IJM Statement on International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022

Tuesday, June 14, 2022, WASHINGTON, D.C. — International Justice Mission (IJM) welcomes the recent passage of the International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022 (S. 4171) by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This important legislation was introduced by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) on May 11, 2022. The bill reauthorizes essential U.S. anti-trafficking programs and policy, which lapsed in September 2021.

IJM also supports the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 6552), which was introduced on Feb. 1, 2022, by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Karen Bass (D-CA). H.R. 6552 was favorably reported by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 9, 2022.

In their current forms, S. 4171 and H.R. 6522 both include provisions to:

• Reauthorize the Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS).
• Increase authorized funding for the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office).
• Make technical amendments to the TIP Report tier rankings.
• Expand anti-trafficking programming at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 is the landmark federal law that governs U.S. policy to address trafficking in persons in the United States and around the globe. The TVPA has been reauthorized through the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) five times, most recently in early 2019.

IJM calls on Congress to work expeditiously to reauthorize vital anti-trafficking programs across the U.S. government and urges House and Senate leadership to schedule votes on these bills as soon as possible.