Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) is the nation’s largest coalition of trafficking survivors, social service providers, and attorneys working directly with trafficking survivors. FNUSA’s 53 service provider members served over 6000 survivors last year alone. We unequivocally condemn the Trump Administration’s OMB Memo M-25-13 which will enable human trafficking, harm trafficking victims and survivors, and shield traffickers from accountability.
Programs created under the monumental Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) within the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have been paused under this memo, leaving survivors of trafficking across the country without access to housing, food, and supports that prevent exploitation. These programs provide critical funding for social, legal, and medical services for trafficking survivors. Without them, our already limited service structures for survivors will collapse. Indiscriminately halting funding in the middle of a grant is illegal and threatens the lives of survivors across the US.
With this horrific move, the Trump Administration is putting more power in the hands of traffickers. When services are unavailable, survivors are left homeless, without medical care, and without legal protection. With nowhere safe to go, they have no choice but to stay with their trafficker. Without legal and mental health support, survivors who have escaped cannot participate in prosecutions of traffickers. Without witness statements and testimony, investigations and prosecutions die and traffickers are set free to continue to exploit and abuse workers.