Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2025

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act would provide relief to people who were victims of human trafficking and were criminalized as a result of their victimization. The bill would establish an affirmative defense allowing trafficking survivors to defend against charges that arose directly from their trafficking, and would create a pathway for survivors to vacate convictions and expunge arrest records for nonviolent offenses committed as a direct result of their trafficking situation. The legislation would also allow Department of Justice grants to fund legal representation for survivors seeking post-conviction relief.

Many trafficking survivors face significant barriers to rebuilding their lives because criminal records—even arrest records without conviction—make it difficult to find employment, secure housing, or access other opportunities. The bill recognizes that traffickers often coerce victims into committing crimes, and seeks to address the injustice of survivors carrying convictions for crimes they were forced to commit. If enacted, this would establish the first federal pathway for criminalized trafficking survivors to clear their records, though similar protections already exist in some states.