Freedom Network USA |
Trafficking Thrives in the Margins We Create
By Danielle E. Gary, MHC-LP, Human Trafficking Subject Matter Expert Annually, the United States government acknowledges January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The White House’s written acknowledgment summarizes the state of the human trafficking movement, identifies the most pressing…
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Freedom Network USA |
2025 US Advisory Council Report Provides Recommendations for Filling Major Gaps in Addressing Root Causes of Trafficking
In December 2025, the US Advisory Council released its annual report detailing its recommendations for the US government agencies to improve their responses to human trafficking. The Council is made up of 13 survivor leaders and tasked with advising the…
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Freedom Network USA |
FNUSA Celebrates Success as DOJ Releases Long-Delayed TVPA Funding Opportunities and Expresses Concern about Problematic Language
On December 30, 2025, the US Department of Justice released Notices of Funding Opportunities for victims of trafficking grants, 90 days after the grant terms should have begun on October 1, 2025. Due to this delay, over 5,000 survivors of…
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Freedom Network USA |
Lawyers’ Committee Sues Trump Administration Over Anti-DEI Executive Orders on Behalf of Anti-Human Trafficking Organization
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, challenging executive orders that severely restrict and chill Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and jeopardize the future of its work to protect and advocate for human trafficking survivors.…
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Freedom Network USA |
Announcing Freedom Network USA’s New Co-Executive Director
The Freedom Network USA Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the promotion of Karen Romero to Co-Executive Director of the FNUSA. She will serve in partnership with Jean Bruggeman, who has served as Executive Director for the past 10…
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Freedom Network USA |
FNUSA Denounces the Erasure of LGBTQ+ and Immigrant Survivors in the 2025 TIP Report
After months of advocacy from anti-trafficking organizations and Congress, the US Department of State finally released the 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on September 30, 2025, three months after its legal deadline had passed. While the report includes most…
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Freedom Network USA |
FNUSA’s Statement on DOJ Cutting Off Funding for Services for 5,000+ Survivors
Today, on October 1, 2025, the US Department of Justice allowed over 100 trafficking victim services grants to expire without new grants in place to fill the gap. For FY25, Congress appropriated $88,000,000 to the DOJ to provide victim services,…
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Freedom Network USA |
Why FNUSA Prioritizes Non-Carceral Approaches to Addressing Human Trafficking
At FNUSA, we are committed to building a transformative approach to human trafficking, grounded in anti-racism and anti-oppression. In recent years, we have grappled with the impacts of the anti-trafficking movement being so closely tied to law enforcement, as survivors…
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Freedom Network USA |
FNUSA Condemns Attempts to Restrict Immigrant Survivors’ Access to Critical Legal Services
This week, on August 18, 2025, the Office of Justice Programs at the US Department of Justice sent a notice to some of its grantees that implies a portion of its grantees can no longer provide certain legal services to…
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Freedom Network USA |
Public Safety Starts with a Place to Call Home
Housing is one of our most basic human needs. Yet our government’s response to the absence of housing is to criminalize and displace the people who lack it, instead of addressing why they do not have it in the first…
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Freedom Network USA |
The Debt Bondage Repair Act: How We Can Help Survivors Access Credit Repair
The 2022 Debt Bondage Repair Act (DBRA) created a brand new process for survivors of trafficking to petition to remove negative credit histories related to their trafficking experience from their credit reports. The law laid the groundwork for survivors to…
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Freedom Network USA |
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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Freedom Network USA |
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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Freedom Network USA |
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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Freedom Network USA |
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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Freedom Network USA |
Barriers to Mental Health Services for Trafficking Survivors
Access to mental health services in the US is already challenging for most people, but these challenges are especially daunting for survivors of human trafficking. These obstacles to care are compounded by complex trauma experienced, systemic issues in healthcare access,…
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Freedom Network USA |
New T Visa Regulation Includes FNUSA Recommendations that Protect Survivors
New T Visa Regulation Includes FNUSA Recommendations that Protect Survivors On April 30, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security released the long-awaited Final T Visa Rule. For many years, FNUSA has advocated for the regulation to include more protections for…
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Freedom Network USA |
US Advisory Council Annual Report Highlights Necessary Changes to Anti- Trafficking Efforts
Each year, the US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking releases a report outlining recommendations for US federal agencies to improve their anti-trafficking efforts. The Council is made up of lived experience experts appointed by each Presidential administration for two-year terms.…
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Freedom Network USA |
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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Freedom Network USA |
New Report Released on Collaborating with Sex Worker Safety Advocates
Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) and the National Survivor Network (NSN) are excited to share a new set of guidelines, “Re-Centering Sex Worker Safety in Anti-Trafficking Work: Perspectives from the Field.” These guidelines were created to help anti-trafficking organizations reduce the…