal organizations operating across the U.S.-Mexico border by exchanging expertise among U.S. and Mexican anti-trafficking and anti-money laundering authorities; convicting and sentencing defendants charged with operating extensive sex trafficking enterprises using deception, force, fraud, and coercion to lure vulnerable victims from Mexico and compel them into commercial sex in the United States; and securing substantial restitution orders. In FY 2024, DOJ provided approximately $22 million to support the work of 15 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) anti-trafficking task forces, which included awards to 15 state and local law enforcement agencies, and 15 victim service providers, an increase from $19 million for 10 ECM task forces in FY 2023 (10 state and local law enforcement agencies, 10 victim service providers, and two training and technical assistance providers).

All ECM task forces grantees engaged in training, outreach, and awareness raising to improve their jurisdiction’s ability to increase the identification of victims of all forms of human trafficking and offer individualized services. Several federal agencies participated in other human trafficking task forces nationwide consisting of federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers. Anti-trafficking experts reported inconsistent levels of cooperation, communication, and trust among service providers and state and federal law enforcement. Some NGOs stated the collaboration between law enforcement and service providers was generally strong, while other anti-trafficking experts noted that ECM-funded law enforcement operations are not identifying the same trafficking victims as service providers, and operations targeting commercial sex do not effectively identify sex trafficking victims or individuals exploiting those victims.

Anti-trafficking experts recommended that ECM task forces: require policies and procedures to ensure that victims are not inappropriately arrested or threatened with arrest and are not mandated into services; ban sexual contact by law enforcement in all forms of law enforcement interaction; require all ECM grant budgets to reserve a majority of the funds for victim service providers; require joint performance reports to ensure that all enforcement actions are designed to identify victims and victims are not inappropriately charged or threatened with arrest; and ensure appropriate training and technical assistance be presented jointly by law enforcement and service providers. Anti-trafficking experts noted that some of the trafficking victims they serve fear law enforcement and are less likely to come forward with allegations of human trafficking due to past trauma or experience with the criminal justice system. A presidentially appointed survivor advisory council again proposed federal agencies and human trafficking task forces fund and collaborate with designated liaisons from the survivor community to provide additional support to survivors from different backgrounds and communities, as well as improve law enforcement responses to trafficking. The federal government reports its law enforcement data by fiscal year, which may include joint federal and state or local actions but does not include separate state or local law enforcement data.

In FY 2024, DHS opened 1,686 human trafficking investigations, an increase from 1,282 in FY 2023. 10 of those investigations were of individuals or entities that may be benefiting from goods produced using forced labor overseas, compared to six individuals or entities in FY 2023. DOJ opened 789 human trafficking investigations in FY 2024, an increase from 666 in FY 2023 (666 DOJ investigations represents a correction to the 664 DOJ investigations originally reported last year). Of DOJ’s FY 2024 investigations, 686 involved predominantly sex trafficking and 103 involved predominantly labor trafficking, compared with 588 and 76, respectively, in FY 2023.

In FY 2024, DOL’s inspector general opened 53 criminal investigative matters related to labor trafficking allegations, an increase from 47 criminal investigations it opened in FY 2023. In FY 2024, three DOL inspector general investigations led to forced labor charges against 10 individuals, compared to five individuals in FY 2023. Five other DOL inspector general investigations led to the convictions of an additional 15 individuals for forced labor charges. Worldwide, State reported investigating 128 human trafficking cases during FY 2024, compared to 111 in FY 2023 (111 cases represents a correction to the 230 cases originally reported last year).

In FY 2024, DoD criminally investigated 20 allegations of sex trafficking of children and adults against DoD military, civilian, contractor personnel, and non-DoD civilian and other country national contractors. There were reports of federal and state officials complicit in human trafficking crimes and the government took action to hold them accountable. Recent case examples include the sentencing of a former police officer convicted of soliciting sexual acts and nude photos from three male children, and the sentencing of a former police officer convicted of using his authority to protect traffickers in exchange for sexual services, among others. DOJ initiated 146 federal human trafficking prosecutions in FY 2024, a decrease from 181 in FY 2023.

DOJ charged 223 defendants in FY 2024, a decrease from 258 defendants in FY 2023. Of these FY 2024 prosecutions, 136 involved predominantly sex trafficking and 10 involved predominantly labor trafficking, compared with 169 and 12 in FY 2023, respectively. DOJ secured the convictions of 210 traffickers, a significant decrease from 289 traffickers in FY 2023. Of these, 181 involved predominantly sex trafficking and 29 involved predominantly labor trafficking, compared with 258 and 31 in FY 2023, respectively.

These prosecutions and convictions were from human trafficking cases charged under trafficking-specific criminal statutes and non-trafficking criminal statutes, except for those child sex trafficking cases brought under non-trafficking statutes. Among the 207 traffickers sentenced to prison in federal cases brought for convictions under trafficking-specific criminal statutes, courts imposed sentences ranging from one year to life imprisonment, with 84 percent of defendants receiving prison sentences of five or more years. Eleven traffickers received a probation-only sentence, and 11 received a suspended sentence. Service providers reported federal law enforcement continued to pursue cases that predominantly involved sex trafficking, while service providers reported assisting significant numbers of labor trafficking victims.

Anti-trafficking experts called for demonstrably increased capacity for data collection and investigations of labor trafficking crimes at the federal level, particularly child labor trafficking, to enhance awareness, prosecution, and support for victims. Anti-trafficking experts continued to call for prosecutors to seek, and courts to award, mandatory restitution for sex and labor trafficking cases. Most prosecutions in the United States for human trafficking are brought under state or local laws. All U.S. states and territories have anti-trafficking criminal statutes.

The federal government supports investigations and prosecutions at the federal, state, and local levels. The federal government continued to collect state, local, and tribal data on human trafficking investigations through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR Program), which includes data from jurisdictions of all 50 states. In 2023, 80 jurisdictions reported 2,640 sex trafficking incidents and 771 labor trafficking incidents, a significant increase from 75 jurisdictions reporting 1,862 and 417 incidents, in 2022, respectively. Not all agencies within all states have reported human trafficking data to the UCR Program.

There was no formal mechanism for the federal government to systematically track prosecutions at the state, local, and tribal levels. With regard to criminalization of victims, anti-trafficking experts maintained that trafficking victims continued to be arrested, charged, and convicted at the state and local levels for certain unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as drug trafficking, identity theft, money laundering, and credit card fraud. One NGO reported 64 percent of survivors it served in 2024 said they had been compelled to commit a crime as a direct result of being trafficked, an increase from 45 percent in 2023. A study of 399 female defendants in federal sex trafficking cases found 54 percent displayed indicators they were trafficking victims themselves.

Of these, 79 percent served time in prison. Anti-trafficking experts noted survivors can be forced to commit a range of drug-related offenses by traffickers and are often misidentified as offenders and subjected to criminalization. Anti-trafficking experts again recommended the government increase efforts to address and evaluate the intersection between the ongoing drug crisis in the United States and human trafficking, noting traffickers often exploit the addictive properties of controlled substances as a means of exerting coercion and control over victims. The presidentially appointed survivor advisory council recommended DOJ develop guidelines and best practices to help ensure survivors in these cases are not inappropriately criminalized or penalized.

Anti-trafficking experts continued to call for the adoption of federal vacatur legislation. Anti-trafficking experts noted concern about foreign nationals who were charged with unlawful acts as a direct result of being trafficked and then faced deportation. Anti-trafficking experts also called for a public reporting mechanism on use of state criminal record relief laws to better evaluate the effectiveness of such vacatur laws and determine what is needed to ensure that victims are not incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalized for unlawful acts as a direct result of being trafficked. Domestically, the U.S. government continued to build the capacity of law enforcement, judges, military personnel, labor inspectors, aviation industry personnel, and federal employees working in transportation, among others, to respond more effectively to human trafficking cases and to identify assets for restitution and forfeiture through trainings and workshops.

DOJ delivered training on avoiding inappropriate arrest, detention, and punishment of victims for conduct directly resulting from their trafficking to hundreds of federal, state, and local investigators and prosecutors. Anti-trafficking experts called on the government to cooperate with lived experience experts to increase training across the criminal legal system on labor trafficking, including child labor trafficking, on laws prohibiting the prosecution of child trafficking victims and on tactics traffickers use to coerce children into labor trafficking, to better understand how children become vulnerable to labor trafficking and how traffickers target and lure children.

PROTECTION

The government maintained overall protection efforts. The government continued to identify trafficking victims and fund trafficking-specific services. Certain federal agencies used formal procedures to identify victims and refer them to service providers. Federally funded trafficking-specific services, primarily through DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), served foreign national and domestic trafficking victims and included case management, mental health and medical care, substance use treatment, housing and shelter, translation and interpretation services, legal services, employment training and job placement services, transportation assistance, and financial assistance.

DOJ and HHS record-keeping systems did not allow for cross-referencing to determine which victims were served by grantees of both agencies. During FY 2024, DOJ provided approximately $66.2 million for 70 awards to support human trafficking victim assistance programs for domestic and foreign national victims across the United States, a decrease from $72.5 million for 81 awards in FY 2023 ($72.5 million represents a correction to $84.5 million originally reported last year). Specific programs included $12.7 million for 14 housing assistance awards; $26 million for 32 victim service awards addressing a broad range of comprehensive and specialized service needs; $10.6 million for 12 awards to provide services to child victims of sex and labor trafficking; $2.8 million for two state governments to work with multi-disciplinary partners to improve outcomes for child victims; $6 million for one award to build the capacity of community-based organizations to serve adolescent and youth victims of trafficking; $3.5 million for seven awards to support prevention and early intervention services for girls who are at risk of, or are victims of, trafficking; and $4.5 million for two training and technical assistance awards to improve identification of and assistance to trafficking victims nationwide, including by supporting grantees in meeting confidentiality requirements. DOJ made four awards totaling $5.3 million for human trafficking research and evaluation to better understand, prevent, and respond to trafficking in persons, focusing on projects that will affect U.S. criminal justice policy and practice.

In FY 2024, DOJ anti-trafficking grantees reported serving 17,561 individuals, of whom 13,343 were served for the first time, an increase from 10,235 new individuals served in FY 2023. Of the 13,343 new individuals served in FY 2024, 67 percent were confirmed or potential victims of sex trafficking, 17 percent were confirmed or potential victims of labor trafficking, 7 percent were identified as confirmed or potential victims of both sex and labor trafficking, and 9 percent did not specify the type of potential trafficking. During FY 2024, HHS provided $16.1 million for services to domestic and foreign national victims of human trafficking, an increase from $14.9 million in FY 2023. Of that, $10.41 million was used to serve domestic victims of human trafficking and $5.69 million was used to serve foreign national victims of human trafficking.

To provide more specialized services, HHS separates its program for foreign national victims of human trafficking into two programs – one serving child victims of human trafficking and the other serving adult victims – and institutes a regional approach to facilitate victim identification and service provision. For these two programs, HHS awarded more than $5.69 million, a decrease from $6 million in FY 2023 and $10 million in FY 2022. Through these programs, HHS served 1,500 individuals, compared with 1,577 individuals served in FY 2023. Of the 1,500 individuals served, 16 percent were victims of sex trafficking, 67 percent were victims of labor trafficking, 12.5 percent were identified as victims of both sex and labor trafficking, and the type of trafficking experienced was not reported for 4.5 percent.

For the provision of case management services to domestic victims of human trafficking, HHS awarded more than $4.4 million (a subset of $10.41 million), a significant increase from $2.9 million in FY 2023, to 17 recipients that served 782 trafficking victims in 17 states, an increase from nine recipients that served 744 trafficking victims in eight states (744 trafficking victims represents a correction to 823 trafficking victims originally reported last year). Of the individuals served, 3 percent were victims of labor trafficking, 80 percent were victims of sex trafficking, 12 percent were identified as victims of both sex and labor trafficking, and the form of trafficking for 5 percent was unknown. Anti-trafficking experts noted funding for victim services remained inadequate to cover the high cost of providing services and the increased demand for services. In particular, anti-trafficking experts argued there were insufficient specialized services and safe and stable housing for labor trafficking survivors, child victims, children aging out of services, boys and men, victims who identify as lesbian and gay, survivors struggling with substance use disorders and mental health concerns, persons with disabilities, individuals in crisis or post-disaster settings, American Indians and Alaska Natives, foreign national victims, and victims with dependents.

Anti-trafficking experts called for increased long-term housing assistance to better protect victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons. Anti-trafficking experts again reported common barriers to housing for trafficking victims, such as a criminal record, debt, and poor credit history. Antitrafficking experts called for increased access to child and family support, food, comprehensive health care and mental health services, substance use treatment, and education and job training for survivors. Survivors with criminal records resulting from unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked continued to be excluded from employment, housing, and higher education; to be ineligible for government programs, occupational licensing, and certain immigration relief; and continued to face other difficulties meeting needs essential to their safety and recovery.

To assist survivors in navigating these challenges, anti-trafficking experts recommended the government increase funding for and access to pro bono legal services. One service provider noted the primary needs among foreign national survivors were legal services and financial support. As part of HHS assistance to foreign national victims, HHS provides Certification Letters to foreign national adult victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons, which enables them to apply for benefits and services, if DHS grants Continued Presence or T nonimmigrant status or when a victim has a bona fide application for T nonimmigrant status, as described below. HHS also provides Eligibility or Interim Assistance Letters to foreign national children, which enables them to apply for benefits and services to the same extent as refugees, upon receipt of credible information the child is or may be a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons under the TVPA.

HHS issued 495 Certification Letters to foreign national adults in FY 2024, a decrease from 584 in FY 2023 and 731 in FY 2022. Of the 495 foreign national adults certified in FY 2024, 11 percent were sex trafficking victims, 75 percent were labor trafficking victims, 10 percent were victims of both, and 4 percent were unspecified. HHS issued 2,642 Eligibility Letters to foreign national children in FY 2024, compared to 2,167 in FY 2023 and 2,226 in FY 2022 (2,167 Eligibility letters represents a correction to the 2,067 Eligibility letters originally reported last year). Of the 2,642 foreign national children certified in FY 2024, 24 percent experienced sex trafficking, 74 percent experienced labor trafficking, and 2 percent experienced both labor and sex trafficking.

Foreign national children currently in the United States who are identified as survivors of trafficking and receive an Eligibility Letter may also be eligible to participate in HHS’s Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program. This program requires states where the program operates to provide such child victims with the same range of assistance, care, and services available to children in that state’s domestic foster care. The program also requires states to provide additional support to address the unique needs of foreign national children. In FY 2024, the program served 646 child trafficking victims, including 167 new enrollees, an increase from 581 child trafficking victims that included 192 new enrollees in FY 2023.

(581 child trafficking victims and 192 new enrollees represent a correction to 577 and 191 respectively cited last year). DHS provides immigration options specifically for foreign national survivors of trafficking through Continued Presence, a temporary immigration designation, and T nonimmigrant status, a temporary immigration benefit (commonly referred to as the “T visa”). Both immigration options strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investigate or prosecute human trafficking by offering eligible foreign national survivors temporary immigration relief. U nonimmigrant status (commonly referred to as the “U visa”) can be granted to survivors who are, have been, or are likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of qualifying criminal activity and meet other specific eligibility requirements.

DHS is not always able to track the number of approved petitions for U nonimmigrant status based on the underlying qualifying criminal activity, so it is unknown how many U nonimmigrant petitions DHS approved specifically for trafficking victims. To qualify for Continued Presence, law enforcement must identify the foreign national as a human trafficking victim who may be a potential witness in the investigation or prosecution of the trafficker. DHS manages all requests from federal, state, and local law enforcement for Continued Presence, authorizing foreign nationals identified by law enforcement as trafficking victims who may be potential witnesses to lawfully remain and work in the United States during the investigation and prosecution of the crime for two years, renewable for up to two-year increments as needed. In FY 2024, DHS granted 234 initial Continued Presence requests and 83 extensions, compared with 269 initial grants and 113 extensions in FY 2023.

Of the 317 total requests granted, 238 were related to forced labor, 65 were related to sex trafficking, and 14 were related to both. In FY 2024, the median time to adjudicate Continued Presence applications was three days, down from four days in FY 2023. DHS streamlined the submission process for federal law enforcement agencies by switching from paper to online applications. To qualify for T nonimmigrant status, a foreign national must demonstrate that he or she (1) is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons; (2) is physically present in the United States, its territories and outlying possessions, or at a U.S. port of entry on account of trafficking; (3) has complied with reasonable requests from law enforcement (unless he or she was younger than the age of 18 at the time at least one of the acts of trafficking occurred or was unable to cooperate due to trauma suffered); (4) would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm upon removal from the United States; and (5) is admissible to the United States or qualifies for a waiver of any applicable grounds of inadmissibility.

Foreign nationals applying for T nonimmigrant status may also apply for certain family members to receive derivative T nonimmigrant status, including certain extended family members who face a present danger of retaliation because of the principal applicant’s escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement. T nonimmigrants are authorized to work, and their derivative family members can apply for employment authorization. Both are eligible to receive certain benefits and services to the same extent as refugees. T nonimmigrant status is granted for a period of four years and may be extended under certain limited circumstances.

If the T nonimmigrant is continuously physically present in the United States for three years, or for the duration of the investigation or prosecution that is now complete (whichever period of time is shorter), the T nonimmigrant may apply for lawful permanent resident status, if certain requirements are met, and eventually for U.S. citizenship. DHS granted T nonimmigrant status to 3,786 victims and 2,392 family members in FY 2024, a significant increase from 2,181 victims and 1,495 family members in FY 2023. The median processing time for T nonimmigrant status applications was 14.9 months in FY 2024, compared to 12.3 months in FY 2023 and 12.9 months in FY 2022. In April 2024, DHS published a final rule that modified the T nonimmigrant status program, including clarifying reporting and evidentiary requirements for trafficking victims and updating the bona fide determination process.

The rule went into effect in August 2024. DHS extended from two to four years the initial period of deferred action provided to foreign national workers who are victims of, or witness to, labor rights violations and exploitation and who request temporary immigration protections to allow them to participate in a labor investigation or workplace dispute without fear of immigration-based retaliation by employers. Categorical deferred action programs for foreign nationals were terminated in January 2025. Anti-trafficking experts again reported lengthy T nonimmigrant status processing times and significant obstacles to obtaining T nonimmigrant status, impacting victims’ vulnerabilities to re-trafficking as they waited for final decisions on their applications and impacting their access to provisions for legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face retribution or hardship.

Anti-trafficking experts reported survivors who were granted a bona fide determination were not issued an employment authorization which would allow them to legally work. Anti-trafficking experts again expressed concern about the low numbers of Continued Presence requests made by federal, state, and local law enforcement, which leaves immigrant victims of human trafficking vulnerable and affects their access to provisions for legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face retribution or hardship, and recommended the federal government do more to increase the number of requests. In 2024, DOJ and DHS convened a working group and solicited external anti-trafficking experts’ input regarding the forthcoming victim screening protocol. DHS is required to screen certain aliens for human trafficking, including unaccompanied children and certain detainees.

In the case of adults apprehended, interdicted, or in detention pending removal from the United States, DHS does not mandate screening of such aliens for trafficking indicators. In January 2025, DHS removed a requirement that officers and agents affirmatively seek to identify indicia or evidence suggesting an alien is a victim of a crime or to consider such evidence when determining whether to take civil immigration enforcement action but directed officers and agents to consult with agency counsel prior to conducting a civil immigration enforcement action against known recipients and applicants for victim-based immigration benefits. Over the course of the reporting period, the government issued rules and took executive actions that limited opportunities to seek information, including potential indicators of human trafficking, from aliens encountered at the border that could indicate eligibility for legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face retribution or hardship. Anti-trafficking experts reported confirmed cases in which individuals who exhibited strong indicators of human trafficking were removed without being proactively identified and without being provided access to provisions for legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face retribution or hardship.

HHS is responsible for the care, custody, and placement of unaccompanied children in federal custody by reason of their immigration status. Unaccompanied children must be referred to HHS within 48 hours then physically transferred into HHS custody within 72 hours. When unaccompanied children are placed in the care and custody of HHS, they are screened for human trafficking indicators during the intake process and on a routine basis thereafter during their time in HHS custody. Pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), as amended, and under relevant regulations, HHS conducts a thorough assessment to determine if a sponsor (typically a parent or other close adult relative) can provide for the child’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Under the law and applicable regulations, HHS must also conduct home studies for certain unaccompanied children, prior to release, including for those who have been victims of severe forms of human trafficking. The TVPRA requires that unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries be transferred to HHS rather than being assessed and (when appropriate) returned. These children are at significant risk of exploitation, including forced labor, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse. Every child and his or her sponsor receive safety and well-being calls and access to post-release services, in a manner consistent with the TVPRA.

The law also requires every federal, state, and local official to notify HHS within 24 hours of discovering a foreign national child may be a trafficking victim and for HHS to assess whether the child is eligible for benefits and services to the same extent as a refugee. HHS expanded its post-release services through FY 2024. In FY 2024, more than 85 percent of all children in HHS care received post-release services and by the start of FY 2025, 99.4 percent of all children were receiving post-release services. HHS implemented a final rule in July 2024 that outlined the minimum standards for HHS-funded care provider facilities and protections for unaccompanied children and established an ombuds office to address and investigate concerns while implementing the provisions of the TVPRA.

In February 2025, HHS published field guidance requiring fingerprinting for all sponsors and adult household members before an unaccompanied child is released to their care. In March 2025, the government canceled a contract that provided federal funding for legal services for unaccompanied children. Anti-trafficking experts continued to report that foreign national victims remained in trafficking situations because they were afraid to report their cases to law enforcement, pursue immigration options, or seek services for fear of deportation and job loss. Anti-trafficking experts voiced concerns about sponsor vetting procedures and on the services and follow-up children and sponsors received from HHS upon release.

Anti-trafficking experts again reported insufficient government efforts to identify and respond to child labor trafficking. The U.S. government continued to provide training, both directly and through NGO partnerships, for federal, state, local, and tribal officials, as well as for NGO service providers, health and human service providers, and legal service providers to encourage more consistent application of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive approaches in all phases of victim identification, assistance, service delivery, and participation in the criminal justice process.

PREVENTION

The government increased efforts to prevent trafficking. The government continued to implement a comprehensive three-year national action plan to combat human trafficking, which ended during the reporting period. The government’s interagency task force continued to report on agency accomplishments and future efforts and invited a member of the presidentially appointed survivor advisory council to join its meeting to provide survivor perspectives and expertise. The U.S. Trade Representative released the first-ever trade strategy to combat forced labor.

HHS began implementing its national prevention framework to approach human trafficking as a public health challenge, focusing on addressing vulnerabilities at individual, community, and societal levels. HHS continued to fund an NGO to operate the national human trafficking hotline. In FY 2024, the hotline received reports of 12,130 potential trafficking situations referencing 12,129 potential victims. Fifty-six percent of human trafficking situations reported to the hotline were potential sex trafficking, 17 percent were potential labor trafficking, 12 percent were both potential sex and labor trafficking, and 15 percent were unspecified.

A total of 7,693 signals, including calls, texts, and web chats, came from individuals who identified themselves as potential victims of trafficking seeking help. The government provided funding, materials, and trainings related to human trafficking – including on trauma-informed and victim-centered approaches – to federal grantees, school communities, public health providers, child welfare system staff, public and private sector transportation professionals, private sector industry professionals, and federal government acquisitions personnel, among others. DOL, DHS, and State screen and approve employers and workers for temporary foreign worker programs to ensure compliance with program requirements, including worker protections. The United States bars employers participating in these programs and/or their agents from seeking or receiving payments from workers for any activities related to obtaining labor certification or employment.

In addition, the government can use the criminal statute that prohibits the use of fraud to recruit, solicit, or hire workers abroad to come to the United States to work to hold employers and their agents criminally responsible for abusive employment practices commonly associated with forced labor. DOJ initiated one prosecution for fraud in foreign labor contracting and obtained one such conviction in FY 2024, compared to two prosecutions and two convictions in FY 2023. State continued for the majority of the reporting period its policy of waiving interviews for certain first-time H-2 (temporary agricultural and nonagricultural workers) visa applicants, which again reduced the government’s ability to ensure applicants received information about their rights. In February 2025, the government resumed requiring interviews for H-2 applicants.

State also published an update to the “Know Your Rights” pamphlet with input from the public to improve readability and add a more comprehensive list of resources, including about crime victims’ rights. DHS issued final rules to strengthen worker protections within temporary worker programs. One rule improved integrity measures for the H-1B program, including codifying the authority to conduct site visits and another rule for H-2A and H-2B workers imposed new penalties on companies that charge prohibited fees or violate labor laws and increased flexibility for these H-2A and H-2B workers. DOL issued a final rule to improve protections for farmworkers while ensuring that employment of H-2A workers does not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. farmworkers.

This rule was subject to pending legal challenges, and district courts had preliminarily enjoined or stayed parts or all of the rule in certain states and with respect to certain entities, at the end of the reporting period. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report examining agencies’ oversight of the H-2A visa program and found from FY 2018 through FY 2023, 84 percent of DOL’s investigations of H-2A employers found one or more violations of workers’ rights, most commonly related to pay, including withholding of wages. Despite the high rate of violation, H-2A employers faced only a 3 percent chance of being investigated by DOL. Anti-trafficking experts continued to report aspects of some temporary worker and other nonimmigrant visa programs enable human traffickers, including employers, labor contractors, or agents, to maintain control of workers.

Formal and informal recruiters, labor contractors, and agents continued to charge workers prohibited fees, and the government’s enforcement of the ban on worker-paid recruitment fees and other prohibited practices meant to prevent workers from experiencing situations of heightened risk to human trafficking remained weak. NGOs again called for the government to increase transparency of the recruitment process, prioritize holding accountable employers and farm labor contractors, as well as their agents who have exploited workers and violated visa program regulations, and pass federal legislation to regulate foreign labor recruitment. State continued its oversight of the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP, commonly referred to as the “J-1 visa”), and monitored all exchange visitor programs to safeguard health, safety, and welfare and to identify and investigate program fraud and abuse. State increased its virtual and in-person monitoring, disseminating surveys to nearly 300,000 exchange visitors on their health, safety, and welfare, a 57 percent increase compared to 2023.

State completed 35 in-person monitoring visits, compared to 23 in-person monitoring visits in 2023. In FY 2024, State conducted 4,750 case reviews involving exchange visitor incidents, complaints, wellness checks, and sponsor reviews, an increase from 4,315 case reviews conducted in 2023. State can sanction for violations of EVP regulations that may contribute to a trafficking situation or increase the risk of human trafficking among EVP participants but does not include an assessment of whether trafficking has occurred. In FY 2024, no sponsors received sanctions for violations of EVP regulations that could increase the risk of human trafficking among participants.

In FY 2024, State referred three cases involving the EVP to law enforcement for potential human trafficking. In March 2025, a court magistrate judge determined that a former EVP intern plausibly alleged that his former employer engaged in TVPA violations in a class action lawsuit. State and the U.S. Mission to the UN continued to implement their respective domestic worker in-person registration programs for A-3 and G-5 visa holders employed by foreign mission and international organization personnel in the United States. In January 2025, State suspended for one year the G-5 visa sponsorship privileges afforded to officials accredited to Kuwait’s Permanent Mission to the UN because the government declined to waive diplomatic immunity for U.S. criminal proceedings involving alleged mistreatment of three domestic workers and has not initiated its own prosecution.

Civil enforcement of federal laws continued to be a significant component of the government’s anti-trafficking efforts. DOL investigated complaints and conducted targeted civil labor investigations of federal labor standards involving workers in industries and sectors known to be vulnerable to labor trafficking, including complaints or investigations related to temporary foreign worker programs. Where appropriate, DOL referred these cases for criminal investigation. In FY 2024, DOL continued such enforcement activities in industries including agriculture, construction, food services, direct care services, and warehouse and logistics.

DOL worked with criminal law enforcement agencies in 41 trafficking cases, by making referrals, receiving referrals for investigation, and assisting with the computation of restitution for victims, a decrease from 44 cases in FY 2023. As of January 2025, DOL had more than 1,000 open child labor cases nationwide. In FY 2024, DOL concluded 736 investigations with child labor violations involving 4,030 children and assessed those employers with more than $15.1 million in civil money penalties, compared to 955 investigations with child labor violations involving 5,792 children in FY 2023. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a civil law enforcement agency, tasked with enforcing federal employment anti-discrimination statutes.

The EEOC receives charges of discrimination filed by, or on behalf of, victims of trafficking alleging a violation of a federal employment anti-discrimination statute. Where evidence is found, EEOC seeks compensatory relief for victims. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement to resolve the charges that is satisfactory to the EEOC, the EEOC has authority to file lawsuits in federal district court on behalf of aggrieved individuals and in the public interest. In FY 2024, the EEOC received 11 new charges of discrimination linked to human trafficking and resolved five such charges, compared to nine charges received and 10 resolved in FY 2023.

As of September 30, 2024, the EEOC had 14 pending charges linked to human trafficking. It does not currently have employment discrimination lawsuits pending related to human trafficking. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, including by prosecuting individuals for sex trafficking involving children. DHS conducted operations targeting online platforms used by sex traffickers to disrupt and dismantle their operations and to identify and assist victims of human trafficking, including working with foreign partners to identify traffickers and victims located throughout the world.

DHS led federal law enforcement efforts to combat crimes related to child sexual exploitation and abuse, arresting 4,951 individuals and identifying 1,783 victims in FY 2024. DoD investigated 160 cases of service members allegedly violating DoD’s prohibition on procuring commercial sex, engaging in child abuse and exploitation, and committing other offenses with potential human trafficking elements. Some anti-trafficking experts called for greater efforts to address demand for commercial sex because it fuels human trafficking. Other anti-trafficking experts asserted such efforts create a barrier for victims of human trafficking to come forward to report their abuse, participate as witnesses against their traffickers, and access support.

Anti-trafficking experts called for the government to increase efforts to prevent online sexual exploitation, including child sex trafficking, deter the production of child sexual abuse material, and protect victims of online sexual abuse and exploitation. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for participation in extraterritorial sexual exploitation and abuse of children by its citizens, including by proactively investigating allegations of child sexual exploitation crimes perpetrated overseas by U.S. citizens and working with foreign law enforcement counterparts to share information regarding international travel of registered child sex offenders. In FY 2024, five defendants were federally convicted of engaging in extraterritorial child sexual exploitation and abuse, compared to eight in FY 2023. This offense applies to all child sexual exploitation and abuse and is not limited to child sex trafficking.

Offenders who abuse children abroad may have been prosecuted under other statutes, which are not reflected in this statistic. In FY 2024, DHS sent nearly 5,000 notifications to relevant authorities about registered child sex offenders who were travelling to a foreign country. The government provided anti-trafficking training to its diplomats. DOJ and other federal law enforcement agencies did not receive any allegations of forced labor or recruitment fees charged to third-country nationals working on certain U.S. government contracts abroad.

Therefore, DOJ did not initiate any federal criminal prosecutions of employers or labor contractors for such violations in FY 2024. In FY 2024, DoD reported investigating 11 cases related to forced labor in federal contracts. Where appropriate, DoD referred these cases for criminal investigation or pursues criminal investigations. DoD did not debar any individuals from conducting business with the federal government for violating contracting prohibitions related to human trafficking.

During FY 2024, DHS debarred 10 entities from conducting business with the federal government for engaging in human trafficking. A GAO report found federal agencies did not take a systematic approach to managing trafficking risks in contracting, which would help agencies support the U.S. policy of zero tolerance for trafficking. Components of a systematic approach would include identifying and analyzing the type and level of risks for trafficking; developing responses to those risks; and communicating this information to contracting officials. DHS continued to enforce the law that prohibits the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, with forced labor.

In FY 2024, DHS issued one WRO and zero findings for shipments of goods where information reasonably indicated that merchandise was made with forced labor. DHS modified one WRO and zero findings after determining the companies remediated all forced labor indicators in their supply chain. This compares to the issuance of one WRO and zero findings and the modification of three WROs and one finding in FY 2023. In accordance with the law, an interagency task force continued implementing its strategy to prevent goods made with forced labor, primarily from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), from entering U.S. markets.

As part of this strategy, DHS implements and enforces a rebuttable presumption that all goods manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR or by a named entity on an entity list are prohibited from importation into the United States. In FY 2024, DHS stopped 4,850 shipments of goods, valued at more than $1.75 billion, suspected to have been made wholly or in part with forced labor, compared to 4,415 shipments valued at $1.46 billion in FY 2023. Of the shipments stopped in FY 2024, 4,614 shipments, valued at more than $1.74 billion, were subject to XUAR-related reviews or enforcement actions, compared to 4,017 shipments valued at more than $1.42 billion in FY 2023 (4,053 shipments valued at $1.44 billion originally reported last year). DHS denied 1,325 shipments valued at more than $183 million from entering U.S. commerce due to presumed connections with the XUAR or an importer’s failure to provide evidence to support the release of the shipments stopped for forced labor reviews.

The interagency task force also added 38 entities to the entity list in FY 2024, subjecting their shipments to detention, exclusion, or seizure based on the law’s rebuttable presumption. Treasury uses its sanctioning authorities to hold traffickers accountable and to disrupt human trafficking activities. In September 2024, Treasury announced sanctions against a Cambodian official and five corporate entities for human rights abuses amounting to forced labor in online scam operations at casinos and hotels. To help prevent labor abuses in the seafood industry, the Department of Commerce, in coordination with DOL and State, helped establish the first set of binding crew labor standards adopted in an international regional fisheries management organization.

The measure requires owners and operators of certain vessels to maintain minimum working conditions and take action to address suspected forced labor. Anti-trafficking experts asserted the government’s efforts to pursue trafficking cases against private employers or corporations for forced labor in supply chains were insufficient in holding businesses accountable due to the global prevalence of forced labor in supply chains. One NGO conducted an analysis of 167 federal labor trafficking criminal prosecutions filed between 2000 and 2022, none of which targeted corporations or private employers for such practices. Anti-trafficking experts called on the government to dedicate additional resources to evaluate U.S. supply chains for forced labor, including forced child labor, to encourage companies to implement transparency measures and for governments to hold companies accountable.

Anti-trafficking experts urged the government to increase its enforcement of import prohibitions against products made with forced labor in contexts other than the XUAR, especially issuing more WROs and Findings. NGOs noted the government’s decision to lift the prohibition on sugar imports reportedly without adhering to established processes undermined efforts to combat forced labor in U.S. private sector supply chains. FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBAL NATIONS AND ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES In September 2024, the government convened a sixth trilateral meeting with the Governments of Mexico and Canada and the Indigenous leaders and government officials from all three countries on violence against Indigenous women and girls, including human trafficking. Participants exchanged information about policies, programs, and promising practices to address and respond to human trafficking and to address barriers to justice.

The three countries reaffirmed their commitment to advance prevention efforts and the responses of their justice, health, education, and child welfare systems to violence against women and children, including human trafficking, in Indigenous communities; increase support for survivors to access justice; and enhance regional coordination efforts to better address the causes of increased vulnerability. In October 2024, DOJ launched an initiative to assist tribal law enforcement with locating missing Indigenous children who were at risk of human trafficking or other harm and connecting them to services. The Department of the Interior (DOI) provided training on human trafficking in tribal communities to tribal law enforcement, government personnel, and members of the public. DHS developed awareness materials for tribal nations and Alaska Native communities to increase their awareness of human trafficking indicators and how to report suspicions of trafficking.

HHS continued to deliver online training and technical assistance on human trafficking to health care, behavioral health, public health, and social service providers serving Indigenous communities. HHS funded grants to provide victim services to Native communities alongside program evaluations. In FY 2024, HHS again funded a grant program to strengthen the response to victims of human trafficking and to provide comprehensive case management services for Native survivors of human trafficking in Anchorage, Minnesota, and Oahu.

U.S. INSULAR AREAS

Trafficking in persons occurs in the U.S. insular areas, including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). On Guam and CNMI, DHS continued to engage with community partners to provide victim services, train law enforcement, and share strategies for improving victim identification. DOJ continued to advance an initiative that enhances coordination with anti-trafficking experts in the Pacific Region on victim services, law enforcement responses, training, community outreach, and prevention programs. DOJ and DHS continued to participate, along with local authorities in Puerto Rico, in the crimes against children task force.

In Puerto Rico, DHS continued to engage with federal, state, and local partners to combat sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, as well as the prevalence of online child sexual abuse material, including providing trainings on these topics. HHS responded to requests for assistance with trafficking concerns identified in CNMI, Puerto Rico, USVI, and other U.S. territories, including through the national human trafficking hotline. DOJ grantees supported anti-trafficking victim services in the Northern Mariana Islands. HHS delivered training of trainers and follow-on technical assistance in response to needs identified by Indigenous Pacific Islander community leaders in Guam, to strengthen anti-trafficking responses in the region.

As part of the prosecution statistics previously mentioned, a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging two individuals with coercion and enticement and sex trafficking of a child. TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign national victims in the United States as well as victims from the United States abroad.

Human trafficking cases have been reported in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and most U.S. insular areas. Legal and illegal immigrants to the United States have been identified as trafficking victims. Victims originate from almost every region of the world; the top three countries of origin of victims identified by HHS funded providers in FY 2024 were Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala. Alien smuggling at the southwest border increases the vulnerability of aliens to human trafficking, including through exploitation during transit or at destination sites.

Traffickers often target those who experience discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, disability, or sexual orientation; violence (such as intimate partner or domestic violence); poverty; substance dependency; or who interact with government-run programs (such as the criminal justice system, runaway and homeless youth services, foster or institutional care, and the immigration enforcement system). Traffickers compel victims to engage in commercial sex and to work in both legal and illicit industries and sectors, including in hospitality, traveling sales crews, agriculture, janitorial services, construction, landscaping, restaurants and grocery retailers, factories (including food processing facilities) and manufacturing, direct care services, salon services, massage parlors, retail, peddling, begging and forced criminality, drug smuggling and distribution, religious institutions, and domestic work. Traffickers utilize technology and social media to recruit and abuse victims, fueling the rising threat of online child sex trafficking. Child labor trafficking is a widespread but hidden crime across various sectors, as children, dependent on caregivers, are especially vulnerable to forced labor, including through familial trafficking.

Individuals with substance use disorders or substance dependency are vulnerable to human trafficking, as traffickers can exploit their addiction to recruit and manipulate them, leveraging their dependency to maintain power and control. On This Page search > < UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Tier 1) PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBAL NATIONS AND ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES U.S. INSULAR AREAS TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports United States