Almost three months into the second Trump Administration, one thing is very clear: survivors are not a priority for this government. Policy changes, drastic cuts to lifesaving programs, and threats to anti-trafficking services since the beginning of the Administration have shown the US Government is retreating from its commitments to address human trafficking. Any cuts to social services, threats against vulnerable populations, or attempts to criminalize service providers do nothing to prevent trafficking, and instead enable trafficking by increasing communities’ vulnerabilities to exploitation.
Since January 20, 2025, we have seen attacks on victim services, immigrants’ rights, labor rights, survivors, vulnerable communities, critical research, and international aid programs. Each of these attacks threatens survivors’ ability to achieve safety, forces victims to stay in trafficking situations for longer, and exacerbates vulnerabilities to human trafficking.
Victim Services
Looming threats to victim services funding for human trafficking programs have resulted in panic and loss of trust with clients. Service providers across the country have faced the threat of their programs being shut down or funding pulled as federal agencies review grants for compliance with new vague Executive Orders. Multiple programs that serve immigrant survivors have faced stop-work orders, contract lapses, and funding cuts that are creating immense gaps in access to services and legal counsel across the country.
If funding is further cut to federally funded human trafficking services, the already problematic gaps in service access across the country would be deeply exacerbated. There are already significant gaps in services to rural areas, men and boys, LGBTQ+ survivors, and culturally specific services. Victim services that are specialized to specific communities’ needs, including the types of trafficking most common in the area, are critical to ensuring survivors are able to seek safety.
Immigration Protections
Attacks on immigrants’ ability to exist safely in the US have pushed immigrants underground, where they are unable to access necessary services that protect them from trafficking. Policies that limit the ability of service providers or attorneys to serve immigrants do nothing to protect people and instead, ensure immigrants will be trafficked since survivors are routinely left without legal status due to their trafficking situation. Attacks on immigrants with any visa status or lack of status, always result in the deportation of survivors back to dangerous conditions, provide new tools for traffickers to coerce victims, and prevent survivors from coming forward. When asylum is inaccessible, survivors will be abused and killed. When survivors are unable to find an immigration attorney, they will be unable to come forward and access victim services. When survivors fear coming forward, they will stay in trafficking situations longer where they face abuse and potential death.
Labor Rights and Protections
Enforcement of labor rights and remedies for workers are critical components of a thorough anti-trafficking response. Without strong enforcement efforts and investigations, governments cannot identify employers who are exploiting their workers. Planned mass layoffs at the Department of Labor will mean fewer survivors are identified and people who are vulnerable to trafficking with abusive employers will be less likely to access help. Traffickers abuse with impunity when workers do not understand their rights and there is weak labor law enforcement.
Attacks on Survivors and Vulnerable Communities
Attacks on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender individuals, are intended to exclude them from access to full human rights and make the community a scapegoat for societal ills. This will make LGBTQ+ individuals more vulnerable to human trafficking. BIPOC communities are also facing attacks on their rights to exist and thrive. Racist attacks on DEI initiatives are meant to silence and suppress Black and Brown voices. These attacks are likely to impact human trafficking service providers as many utilize community-based approaches that ensure survivors have resources that are actually beneficial to them and their communities. Without culturally specific and community-driven programs, funding spent on victim services is less effective and more harmful to survivors.
Human trafficking can only be addressed if the vulnerabilities of specific communities are also addressed. Instead of assisting vulnerable communities with access to the services they need to survive, this Administration is attacking the rights of marginalized communities. Any exclusion from access to human rights enables human trafficking. Attempting to silence or erase communities does not make them disappear, it just makes them more vulnerable to violence.
Research Cuts
For all victim services, law enforcement, and prevention efforts, strong research into the efficacy of programs is essential. The US trafficking response needs evaluation across all programs to ensure that federal funds are being spent appropriately. However, recent funding cuts for research into human trafficking, related forms of violence, and health impacts will result in the use of less effective services and prevention efforts.
International Program Shutdowns Impacts in the US
The cancellation of international aid programs and programs designed to reduce trafficking globally have had resounding impacts in the US. The shutdown and cancelation of the International Organization for Migration T Visa resettlement program has left trafficking survivors in the US stranded alone without family members and has revoked funding to assist survivors in the US with voluntary repatriation to their home countries. The US Government also recently shut down all of the International Labor Affairs Bureau’s grant programs designed to prevent child labor and forced labor abroad. Without these programs in place, the US will be removing incentives to prevent forced labor in supply chains around the world, tainting imports into the US with child and forced labor.
What We’re Doing
This Administration is working to undo decades of progress in addressing human trafficking. Using fighting human trafficking as an excuse to further marginalize and inflict violence on any community only enables human trafficking. We know the only way to actually prevent trafficking and help survivors is to protect the human rights of all. FNUSA is dedicated to fighting harmful policies that prevent survivors from seeking safety and exacerbate vulnerabilities to trafficking.
Read more about the impact of recent policies on survivors in our additional input for the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report.