Breaking the Link between Human Trafficking and Forced Migration

The Alliance to End Human Trafficking (AEHT) (formerly U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking) and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (NAC), faith-based networks that work to end human trafficking, deplore the increase in human trafficking in the United States and around the world. Both organizations were founded by women religious, who are long-time leaders in the effort to put an end to the recruitment and exploitation of others by force, fraud, or coercion. Catholic sisters and their partners in mission have educated the public about the dangers of human trafficking, accompanied survivors on their journey to healing, and worked tirelessly to eliminate the root causes of human trafficking, including forced migration. Women religious and their colleagues have seen firsthand how traffickers prey on those forced to flee their homes because of circumstances beyond their control, and they have come to understand the vulnerabilities created by sometimes ineffective U.S. policy and law.

With a long-standing shared commitment to end human trafficking and with ties to international religious congregations of women, AEHT and NAC are leading efforts to break the dangerous link between human trafficking and forced migration. They are partnering with other organizations, policymakers, and Members of Congress and their staffs to create laws and policies that protect immigrants from human traffickers.

We believe that legislation currently pending in the 118th Congress is a good starting point. We are advocating for:

• Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) (H.R. 5856)
• Immigration Court Efficiency and Children’s Court Act (H.R. 6145 and S. 3178)
• Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act (H.R. 1325)