Emma Ecker |
FNUSA’s Statement on Funding Cuts to Lifesaving Victim Services Programs
This week, the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs cancelled numerous grants that serve survivors of crime without notice. These programs are essential to ensuring victims of trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and hate crimes can access…
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Emma Ecker |
Where We’re Headed: How Federal Policy Changes are Threatening Survivors Lives
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…
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Emma Ecker |
The State of Human Trafficking Services One Month into the Second Trump Administration
The first month of the new Administration has brought immense challenges to providing human trafficking survivors with lifesaving support and preventing exploitation. Survivors depend on a wide array of federally funded services both during and after exploitation. Access to food,…
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Emma Ecker |
FNUSA Condemns Pause on Federal Funding Leaving Survivors Without Lifesaving Services
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…
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Emma Ecker |
Prevention as Preemption: Primary Prevention as a Framework to Constructively Fight Trafficking
By Aneesa Shaikh Preventative actions are of vital importance to our anti-trafficking efforts because they not only confront immediate risks, but also establish long-term solutions that eliminate vulnerabilities while also strengthening resilience for the future. Current US trafficking policy focuses…
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Emma Ecker |
FNUSA Recommendations Highlighted in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report
By Emma Ecker On June 24, 2024, the US Department of State (DOS) released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report which evaluates the efforts of 188 countries to meet a set of minimum standards to address human trafficking. The…
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Emma Ecker |
The National Human Trafficking Hotline Cannot Act as a Law Enforcement Tipline and Help Survivors
The National Human Trafficking Hotline Cannot Act as a Law Enforcement Tipline and Help Survivors Throughout 2023, the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) has come under scrutiny after claims from 36 State Attorneys General that the hotline is failing to…
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Emma Ecker |
Historic Capitol Hill Briefing by Experts with Lived Experience
Historic Capitol Hill Briefing by Experts with Lived Experience Held as Congress Enters Critical Moment to Address Trafficking With a surge in public interest from a summer movie about international child sex trafficking and recent news reports of child labor…
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Emma Ecker |
FNUSA Response to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Ensuring the Safety and Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children
Yesterday, June 14, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on ways the United States can ensure the safety and well-being of children who enter the US without a parent or guardian. The hearing was spawned by the revelations…
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Emma Ecker |
New Proposed Asylum Ban Will Harm Trafficking Survivors
On February 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a new rule that would reinstate asylum restrictions put in place under the Trump Administration. The rule would effectively limit asylum to migrants from Mexico and Canada arriving by land…
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Emma Ecker |
New Authority for OSHA Can Help Survivors Access T Visas
On February 13, 2023, the Department of Labor announced it has finally granted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the authority to issue T and U Visa certifications. This long-awaited authority will increase opportunities for survivors of human trafficking…
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Emma Ecker |
Successes and Failures of the 2022 Trafficking Victims Protection Act Reauthorization
In 2000, Congress passed the United States’ first comprehensive anti-human trafficking legislation, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). Since then, this landmark legislation has been reauthorized seven times to expand the scope of protections and…