WASHINGTON – On Friday Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Hank Johnson (D-GA) introduced the National Human Trafficking Database Act, which would establish a national human trafficking database at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and incentivize state law enforcement agencies to report data. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the legislation in the Senate.

“Tens of thousands of human trafficking cases are reported every year in the United States. We must do everything we can to prevent human trafficking and having the necessary tools at our disposable will bring us closer to stopping this awful crime,” said Rep. Kiley. “The bipartisan National Human Trafficking Database Act would help combat this heinous crime by establishing a national database to fill critical information gaps and ultimately save lives.”

“For far too long, human trafficking has been prevalent across our country, including on tribal lands. This crisis reached epidemic proportions under the Biden Administration, with ‘coyotes’ and cartel operatives preying on vulnerable women and children crossing our wide-open southern border. President Trump took decisive action to crack down on these cartels his first few weeks in office, strengthening border security and disrupting trafficking networks. By supporting his efforts and establishing a human trafficking database, we can provide law enforcement with the tools needed to track movements, determine patterns that expedite victim recovery, apprehend perpetrators more quickly, and identify challenges with prosecutions. I am proud to co-lead this important legislation’s reintroduction,” said Rep. Hageman.

“The painful truth is that most victims of human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, are not trafficked across the southern border. Eighty-five percent of human trafficking victims – many of them young runaways living in the U.S. who fall victim to traffickers – are U.S. citizens,” said Rep. Johnson. “The FBI has reported that Atlanta has one of the highest sex trafficking rates in the country. We must do all we can to give our government and our communities the tools they need to combat this scourge and protect our young people. I’m please to help lead this bipartisan, bicameral effort to empower the fight against human trafficking.”

CLICK HERE to view text of the National Human Trafficking Database Act.

BACKGROUND:

Human trafficking is among the fastest-growing illicit trades in the world, generating over $150 billion in profits each year. According to the United Nations’ International Labour Organization, human traffickers victimize an estimated 28 million people worldwide with 80% subjected to forced labor and 20% in sex trafficking. In 2022, agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) helped 765 human trafficking victims and made 3,655 trafficking-related arrests. As of 2022, DHS allocated more than $60 million to combating human smuggling and sent over 1,300 personnel to the southwest border and Latin America to aid in this effort.

Human traffickers know no bounds in their pursuit of victims, and their actions often cause mental trauma, physical harm, financial ruin, and countless other harms to survivors. Many trafficking cases in the U.S. involve workers in jobs with low pay and few legal protections in the underground economy and the service industry. As a result, it’s critical that states can collect data on the human trafficking that occurs in their state and share it with the federal government.