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John,
It’s time to turn up the heat on Congress!
Earlier this year, we asked you to tell your Members of Congress to cosponsor and pass the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (S 4214 / HR 7131). As of this writing, 2,560 of you have taken action - thank you!
This month, the Senate is considering taking additional action on the bill! Please visit our Information Center to learn more about the issue and the pending legislation.
Last week (September 12), Cecilia Curry placed an op-ed in the San Diego Union Tribune advocating for passage of the TSRA. This quote sums up why this federal legislation is so desperately needed:
The criminal record I have as a result of my human trafficking experience is like a black cloud that won’t go away. No matter what I have accomplished or how hard I work to heal and grow, this record reminds me of what I have gone through. It reminds me that the world will continue to define me by the worst moments in my past. ... I know that if I was able to clear it, the opportunities to thrive would be endless for me and other criminalized survivors.
Polaris’s National Survivor Study, a survey of nearly 500 trafficking survivors in the US, found that 42% of all respondents reported having a criminal record. Of those with records, 90% reported that all, or some, of their arrests were related to their exploitation.
The TSRA creates a pathway for victims of human trafficking who have been convicted of a federal offense as a result of their trafficking situation to clear their criminal records of those crimes. |
