Check out our top policy priorities for 2024.
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John,
I’m grateful to be part of this anti-trafficking movement with you.
In recent months, our community has rallied around survivors to protect the National Human Trafficking Hotline
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and push for federal criminal records relief
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. Over Polaris’s history, your collective influence has paved the way for nine federal and 100+ state laws that address the crime.
Every time you sign a letter to your representative or share a post on social media, you help build momentum for policy changes that center survivors and fix the systems that enable trafficking.
And because you’re part of this powerful community, we’re excited to share our top policy priorities for 2024
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to keep you informed and ready to act when the next opportunity arises.
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Priority #1: Fully Resource Victim and Survivor Services and Supports
After exiting situations of trafficking, victims and survivors face an uphill battle to regain stability and independence. To make sure they have the resources they need to heal and thrive, we urge Congress to pass legislation like the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act
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and to invest in programs like the National Human Trafficking Hotline
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.
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Priority #2: Enact Federal Criminal Records Relief for Survivors
During their trafficking experiences, victims and survivors are often arrested instead of supported, resulting in criminal records that prevent them from finding housing and jobs, getting an education, or even maintaining custody of their children. To allow federally criminalized survivors to clear their records, we call on Congress to pass the bipartisan Trafficking Survivors Relief Act
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this year.
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Priority #3: Prevent Labor Trafficking through Enforcement and Enhanced Workers’ Rights
Labor trafficking victims often experience wage theft and threats of deportation. But though the number of vulnerable workers has surged, investigations and prosecutions have not kept pace. We encourage Congress to pass the Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation (POWER) Act and fully fund the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
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to hold exploitative employers accountable.
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Priority #4: Prioritize Financial Repair for Survivors and Enforcement of Financial Laws
Financial instability is both a risk for and a result of being trafficked. To help survivors build financial health, our priorities include improving implementation of the Debt Bondage Repair Act
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— which enables survivors to block adverse information from their trafficking experience from their credit reports — and building capacity for financial institutions and prosecutors to hold more traffickers accountable.
Stay tuned for more updates throughout the year as we continue to dialogue with survivors, coalition partners, Congressional staff on both sides of the aisle, and other stakeholders.
For now, know that we appreciate you immensely. Thank you not only for listening to survivors but for amplifying their voices at the highest levels of power.
With gratitude,
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Will you make freedom happen now?
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