Trafficking Survivors Relief Act

The law gives survivors a path to lessen the lasting legal consequences of offenses they were compelled to commit while being trafficked.

What the law does ​

• Allows courts to vacate qualifying nonviolent federal convictions.
• Permits expungement of qualifying arrest records, including limited violent offenses that did not involve a child victim.
• Authorizes sentence reductions for qualifying offenses resulting directly from trafficking.
• Creates a trafficking-based duress defense.
• Seals case records, waives filing and processing fees, and allows appeals.
• Permits eligible grants to fund post-conviction representation and requires federal implementation reports.

Who it affects ​

• Human trafficking survivors with qualifying federal convictions, arrest records, or prison sentences.
• Federal courts handling relief requests and appeals.
• Legal service providers eligible for grant funding.

Breakdown ​

Trafficking Survivors Relief Act ​

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act allows human trafficking survivors to ask federal courts to clear certain convictions and arrest records when the conduct resulted directly from trafficking. It also permits sentence reductions, creates a trafficking-based duress defense, protects applicants’ confidentiality, and requires reporting on implementation.

Key takeaways

• Survivors may seek to vacate federal convictions for nonviolent offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked.
• Survivors may seek expungement of arrest records for nonviolent offenses and, in limited circumstances, violent offenses that did not involve a child victim.
• Courts may reduce prison sentences for qualifying nonviolent or violent offenses committed as a direct result of trafficking.
• Successful relief generally restores the survivor’s status under federal law to what it was before the arrest or prosecution, but courts are not required to remove fines or restitution orders.
• Motions and related records must be sealed, applicants cannot be charged filing or processing fees, and court decisions may be appealed.
• The Act creates a trafficking-based duress defense, permits eligible grants to fund post-conviction representation, and requires federal reports on motions, outcomes, training, and access to relief.