22 U.S.C. § 7105 - Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking

• Cite as: 22 U.S.C. § 7105

(a) Assistance for victims in other countries

(1) In general

The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in consultation with appropriate nongovernmental organizations, shall establish and carry out programs and initiatives in foreign countries to assist in the safe integration, reintegration, or resettlement, as appropriate, of victims of trafficking. Such programs and initiatives shall be designed to meet the appropriate assistance needs of such persons and their children, as identified by the Task Force, and shall be carried out in a manner which takes into account the cross-border, regional, and transnational aspects of trafficking in persons. In addition, such programs and initiatives shall, to the maximum extent practicable, include the following:

(A) Support for local in-country nongovernmental organization-operated hotlines, culturally and linguistically appropriate protective shelters, and regional and international nongovernmental organization networks and databases on trafficking, including support to assist nongovernmental organizations in establishing service centers and systems that are mobile and extend beyond large cities.

(B) Support for nongovernmental organizations and advocates to provide legal, social, and other services and assistance to trafficked individuals, particularly those individuals in detention, and by facilitating contact between relevant foreign government agencies and such nongovernmental organizations to facilitate cooperation between the foreign governments and such organizations.

(C) Education and training for trafficked women and girls.

(D) The safe integration or reintegration of trafficked individuals into an appropriate community or family, with full respect for the wishes, dignity, and safety of the trafficked individual.

(E) Support for developing or increasing programs to assist families of victims in locating, repatriating, and treating their trafficked family members, in assisting the voluntary repatriation of these family members or their integration or resettlement into appropriate communities, and in providing them with treatment.

(F) In cooperation and coordination with relevant organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and private nongovernmental organizations that contract with, or receive grants from, the United States Government to assist refugees and internally displaced persons, support for-

(i) increased protections for refugees and internally displaced persons, including outreach and education efforts to prevent such refugees and internally displaced persons from being exploited by traffickers; and

(ii) performance of best interest determinations for unaccompanied and separated children who come to the attention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, its partner organizations, or any organization that contracts with the Department of State in order to identify child trafficking victims and to assist their safe integration, reintegration, and resettlement.

(2) Additional requirement

In establishing and conducting programs and initiatives described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall take all appropriate steps to enhance cooperative efforts among foreign countries, including countries of origin of victims of trafficking, to assist in the integration, reintegration, or resettlement, as appropriate, of victims of trafficking, including stateless victims. In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary and the Administrator shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that cooperative efforts among foreign countries are undertaken on a regional basis and shall brief Congress annually on such efforts.

(b) Victims in the United States

(1) Assistance

(A) Eligibility for benefits and services

Notwithstanding title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 [ 8 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], an alien who is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, or an alien classified as a nonimmigrant under section 1101(a)(15)(T)(ii) of title 8, shall be eligible for benefits and services under any Federal or State program or activity funded or administered by any official or agency described in subparagraph (B) to the same extent as an alien who is admitted to the United States as a refugee under section 1157 of title 8.

(B) Requirement to expand benefits and services

(i) In general

Subject to subparagraph (C) and, in the case of nonentitlement programs, to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, and the heads of other Federal agencies shall expand benefits and services to victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons in the United States, and aliens classified as a nonimmigrant under section 1101(a)(15)(T)(ii) of title 8, without regard to the immigration status of such victims. In the case of nonentitlement programs funded by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, such benefits and services may include services to assist potential victims of trafficking in achieving certification and to assist minor dependent children of victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons or potential victims of trafficking.

(ii) National human trafficking hotline

Beginning in fiscal year 2017, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make grants for a national communication system to assist victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons in communicating with service providers. The Secretary shall give priority to grant applicants that have experience in providing telephone services to victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons. The contact information of the national human trafficking hotline (including options to reach out to the hotline such as through phone, text, or TTY) shall be posted as follows:

(I) In a visible place in all Federal buildings.

(II) The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall seek to coordinate with the owners and operators of aircraft, airports, over-the road buses, bus stations, passenger trains, and passenger railroad stations to place the contact information of the national human trafficking hotline in the restrooms of each such aircraft, airport, over the-road bus, bus station, passenger train, and passenger railroad station operating within the United States.

(III) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and in coordination with the heads of such other Federal agencies as may be appropriate, shall place the contact information of the national human trafficking hotline at each port of entry.

(C) Definition of victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons

For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons" means only a person-

(i) who has been subjected to an act or practice described in section 7102(8) of this title as in effect on October 28, 2000; and

(ii)

(I) who has not attained 18 years of age; or

(II) who is the subject of a certification under subparagraph (E).

(D) Repealed. Pub. L. 108-193, §6(a)(2), Dec. 19, 2003, 117 Stat. 2880

(E) Certification

(i) In general

Subject to clause (ii), the certification referred to in subparagraph (C) is a certification by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, that the person referred to in subparagraph (C)(ii)(II)-

(I) is willing to assist in every reasonable way in the investigation and prosecution of severe forms of trafficking in persons or is unable to cooperate with such a request due to physical or psychological trauma; and

(II)

(aa) has made a bona fide application for a visa under section 1101(a)(15)(T) of title 8, as added by subsection (e), that has not been denied; or

(bb) is a person whose continued presence in the United States the Secretary of Homeland Security is ensuring in order to effectuate prosecution of traffickers in persons.