Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Liana Sun Wyler
Analyst in International Crime and Narcotics

Alison Siskin
Specialist in Immigration Policy

Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purposes of exploitation is believed to be one of the most prolific areas of international criminal activity and is of significant concern to the United States and the international community. According to Department of State estimates, roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. If trafficking within countries is included in the total world figures, official U.S. estimates indicate that some 2 to 4 million people are trafficked annually. However, there are even higher estimates, ranging from 4 to 27 million for total numbers of forced or bonded laborers. As many as 17,500 people are believed to be trafficked to the United States each year. 

Since enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, P.L. 106-386), the Administration and Congress have aimed to address TIP by authorizing new programs and reauthorizing existing ones, appropriating funds, and conducting oversight on the effectiveness and implications of U.S. anti-TIP policy. Most recently, the TVPA was reauthorized through FY2011 in the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-457). Obligations for global and domestic anti-TIP programs, not including operations and law enforcement investigations, totaled approximately $103.5 million in FY2009. 

The second session of the 111th Congress has continued to exercise its oversight of TIP programs and operations. Several bills related to combating various aspects of TIP have been introduced. One of them, International Megan's Law of 2010 (H.R. 5138), passed the House on July 27, 2010. Activity on combating TIP will likely continue into the next Congress, particularly related to efforts to reauthorize appropriations for anti-TIP programs. Ongoing policy issues include how to measure the effectiveness of the U.S. and international responses to TIP, including the State Department's annual TIP rankings, the use of unilateral sanctions, and how to balance border control and law enforcement efforts against TIP perpetrators with victim prevention and rehabilitation efforts. Other issues are whether to include all forms of prostitution in the global definition of TIP, and whether sufficient efforts are applied to addressing all forms of TIP, including not only sexual exploitation, but also forced labor and child soldiers. 

On June 14, 2010, the State Department issued its 10th annual, congressionally mandated report on human trafficking. In addition to outlining major trends and ongoing challenges in combating TIP, the report provides a country-by-country analysis and ranking, based on what progress foreign countries have made, from April 2009 through March 2010, in their efforts to prosecute, protect, and prevent TIP. The report categorizes countries into four "tiers" according to the government's efforts to combat trafficking. Those countries that do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking (Tier 3) may be subject to U.S. foreign assistance sanctions if the President does not issue a waiver on national interest grounds in September 2010. Last year, President Barack Obama determined that two Tier 3 countries will be sanctioned for FY2010 without exemption (Cuba and North Korea) and that six Tier 3 countries will be partially sanctioned for FY2010 (Burma, Eritrea, Fiji, Iran, Syria, and Zimbabwe).


Date of Report: August 4, 2010
Number of Pages: 57
Order Number: RL34317
Price: $29.95

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