[House Report 106-487]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Rept. 106-487
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session Part 1
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TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 1999
_______
November 22, 1999.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Gilman, from the Committee on International Relations,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3244]
The Committee on International Relations, to whom was
referred the bill (H.R. 3244) to combat trafficking of persons,
especially into the sex trade, slavery, and slavery-like
conditions, in the United States and countries around the world
through prevention, through prosecution and enforcement against
traffickers, and through protection and assistance to victims
of trafficking, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as
amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 1999''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes and findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Sec. 5. Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.
Sec. 6. Prevention of trafficking.
Sec. 7. Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking.
Sec. 8. Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
Sec. 9. Assistance to foreign countries to meet minimum standards.
Sec. 10. Actions against governments failing to meet minimum standards.
Sec. 11. Actions against significant traffickers.
Sec. 12. Strengthening prosecution and punishment of traffickers.
Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES AND FINDINGS.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to combat trafficking in
persons, a contemporary manifestation of slavery whose victims are
predominantly women and children, to ensure just and effective
punishment of traffickers, and to protect their victims.
(b) Findings.--The Congress finds that:
(1) Millions of people every year, primarily women or
children, are trafficked within or across international
borders. Approximately 50,000 women and children are trafficked
into the United States each year.
(2) Many of these persons, of whom the overwhelming majority
are women and children, are trafficked into the international
sex trade, often by means of force, fraud, or coercion. The sex
industry has rapidly expanded over the past several decades. It
involves sexual exploitation of persons, predominantly women
and girls, within activities related to prostitution,
pornography, sex tourism, and other commercial sexual services.
The rapid expansion of the sex industry and the low status of
women in many parts of the world have contributed to a
burgeoning of the trafficking industry, of which sex
trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion is a major component.
(3) Trafficking in persons is not limited to sex trafficking,
but often involves forced labor and other violations of
internationally recognized human rights. The worldwide
trafficking of persons is a growing transnational crime,
migration, economics, labor, public health, and human rights
problem that is significant on nearly every continent.
(4) Traffickers primarily target women and girls, who are
disproportionately affected by poverty, lack of access to
education, chronic unemployment, discrimination, and lack of
viable economic opportunities in countries of origin.
Traffickers lure women and girls into their networks through
false promises of good working conditions at relatively high
pay as nannies, maids, dancers, factory workers, restaurant
workers, sales clerks, or models. Traffickers also buy girls
from poor families and sell them into prostitution or into
various types of forced or bonded labor.
(5) Traffickers often facilitate victims' movement from their
home communities to unfamiliar destinations, away from family
and friends, religious institutions, and other sources of
protection and support, making the victims more vulnerable.
(6) Victims are often forced to engage in sex acts or to
perform labor or other services through physical violence,
including rape and other forms of sexual abuse, torture,
starvation, and imprisonment, through threats of violence, and
through other forms of psychological abuse and coercion.
(7) Trafficking is perpetrated increasingly by organized and
sophisticated criminal enterprises. Trafficking in persons is
the fastest growing source of profits for organized criminal
enterprises worldwide. Profits from the trafficking industry
contribute to the expansion of organized criminal activity in
the United States and around the world. Trafficking often is
aided by official corruption in countries of origin, transit,
and destination, thereby threatening the rule of law.
(8) Traffickers often make representations to their victims
that physical harm may occur to them or to others should the
victim escape or attempt to escape. Such representations can
have the same coercive effects on victims as specific threats
to inflict such harm.
(9) Sex trafficking, when it involves the involuntary
participation of another person in sex acts by means of fraud,
force, or coercion, includes all the elements of the crime of
forcible rape, which is defined by all legal systems as among
the most serious of all crimes.
(10) Sex trafficking also involves frequent and serious
violations of other laws, including labor and immigration codes
and laws against kidnapping, slavery, false imprisonment,
assault, battery, pandering, fraud, and extortion.
(11) Women and children trafficked into the sex industry are
exposed to deadly diseases, including HIV and AIDS. Trafficking
victims are sometimes worked or physically brutalized to death.
(12) Trafficking in persons substantially affects interstate
and foreign commerce. The United States must take action to
eradicate the substantial burdens on commerce that result from
trafficking in persons and to prevent the channels of commerce
from being used for immoral and injurious purposes.
(13) Trafficking of persons in all its forms is an evil that
calls for concerted and vigorous action by countries of origin,
transit countries, receiving countries, and international
organizations.
(14) Existing legislation and law enforcement in the United
States and in other nations around the world have proved
inadequate to deter trafficking and to bring traffickers to
justice, principally because such legislation and enforcement
do not reflect the gravity of the offenses involved. No
comprehensive law exists in the United States that penalizes
the range of offenses involved in the trafficking scheme.
Instead, even the most brutal instances of forcible sex
trafficking are often punished under laws that also apply to
far less serious offenses such as consensual sexual activity
and illegal immigration, so that traffickers typically escape
severe punishment.
(15) In the United States, the seriousness of the crime of
trafficking in persons is not reflected in current sentencing
guidelines for component crimes of the trafficking scheme,
which results in weak penalties for convicted traffickers.
Adequate services and facilities do not exist to meet the
health care, housing, education, and legal assistance needs for
the safe reintegration of domestic trafficking victims.
(16) In some countries, enforcement against traffickers is
also hindered by official indifference, by corruption, and
sometimes even by active official participation in trafficking.
(17) Because existing laws and law enforcement procedures
often fail to make clear distinctions between victims of
trafficking and persons who have knowingly and willfully
violated laws, and because victims often do not have legal
immigration status in the countries into which they are
trafficked, the victims are often punished more harshly than
the traffickers themselves.
(18) Because victims of trafficking are frequently unfamiliar
with the laws, cultures, and languages of the countries into
which they have been trafficked, and because they are often
subjected to coercion and intimidation including physical
detention, debt bondage, fear of retribution, and fear of
forcible removal to countries in which they will face
retribution or other hardship, these victims often find it
difficult or impossible to report the crimes committed against
them or to assist in the investigation and prosecution of such
crimes.
(19) The United States and the international community are in
agreement that trafficking in persons often involves grave
violations of human rights and is a matter of pressing
international concern. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights; the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of
Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices
Similar to Slavery; the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Convention Against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, and other relevant instruments condemn slavery and
involuntary servitude, violence against women, and other
components of the trafficking scheme.
(20) One of the founding documents of the United States, the
Declaration of Independence, recognizes the inherent dignity
and worth of all people. It states that all men are created
equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights. The right to be free from slavery and
involuntary servitude is among those unalienable rights.
Acknowledging this fact, the United States outlawed slavery and
involuntary servitude in 1865, recognizing them as evil
institutions that must be abolished. Current practices of
sexual slavery and trafficking of women and children are
similarly abhorrent to the principles upon which our country
was founded.
(21) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the
right to be free from slavery and involuntary servitude,
arbitrary detention, degrading or inhuman treatment, and
arbitrary interference with privacy or the family, as well as
the right to protection by law against these abuses.
(22) The United Nations General Assembly has passed three
resolutions during the last 3 years (50/167, 51/66, and 52/98)
recognizing that the international traffic in women and girls,
particularly for purposes of forced prostitution, is a matter
of pressing international concern involving numerous violations
of fundamental human rights. The resolutions call upon
governments of receiving countries as well as countries of
origin to strengthen their laws against such practices, to
intensify their efforts to enforce such laws, and to ensure the
full protection, treatment, and rehabilitation of women and
children who are victims of trafficking.
(23) The Final Report of the World Congress against Sexual
Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in August
1996, recognized that international sex trafficking is a
principal cause of increased exploitation and degradation of
children.
(24) The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing
Conference) called on all governments to take measures,
including legislative measures, to provide better protection of
the rights of women and girls who are victims of trafficking,
to address the root factors that put women and girls at risk to
traffickers, and to take measures to dismantle the national,
regional, and international networks on trafficking.
(25) In the 1991 Moscow Document of the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe, participating states,
including the United States, agreed to seek to eliminate all
forms of violence against women, and all forms of traffic in
women and exploitation of prostitution of women including by
ensuring adequate legal prohibitions against such acts and
other appropriate measures.
(26) Numerous treaties to which the United States is a party
address government obligations to combat trafficking, including
such treaties as the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the
Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and
Practices Similar to Slavery, which calls for the complete
abolition of debt bondage and servile forms of marriage, and
the 1957 Abolition of Forced Labor Convention, which undertakes
to suppress and requires signatories not to make use of any
forced or compulsory labor.
(27) Trafficking in persons is a transnational crime with
national implications. In order to deter international
trafficking and to bring its perpetrators to justice, nations
including the United States must recognize that trafficking is
a serious offense and must act on this recognition by
prescribing appropriate punishment, by giving the highest
priority to investigation and prosecution of trafficking
offenses, and by protecting rather than punishing the victims
of such offenses. The United States must work bilaterally and
multilaterally to abolish the trafficking industry and take
steps to promote and facilitate cooperation among countries
linked together by international trafficking routes. The United
States must also urge the international community to take
strong action in multilateral fora to engage recalcitrant
countries in serious and sustained efforts to eliminate
trafficking and protect trafficking victims.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) ``Sex trafficking'' means the purchase, sale,
recruitment, harboring, transportation, transfer, or receipt of
a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
(2) ``Severe forms of trafficking in persons'' means--
(A) sex trafficking in which either a commercial sex
act or any act or event contributing to such act is
effected or induced by force, coercion, fraud, or
deception, or in which the person induced to perform
such act has not attained the age of 18 years; and
(B) the purchase, sale, recruitment, harboring,
transportation, transfer, or receipt of a person for
the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude,
peonage, or slavery or slavery-like practices which is
effected by force, coercion, fraud, or deception.
(3) ``Slavery-like practices'' means inducement of a person
to perform labor or other services by force, by coercion, or by
any scheme, plan, or pattern to cause the person to believe
that failure to perform the work will result in the infliction
of serious harm, debt bondage in which labor or services are
pledged for debt on terms calculated never to allow full
payment of the debt or otherwise amounting to indentured
servitude for life or for an indefinite period, or subjection
of the person to conditions so harsh or degrading as to provide
a clear indication that the person has been subjected to them
by force, fraud, or coercion.
(4) ``Coercion'' means the use of force, violence, physical
restraint, or acts or circumstances not necessarily including
physical force but calculated to have the same effect, such as
the credible threat of force or of the infliction of serious
harm.
(5) ``Act of a severe form of trafficking in persons'' means
any act at any point in the process of a severe form of
trafficking in persons, including any act of recruitment,
harboring, transport, transfer, purchase, sale, or receipt of a
victim of such trafficking, or any act of operation,
management, or ownership of an enterprise in which a victim of
such trafficking engages in a commercial sex act, is subjected
to slavery or a slavery-like practice, or is expected or
inducedto engage in such acts or be subjected to such condition
or practice, or sharing in the profits of the process of a severe form
of trafficking in persons or any part thereof.
(6) ``Victim of sex trafficking'' and ``victim of a severe
form of trafficking in persons'' mean a person subjected to an
act or practice described in paragraphs (1) and (2)
respectively.
(7) ``Commercial sex act'' means a sex act on account of
which anything of value is given to or received by any person.
(8) ``Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking''
means the standards set forth in section 8.
(9) ``Appropriate congressional committees'' means the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate and
the Committee on International Relations of the United States
House of Representatives.
(10) ``Nonhumanitarian foreign assistance'' means--
(A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (including programs under title IV of chapter 2
of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation), other than--
(i) assistance under chapter 8 of part I of
that Act;
(ii) any other narcotics-related assistance
under part I of that Act or under chapter 4 or
5 of part II of that Act, but any such
assistance provided under this clause shall be
subject to the prior notification procedures
applicable to reprogrammings pursuant to
section 634A of that Act;
(iii) disaster relief assistance, including
any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of
that Act;
(iv) antiterrorism assistance under chapter 8
of part II of that Act;
(v) assistance which involves the provision
of food (including monetization of food) or
medicine;
(vi) assistance for refugees; and
(vii) humanitarian and other development
assistance in support of programs of
nongovernmental organizations under chapters 1
and 10 of that Act;
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the Arms
Export Control Act, other than sales or financing
provided for narcotics-related purposes following
notification in accordance with the prior notification
procedures applicable to reprogrammings pursuant to
section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and
(C) financing under the Export-Import Bank Act of
1945.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.
The Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Assistant
Secretary of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, shall, as part of the
annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, include information
to address the status of trafficking in persons, including--
(1) a list of foreign countries that are countries of origin,
transit, or destination for a significant number of victims of
severe forms of trafficking;
(2) a description of the nature and extent of severe forms of
trafficking in persons in each country;
(3) an assessment of the efforts by the governments described
in paragraph (1) to combat severe forms of trafficking. Such an
assessment shall address--
(A) whether any governmental authorities tolerate or
are involved in such trafficking;
(B) which governmental authorities are involved in
activities to combat such trafficking;
(C) what steps the government has taken against its
officials who participate in, facilitate, or condone
such trafficking;
(D) what steps the government has taken to
investigate and prosecute officials who participate in
or facilitate such trafficking;
(E) what steps the government has taken to prohibit
other individuals from participating in such
trafficking, including the investigation, prosecution,
and conviction of individuals involved in severe forms
of trafficking in persons, the criminal and civil
penalties for such trafficking, and the efficacy of
those penalties in eliminating or reducing such
trafficking;
(F) what steps the government has taken to assist
victims of such trafficking, including efforts to
prevent victims from being further victimized by
traffickers, government officials, or others, grants of
stays of deportation, and provision of humanitarian
relief, including provision of mental and physical
health care and shelter;
(G) whether the government--
(i) is cooperating with governments of other
countries to extradite traffickers when
requested;
(ii) is assisting in international
investigations of transnational trafficking
networks and in other cooperative efforts to
combat trafficking;
(iii) refrains from prosecuting victims of
severe forms of trafficking and from other
discriminatory treatment of such victims due to
such victims having been trafficked, or due to
their having left or entered the country
illegally; and
(iv) recognizes the rights of victims and
ensures their access to justice.
(4) Information described in paragraph (2) and, where
appropriate, in paragraph (3) shall be included in the annual
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on a country-by-
country basis.
(5) In addition to the information described in this section,
the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices may
contain such other information relating to trafficking in
persons as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall establish an Interagency Task
Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (in this section referred to as
the ``Task Force'').
(b) Appointment.--The President shall appoint the members of the Task
Force, which shall include the Secretary of State, the Director of the
Agency for International Development, the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and such other officials
as may be designated by the President.
(c) Chairman.--The Task Force shall be chaired by the Secretary of
State.
(d) Support for the Task Force.--The Secretary of State is authorized
to establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking, which shall provide assistance to the Task Force.
Any such office shall be administered by a Director. The Director shall
have the primary responsibility for assisting the Secretary of State in
carrying out the purposes of this Act and may have additional
responsibilities as determined by the Secretary. The Director shall
consult with domestic, international nongovernmental and
intergovernmental organizations, and with trafficking victims or other
affected persons. The Director shall have the authority to take
evidence in public hearings or by other means. The Office is authorized
to retain staff members from agencies represented on the Task Force.
(e) Activities of the Task Force.--In consultation with
nongovernmental organizations, the Task Force shall carry out the
following activities:
(1) Coordinate the implementation of this Act.
(2) Measure and evaluate progress of the United States and
countries around the world in the areas of trafficking
prevention, protection, and assistance to victims of
trafficking, and prosecution and enforcement against
traffickers, including the role of public corruption in
facilitating trafficking.
(3) Expand interagency procedures to collect and organize
data, including significant research and resource information
on domestic and international trafficking. Any data collection
procedures established under this subsection shall respect the
confidentiality of victims of trafficking.
(4) Engage in efforts to facilitate cooperation among
countries of origin, transit, and destination. Such efforts
shall aim to strengthen local and regional capacities to
prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and assist
trafficking victims, and shall include initiatives to enhance
cooperative efforts between destination countries and countries
of origin and assist in the appropriate reintegration of
stateless victims of trafficking.
(5) Examine the role of the international ``sex tourism''
industry in the trafficking of women and children and in the
sexual exploitation of women and children around the world and
make recommendations on appropriate measures to combat this
industry.
SEC. 6. PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING.
(a) Economic Alternatives To Prevent and Deter Trafficking.--The
President, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development and the heads of other appropriate
agencies, shall establish and carry out initiatives to enhance economic
opportunity for potential victims of trafficking as a method to deter
trafficking. Such initiatives may include--
(1) microcredit lending programs, training in business
development, skills training, and job counseling;
(2) programs to promote women's participation in economic
decision making;
(3) programs to keep children, especially girls, in
elementary and secondary schools;
(4) development of educational curricula regarding the
dangers of trafficking; and
(5) grants to nongovernmental organizations to accelerate and
advance the political, economic, social, and educational roles
and capacities of women in their countries.
(b) Public Awareness and Information.--The President, acting through
the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Attorney General, and the Secretary of State, shall establish and carry
out programs to increase public awareness, particularly among potential
victims of trafficking, of the dangers of trafficking and the
protections that are available for victims of trafficking.
(c) Consultation Requirement.--The President shall consult with
appropriate nongovernmental organizations with respect to the
establishment and conduct of initiatives described in subsection (a).
SEC. 7. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.
(a) Assistance for Victims in Other Countries.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development, in
consultation with appropriate nongovernmental organizations,
shall establish and carry out programs and initiatives in
foreign countries to assist in the safe integration,
reintegration, or resettlement, as appropriate, of victims of
trafficking and their children. Such programs and initiatives
shall be designed to meet the mental and physical health,
housing, legal, and other assistance needs of such victims and
their children, as identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking established under section 4.
(2) Additional requirement.--In establishing and conducting
programs and initiatives described in paragraph (1), the
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development shall take all appropriate
steps to enhance cooperative efforts among foreign countries,
including countries of origin of victims of trafficking, to
assist in the integration, reintegration, or resettlement, as
appropriate, of victims of trafficking including stateless
victims.
(b) Victims in the United States.--
(1) Assistance.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations and notwithstanding title IV of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,
the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Board of Directors of
the Legal Services Corporation shall expand existing services
to provide assistance to victims of severe forms of trafficking
in persons within the United States, without regard to the
immigration status of such victims.
(2) Benefits.--Subject to the availability of appropriations
and notwithstanding any other provision of law, victims of
severe forms of trafficking in persons in the United States
shall be eligible, without regard to their immigration status,
for any benefits that are otherwise available under the Crime
Victims Fund, established under the Victims of Crime Act of
1984, including victims' services, compensation, and
assistance.
(3) Grants.--
(A) Subject to the availability of appropriations,
the Attorney General may make grants to States,
territories, and possessions of the United States
(including the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the
Northern Mariana Islands), Indian tribes, units of
local government, and nonprofit, nongovernmental
victims' service organizations to develop, expand, or
strengthen victim service programs for victims of
trafficking.
(B) To receive a grant under this paragraph, an
eligible unit of government or organization shall
certify that its laws, policies, and practices, as
appropriate, do not punish or deny services to victims
of severe forms of trafficking in persons on account of
the nature of their employment or services performed in
connection with such trafficking.
(C) Of amounts made available for grants under this
paragraph, there shall be set aside 3 percent for
research, evaluation, and statistics, 2 percent for
training and technical assistance, and 1 percent for
management and administration.
(D) The Federal share of a grant made under this
paragraph may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs
of the projects described in the application submitted.
(4) Civil action.--An individual who is a victim of a
violation of section 1589 or section 1589A of title 18, United
States Code, regarding trafficking may bring a civil action in
United States district court. The court may award actual
damages, punitive damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, and
other litigation costs reasonably incurred.
(c) Trafficking Victim Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations for law enforcement
personnel, immigration officials, and Department of State officials to
implement the following:
(1) Victims of severe forms of trafficking, while in the
custody or control of the Federal Government and to the extent
practicable, shall be housed in appropriate shelter as quickly
as possible, receive prompt medical care, food, and other
assistance, and be provided protection if a victim's safety is
at risk or if there is danger of additional harm by recapture
of the victim by a trafficker.
(2) Victims of severe forms of trafficking shall not be
jailed, fined, or otherwise penalized due to having been
trafficked.
(3) Victims of severe forms of trafficking shall have access
to legal assistance, information about their rights, and
translation services.
(4) Federal law enforcement officials shall act to ensure an
alien individual's continued presence in the United States, if
after an assessment, it is determined that such individual is a
victim of trafficking or a material witness, in order to
effectuate prosecution of those responsible and to further the
humanitarian interests of the United States, and such officials
in investigating and prosecuting traffickers shall take into
consideration the safety and integrity of trafficking victims.
(5) Appropriate personnel of the Department of State and the
Department of Justice are trained in identifying victims of
severe forms of trafficking and providing for the protection of
such victims. Training under this paragraph should include
methods for achieving antitrafficking objectives through the
nondiscriminatory application of immigration and other related
laws.
(d) Construction.--Nothing in subsection (c) shall be construed as
creating any private cause of action against the United States or its
offices or employees.
(e) Funding.--Funds from asset forfeiture under section 1592 of title
18, United States Code, are authorized to be available in equal amounts
for the purposes of subsections (a) and (b) and shall remain available
for obligation until expended.
(f) Protection From Removal for Certain Victims of Trafficking.--
(1) Nonimmigrant classification for certain victims of
trafficking.--Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph
(R);
(B) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph
(S) and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(T) an alien who the Attorney General determines--
``(i) is physically present in the United States or
at a port of entry thereto;
``(ii) is or has been a victim of a severe form of
trafficking in persons as defined in section 3 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999;
``(iii)(I) has not unreasonably refused to assist in
the investigation or prosecution of acts of
trafficking; or
``(II) has not attained the age of 14 years; and
``(iv) would face a significant possibility of
retribution or other hardship if removed from the
United States, and, if the Attorney General considers
it to be appropriate, the spouse, married and unmarried
sons and daughters, and parents of an alien described
in this subparagraph if accompanying, or following to
join, the alien, except that no person shall be
eligible for admission to the United States under this
subparagraph if there is substantial reason to believe
that the person has committed an act of a severe form
of trafficking in persons as defined in section 3 of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999.''.
(2) Waiver of grounds for ineligibility for admission.--
Section 212(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(13) The Attorney General shall determine whether a ground
for inadmissibility exists with respect to a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(T). The Attorney General, in
the Attorney General's discretion, may waive the application of
subsection (a) (other than paragraph (3)(E)) in the case of a
nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(T), if the
Attorney General considers it to be in the national interest to
do so. Nothing in this section shall be regarded as prohibiting
the Immigration and Naturalization Service from instituting
removal proceedings against an alien admitted as a nonimmigrant
under section 101(a)(15)(T) for conduct committed after the
alien's admission into the United States, or for conduct or a
condition that was not disclosed to the Attorney General prior
to the alien's admission as a nonimmigrant under section
101(a)(15)(T).''.
(3) Adjustment to permanent resident status.--Section 245 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(l)(1) If, in the opinion of the Attorney General, a nonimmigrant
admitted into the United States under section 101(a)(15)(T)--
``(A) has been physically present in the United States for a
continuous period of at least 3 years since the date of
admission as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(T);
``(B) has, throughout such period, been a person of good
moral character;
``(C) has not, during such period, unreasonably refused to
provide assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts
of trafficking; and
``(D) would face a significant possibility of retribution or
other hardship if removed from the United States,
the Attorney General may adjust the status of the alien (and the
spouse, married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents of the
alien if admitted under that section) to that of an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence if the alien is not described in
section 212(a)(3)(E).
``(2) An alien shall be considered to have failed to maintain
continuous physical presence in the United States under paragraph
(1)(A) if the alien has departed from the United States for any period
in excess of 90 days or for any periods in the aggregate exceeding 180
days.''.
SEC. 8. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TRAFFICKING.
(a) Minimum Standards.--Minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking for a country that is a country of origin, of transit, or
of destination for a significant number of victims are as follows:
(1) The country should prohibit severe forms of trafficking
in persons and punish acts of such trafficking.
(2) For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking
involving fraud, force, or coercion or in which the victim of
sex trafficking is a child incapable of giving meaningful
consent, or of trafficking which includes rape or kidnapping or
which causes a death, the country should prescribe punishment
commensurate with that for the most serious crimes, such as
forcible sexual assault.
(3) For the knowing commission of any act of a severe form of
trafficking in persons, the country should prescribe punishment
which is sufficiently stringent to deter and which adequately
reflects the heinous nature of the offense.
(4) The country should make serious and sustained efforts to
eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.
(b) Criteria.--In determinations under subsection (a)(3) the
following factors should be considered:
(1) Whether the country vigorously investigates and
prosecutes acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons that
take place wholly or partly within the territory of the
country.
(2) Whether the country cooperates with other countries in
the investigation and prosecution of severe forms of
trafficking in persons.
(3) Whether the country extradites persons charged with acts
of severe forms of trafficking in persons on the same terms and
to the same extent as persons charged with other serious
crimes.
(4) Whether the country monitors immigration and emigration
patterns for evidence of severe forms of trafficking in persons
and whether law enforcement agencies of the country respond to
any such evidence in a manner which is consistent with the
vigorous investigation and prosecution of acts of such
trafficking, as well as with the protection of victims and the
internationally recognized human right to travel.
(5) Whether the country protects victims of severe forms of
trafficking in persons and encourages their assistance in the
investigation and prosecution ofsuch trafficking, including
provision for legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which
they would face retribution or other hardship.
(6) Whether the country vigorously investigates and
prosecutes public officials who participate in or facilitate
severe forms of trafficking in persons, and takes all
appropriate measures against officials who condone such
trafficking.
SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS.
The Secretary of State and the Director of the Agency for
International Development are authorized to provide assistance to
foreign countries for programs and activities designed to meet the
minimum international standards for the elimination of trafficking,
including drafting of legislation to prohibit and punish acts of
trafficking, investigation and prosecution of traffickers, and
facilities, programs, and activities for the protection of victims.
SEC. 10. ACTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO MEET MINIMUM
STANDARDS.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States not
to provide nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to countries which do not
meet minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
(b) Reports to Congress.--
(1) Annual report.--Not later than April 30 of each year, the
Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report with respect to the status of
severe forms of trafficking in persons which shall include a
list of those countries, if any, to which the minimum standards
for the elimination of trafficking under section 8 are
applicable and which do not meet such standards, and which may
include additional information, including information about
efforts to combat trafficking and about countries which have
taken appropriate actions to combat trafficking.
(2) Interim reports.--The Secretary of State may submit to
the appropriate congressional committees in addition to the
annual report under subsection (b) one or more interim reports
with respect to the status of severe forms of trafficking in
persons, including information about countries whose
governments have come into or out of compliance with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking since the
transmission of the last annual report.
(c) Notification.--For fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent fiscal
year, for each foreign country to which the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking are applicable and which has failed to meet
such standards, as described in an annual or interim report under
subsection (b), not less than 45 days and not more than 90 days after
the submission of such a report the President shall submit a
notification to the appropriate congressional committees of one of the
determinations described in subsection (d).
(d) Determinations.--The determinations referred to in subsection (c)
are as follows:
(1) Withholding of nonhumanitarian assistance.--The President
has determined that--
(A)(i) the United States will not provide
nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to the government of
the country for the subsequent fiscal year until such
government complies with the minimum standards; or
(ii) in the case of a country whose government
received no nonhumanitarian foreign assistance from the
United States during the previous fiscal year, the
United States will not provide funding for
participation by officials or employees of such
governments in educational and cultural exchange
programs for the subsequent fiscal year until such
government complies with the minimum standards; and
(B) the President will instruct the United States
Executive Director of each multilateral development
bank and of the International Monetary Fund to vote
against, and to use his or her best efforts to deny,
any loan or other utilization of the funds of his or
her institution to that country (other than for
humanitarian assistance, or for development assistance
which directly addresses basic human needs, is not
administered by the government of the sanctioned
country, and confers no benefit to that country) for
the subsequent fiscal year until such government
complies with the minimum standards.
(2) Subsequent compliance.--The Secretary of State has
determined that the country has come into compliance with the
minimum standards.
(3) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
Notwithstanding the failure of the country to comply with
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, the
President has determined that the provision of nonhumanitarian
foreign assistance to the country is in the national interest
of the United States.
(e) Certification.--Together with any notification under subsection
(c), the President shall provide a certification by the Secretary of
State that with respect to assistance described in clause (i), (ii), or
(iv) of subparagraph 3(10)(A) or in subparagraph 3(10)(B), no
assistance is intended to be received or used by any agency or official
who has participated in, facilitated, or condoned a severe form of
trafficking in persons.
SEC. 11. ACTIONS AGAINST SIGNIFICANT TRAFFICKERS IN PERSONS.
(a) Authority To Sanction Significant Traffickers in Persons.--
(1) In general.--The President may exercise IEEPA authorities
(other than authorities relating to importation) without regard
to section 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) in the case of any foreign person who is
on the list described in subsection (b).
(2) Penalties.--The penalties set forth in section 206 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705)
apply to violations of any license, order, or regulation issued
under this clause (i).
(3) IEEPA authorities.--For purposes of clause (i), the term
``IEEPA authorities'' means the authorities set forth in
section 203(a) of the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (50 U.S.C. 1702(a)).
(b) List of Traffickers of Persons.--
(1) Compiling list of traffickers in persons.--The Secretary
of State is authorized to compile a list of the following
persons:
(A) any foreign person that plays a significant role
in a severe form of trafficking in persons, directly or
indirectly in the United States or any of its
territories or possessions;
(B) foreign persons who materially assist in, or
provide financial or technological support for or to,
or providing goods or services in support of,
activities of a significant foreign trafficker in
persons identified pursuant to subparagraph (A); and
(C) foreign persons that are owned, controlled, or
directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, a
significant foreign trafficker so identified pursuant
to subparagraph (A).
(2) Revisions to list.--The Secretary of State shall make
additions or deletions to any list published under paragraph
(1) on an ongoing basis based on the latest information
available.
(3) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall consult with
the following officers in carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2).
(A) the Attorney General;
(B) the Director of Central Intelligence;
(C) the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(D) the Secretary of Labor; and
(E) the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(4) Publication of list.--Upon compiling the list referred to
in paragraph (1) and within 30 days of any revisions to such
list, the Secretary of State shall submit the list or revisions
to such list to the Committees on the International Relations
and Judiciary and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and to the
Committees on Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate; and publish the list or revisions
to such list in the Federal Register:
(c) Report to Congress on Identification and Sanctioning of
Significant Traffickers in Persons.--Upon exercising the authority of
subsection (a), the President shall report to the Committees on the
International Relations and Judiciary and the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and to the
Committees on Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate--
(1) identifying publicly the foreign persons that the
President determines are appropriate for sanctions pursuant to
this section; and
(2) detailing publicly the sanctions imposed pursuant to this
section.
(d) Exclusion of Certain Information.--
(1) Intelligence.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, the list and report described in subsections (b)
and (c) shall not disclose the identity of any person, if the
Director of Central Intelligence determines that such
disclosure could compromise an intelligence operation,
activity, source, or method of the United States.
(2) Law enforcement.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, the list and report described in subsections (b)
and (c) shall not disclosethe name of any person if the
Attorney General, in coordination as appropriate with the Director of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Administrator of the Drug
Enforcement Administration, and the Secretary of the Treasury,
determines that such disclosure could reasonably be expected to--
(A) compromise the identity of a confidential source,
including a State, local, or foreign agency or
authority or any private institution that furnished
information on a confidential basis;
(B) jeopardize the integrity or success of an ongoing
criminal investigation or prosecution;
(C) endanger the life or physical safety of any
person; or
(D) cause substantial harm to physical property.
(3) Notification required.--
(A) Whenever either the Director of Central
Intelligence or the Attorney General makes a
determination under this subsection, the Director of
Central Intelligence or the Attorney General shall
notify the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
of the House of Representatives and the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, and explain
the reasons for such determination.
(B) The notification required under this paragraph
shall be submitted to the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate not
later than July 1, 2000, and on an annual basis
thereafter.
(d) Law Enforcement and Intelligence Activities Not Affected.--
Nothing in this section prohibits or otherwise limits the authorized
law enforcement or intelligence activities of the United States, or the
law enforcement activities of any State or subdivision thereof.
(e) Exclusion of Persons Who Have Benefited From Illicit Activities
of Traffickers in Persons.--Section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended by inserting the
following new subparagraph at the end:
``(H) Significant traffickers in persons.--Any alien
who--
``(i) is on the most recent list of
significant traffickers provided in section 10
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
1999, or who the consular officer or the
Attorney General knows or has reason to believe
is or has been a knowing aider, abettor,
assister, conspirator, or colluder with such a
trafficker in severe forms of trafficking in
persons as defined in section 3 of such Act; or
``(ii) who the consular officer or the
Attorney General knows or has reason to believe
is the spouse, son, or daughter of an alien
inadmissible under clause (i), has, within the
previous 5 years, obtained any financial or
other benefit from the illicit activity of that
alien, and knew or reasonably should have known
that the financial or other benefit was the
product of such illicit activity, is
inadmissible.''.
(f) Implementation.--The Secretary of State, the Attorney General,
and the Secretary of Treasury are authorized to take such actions as
may be necessary to carry out this section, including promulgating
rules and regulations permitted under this Act.
(g) Definition of Foreign Person.--As used in this section, the term
``foreign person'' means any citizen or national of a foreign state or
any entity not organized under the laws of the United States, including
a foreign government official, but does not include a foreign state.
SEC. 12. STRENGTHENING PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT OF TRAFFICKERS.
(a) Title 18 Amendments.--Chapter 77 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) in each of sections 1581(a), 1583, and 1584--
(A) by striking ``10 years'' and inserting ``20
years'';
(B) by adding at the end the following: ``If, in
addition to the foregoing elements, death results from
a violation of this section, or if such violation
includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated
sexual abuse or the attempt to commit aggravated sexual
abuse, or an attempt to kill, the defendant shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of
years or life, or both.'';
(2) by inserting at the end the following:
``Sec. 1589. Trafficking into involuntary servitude, peonage, or
slavery-like conditions
``(a) Whoever recruits, harbors, provides, transports, employs,
purchases, sells, or secures, by any means, any person, knowing or
having reason to know that the person is or will be subjected to
involuntary servitude or peonage or to slavery-like conditions as
described in subsection (b) of this section, or in any way, financially
or otherwise, knowingly benefits from, or makes use of, the labor or
services of a person subjected to a condition of involuntary servitude
or peonage, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
20 years, or both; and if, in addition to the foregoing elements, death
results from an act committed in violation of this section, or if such
act includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual
abuse or the attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt
to kill, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of
years or life, or both.
``(b) As used in this section, the term `slavery-like conditions'
means that the labor or services of a person are obtained or maintained
through any scheme or artifice to defraud, or by means of any plan or
pattern, including but not limited to false and fraudulent pretenses
and misrepresentations, such that the person reasonably believes that
if he did not perform the labor or services serious harm would be
inflicted on himself or on another person.
``(c) This section does not apply to labor performed as a punishment
for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.
``Sec. 1589A. Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or
coercion
``(a) In General.--Whoever--
``(1) recruits, entices, harbors, purchases, sells,
transports, or transfers a person, or
``(2) owns, manages, operates, or shares in the proceeds of
an enterprise in which a person has been recruited, enticed,
harbored, purchased, sold, transported, or transferred, knowing
or having reason to know that the person will be caused by
force, fraud, or coercion to engage in a commercial sex act, or
that the person has not attained the age of 18 years and will
be caused or expected to engage in a commercial sexual act,
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
``(b) Punishment.--The punishment for an offense under subsection (a)
is--
``(1) if the offense was effected by fraud, force, or
coercion, or if the person transported had not attained the age
of 14 years at the time of such offense, by a fine under this
title or imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or
both; or
``(2) if the offense was not effected by fraud, force, or
coercion, and the person transported had attained the age of 14
years but had not attained the age of 18 years at the time of
such offense, by a fine under this title or imprisonment for
not more than 20 years, or both.
``(c) Definition of Commercial Sexual Act.--In this section, the term
`commercial sexual act' means any sexual act, on account of which
anything of value is given to or received by any person, and--
``(1) which takes place in the United States;
``(2) which affects United States foreign commerce; or
``(3) in which either the person caused or expected to
participate in the act or the person committing the violation
is a United States citizen or an alien admitted for permanent
residence in the United States.
``Sec. 1590. Unlawful possession of documents in furtherance of
trafficking, involuntary servitude, or peonage
``(a) Whoever destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates, or possesses
any identification, passport, or other immigration documents, or any
other documentation of another person--
``(1) in the course of, or under circumstances which
facilitate a violation of section 1581, 1583, 1584, 1589, or
1589A or a conspiracy or attempt to commit such a violation; or
``(2) to conceal or impair the investigation or prosecution
of a violation of any section described in paragraph (1); or
``(3) to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the
person's liberty to move or travel in interstate or foreign
commerce, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not
more than 5 years, or both.
``Sec. 1591. Mandatory restitution
``(a) Notwithstanding sections 3663 or 3663A, and in addition to any
other civil or criminal penalties authorized by law, the court shall
order restitution for any offense under this chapter.
``(b)(1) The order of restitution under this section shall direct the
defendant to pay the victim (through the appropriate court mechanism)
the full amount of the victim's losses, as determined by the court
under paragraph (3) of this subsection.
``(2) An order of restitution under this section shall be issued and
enforced in accordance with section 3664 in the same manner as an order
under section 3663A.
``(3) As used in this subsection, the term `full amount of the
victim's losses' has the same meaning as provided in section 2259(b)(3)
and shall in addition include the greater of the gross income or value
to the defendant of the victim's services or labor or the value of the
victim's labor as guaranteed under the minimum wage and overtime
guarantees of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201, et seq.).
``(c) As used in this section, the term `victim' means the individual
harmed as a result of a crime under this chapter, including, in the
case of a victim who is under 18 years of age, incompetent,
incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the victim or a
representative of the victim's estate, or another family member, or any
other person appointed as suitable by the court, but in no event shall
the defendant be named such representative or guardian.
``Sec. 1592. General provisions
``(a) In a prosecution under sections 1581, 1583, 1584, or 1589, a
condition of involuntary servitude or peonage may be established by
proof that the defendant obtained or maintained the labor or service of
any person--
``(1) by the use, or threatened use, of force, violence,
physical restraint, or physical injury, or by extortion or the
abuse or threatened abuse of law or the legal process;
``(2) through representations made to any person that
physical harm may occur to that person, or to another, in an
effort to wrongfully obtain or maintain the labor or services
of that person; or
``(3) by the use of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation
toward any person in an effort to wrongfully obtain or maintain
the labor or services of that person, where the person is a
minor, one who is mentally disabled, or one who is otherwise
particularly susceptible to coercion.
``(b) An attempt or conspiracy to violate sections 1581, 1583, 1584,
1589, or 1589A shall be punishable in the same manner as a completed
violation of each of these sections, respectively.
``(c)(1) The court, in imposing sentence on any person convicted of a
violation of this chapter, shall order, in addition to any other
sentence imposed and irrespective of any provision of State law, that
such person forfeit to the United States--
``(A) such person's interest in any property, real or
personal, that was used or intended to be used to commit or to
facilitate the commission of such violation; and
``(B) any property, real or personal, constituting or derived
from, any proceeds that such person obtained, directly or
indirectly, as a result of such violation.
``(2) The criminal forfeiture of property under this subsection, any
seizure and disposition thereof, and any administrative or judicial
proceeding in relation thereto, shall be governed by the provisions of
section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853), except subsection (d) of that section.
``(d)(1) The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United
States and no property right shall exist in them--
``(A) any property, real or personal, used or intended to be
used to commit or to facilitate the commission of any violation
of this chapter; and
``(B) any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is
derived from proceeds traceable to any violation of this
chapter.
``(2) The provisions of chapter 46 of this title relating to civil
forfeitures shall extend to any seizure or civil forfeiture under this
subsection.
``(f) Witness Protection.--Any violation of this chapter shall be
considered an organized criminal activity or other serious offense for
the purposes of application of chapter 224 (relating to witness
protection).''; and
(3) by amending the table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 77 by adding at the end the following new items:
``1589. Trafficking into involuntary servitude, peonage, or slavery-
like conditions.
``1589A. Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion.
``1590. Unlawful possession of documents in furtherance of trafficking
involuntary servitude, or peonage.
``1591. Mandatory restitution.
``1592. General provisions.''.
(b) Amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines.--
(1) Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28,
United States Code, and in accordance with this section, the
United States Sentencing Commission shall review and, if
appropriate, amend the sentencing guidelines and policy
statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses
involving the trafficking of persons including component or
related crimes of peonage, involuntary servitude, slave trade
offenses, and possession, transfer or sale of false immigration
documents in furtherance of trafficking, and the Fair Labor
Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker
Protection Act.
(2) In carrying out this subsection, the Sentencing
Commission shall--
(A) take all appropriate measures to ensure that
these sentencing guidelines and policy statements
applicable to the offenses described in paragraph (1)
of this subsection are sufficiently stringent to deter
and adequately reflect the heinous nature of such
offenses;
(B) consider conforming the sentencing guidelines
applicable to offenses involving trafficking in persons
to the guidelines applicable to peonage, involuntary
servitude, and slave trade offenses; and
(C) consider providing sentencing enhancements for
those convicted of the offenses described in paragraph
(1) of this subsection that--
(i) involve a large number of victims;
(ii) involve a pattern of continued and
flagrant violations;
(iii) involve the use or threatened use of a
dangerous weapon; or
(iv) result in the death or bodily injury of
any person.
(3) The Commission may promulgate the guidelines or
amendments under this subsection in accordance with the
procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sentencing Act of
1987, as though the authority under that Act had not expired.
(c) Racketeering.--Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by inserting ``section 1589 (relating to trafficking into
involuntary servitude, peonage, or slavery-like conditions), section
1589A (relating to sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or
coercion),'' after ``murder-for-hire),''.
SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations for the Interagency Task Force.--
To carry out the purposes of section 5, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of State $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2000
and $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations to the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.--To carry out the purposes of section 7(b) there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal
year 2001.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations to the Secretary of State.--To
carry out the purposes of section 7(a) there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of State $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000
and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations to Attorney General.--To carry
out the purposes of section 7(b) there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Attorney General $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000
and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations to President.--
(1) Foreign victim assistance.--To carry out the purposes of
Section 6 there are authorized to be appropriated to the
President $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for
fiscal year 2001.
(2) Assistance to foreign countries to meet minimum
standards.--To carry out the purposes of Section 9 there are
authorized to be appropriated to the President $5,000,000 for
fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations to the Secretary of Labor.--To
carry out the purposes of section 7(b) there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Labor $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000
and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
Background and Purpose
H.R. 3244, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999,
is a bipartisan effort to combat the growing problem of
trafficking in persons, a contemporary manifestation of slavery
whose victims are predominantly women and children.
Trafficking in human beings is a global issue. Millions of
people, predominantly women and children, are trafficked around
the world each year. The U.S. intelligence community estimates
that 45,000 to 50,000 women and children are trafficked
annually into major cities in the United States, primarily from
the Former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia.
Trafficking networks, dominated by organized criminal
groups, lure or force victims into the industry using various
schemes. Traffickers buy young girls from relatives, kidnap
children from their homes, or lure women with false promises of
earning money overseas as maids, factory workers, sales clerks,
dancers, or models. Traffickers then use tactics including
rape, starvation, torture, extreme physical brutality, and
psychological abuse to hold victims under slavery-like
conditions in prostitution or in forced labor as, among other
things, sweatshop laborers and domestic servants.
In New York, hearing impaired men and women were recruited
from Mexico and brutalized into selling trinkets on the street.
In the Carolinas, teenage girls were held in slavery and forced
to work as prostitutes. In Chicago, traffickers met Russian and
Latvian women at the airport, seized their passports and return
tickets, beat them, and threatened to kill their families if
the women refused to dance nude in a nightclub. In Florida,
traffickers used alcohol and drugs to lure field workers to
isolated locations and hold them under cruel conditions of debt
bondage.
Worldwide, the trafficking industry is the fastest growing
and third largest source of profits for organized criminal
enterprises, behind only drugs and firearms. Profits from the
trafficking industry contribute to the expansion of organized
criminal activity in the United States and around the world.
No comprehensive law exists in the United States that
penalizes the range of offenses involved in the trafficking
scheme. Existing U.S. laws and infrastructure are not
sufficient to deter trafficking to and from the United States
and protect domestic trafficking victims. At present,
traffickers are prosecuted in the United States for violating
laws related only to components of the trafficking scheme, such
as involuntary servitude, slave trade offenses, peonage,
transportation for coerced or illegal sexual activities, and
immigration violations. Adequate services and facilities do not
exist in the U.S. to meet the healthcare, housing, education,
and legal assistance needs for the safe reintegration of
domestic trafficking victims into the larger society.
Because existing laws and enforcement procedures often fail
to make clear distinctions between victims of severe forms of
trafficking and persons who have willfully violated such laws
such as those against prostitution, and because victims often
do not have legal immigration status in the countries into
which they are trafficked, the victims are often punished more
harshly than the traffickers themselves.
On March 25, 1999, Representatives Christopher Smith and
Marcy Kaptur introduced H.R. 1356, the Freedom from Sexual
Trafficking Act of 1999. The bill targeted the trafficking of
women and children into sex industries--a growing and
particularly brutal form of the international traffic in
persons--using a balanced regime of increased criminal
penalties, new governmental incentives, and additional victim
assistance and protections. Among other things, H.R. 1356
proposed: new and increased criminal penalties for sex
trafficking; the establishment of an Office of the Protection
of Victims of Trafficking in the State Department; the
prohibition of nonhumanitarian U.S. assistance to foreign
countries that tolerate or condone sex trafficking; grants to
help foreign governments investigate and prosecute sex
trafficking and draft antitrafficking laws; grants for victim
protection and rehabilitation; and relief from deportation for
victims who would face retribution or other hardship if they
were removed from the United States.
On August 4, 1999, the Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights conducted a markup of H.R. 1356.
After agreeing to a brief amendment suggested by Representative
McKinney and offered by Chairman Smith, which moved the new
State Department office from the Office of the Secretary to the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the Subcommittee
favorably reported the bill to the full Committee on
International Relations.
On September 14, 1999, the Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights held a hearing on ``Trafficking of
Women and Children in the International Sex Trade.'' and
received testimony from the following witnesses: The Honorable
Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of
democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Ms. Theresa Loar, the
Director of the President's Interagency Council on Women; Dr.
Laura J. Lederer, the Project Manager of the Protection Project
at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government; Mr. Gary
A. Haugen, President of the International Justice Mission; and
Ms. Anita Sharma Bhattarai (a pseudonym used to protect the
safety of the witness), a trafficking survivor from Nepal.
On October 27, 1999, Representative Gejdenson introduced
H.R. 3154, the Comprehensive Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of
1999. Recognizing that trafficking victims are forced into a
range of slavery-like conditions, H.R. 3154 aimed to combat all
forms of trafficking in persons in the United States and
abroad. The bill included measures to criminalize all forms of
trafficking in the United States and increase penalties for
violations under existing slavery and peonage statues of the
U.S. criminal code. To facilitate and oversee interagency
cooperation in the implementation of the Act, the bill also
required the President to establish an interagency task force
comprised of cabinet-level members and chaired by the Secretary
of State. The bill allowed for the creation of an Office within
the Department of State to support the work of the task force.
The legislation additionally sought to prevent trafficking by
addressing economic deprivation disproportionately affecting
women and girls as a root cause of the industry and included
strong provisions to protect and assist domestic trafficking
victims. The bill allowed the President to impose International
Emergency Economic Powers Act sanctionsagainst foreign
individuals who play a significant role in the trafficking of persons.
On March 23, 1999, Representative Louise Slaughter
introduced H.R. 1238, the International Trafficking of Women
and Children Victim Protection Act of 1999, the companion bill
to S. 600, introduced by Senator Paul Wellstone. This bill took
steps to condemn and combat the international crime of
trafficking in women and children, which included a broad range
of offenses including sex trafficking as well as other forms of
trafficking in persons. It proposed: creating an interagency
task force within the Department of State to evaluate and
report on foreign governments that tolerate or participate in
trafficking and fail to cooperate with international efforts to
prosecute perpetrators; assisting trafficking victims in the
United States by providing humanitarian assistance and by
providing them temporary nonimmigrant status in the United
States; requiring that law enforcement officers, immigration
officials, and Foreign Service Officers be trained in
identifying and responding to trafficking victims; and denying
United States police assistance to governments that tolerate or
participate in trafficking, abuse victims, or fail to cooperate
with international efforts to prosecute perpetrators.
H.R. 3244, which was introduced on November 8, 1999, merges
the approaches of the three bills (H.R. 1238, H.R. 1356, and
H.R. 3154), drawing from the strengths of each proposal. The
Act strengthens United States anti-trafficking policy by
increasing efforts to prevent trafficking, improving the laws
used to prosecute traffickers, and providing additional
assistance to trafficking victims.
H.R. 3244 establishes a two-tier definition of trafficking,
involving ``sex trafficking'' under the first tier and ``severe
forms of trafficking in persons'' under the second. ``Severe
forms of trafficking in persons'' is the operative term for
enforcement and sanctions against individuals and governments
under the Act. This Act criminalizes severe forms of
trafficking in the United States, provides penalties up to life
imprisonment for traffickers, and strengthens protections for
trafficking victims.
H.R. 3244 also works through U.S. international affairs
agencies to encourage international cooperation and engage
foreign governments in the fight against severe forms of
trafficking. This Act provides a basic legislative framework to
prevent trafficking, stop traffickers, and assist trafficking
victims in the United States and around the world, and should
support ongoing international negotiations that seek consensus
on ways to combat trafficking worldwide.
Committee Action
H.R. 3244 was introduced by Representative Smith of New
Jersey on November 8, 1999. The bill was referred to the
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the
Committees on the Judiciary, and Banking and Financial
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
The Committee on International Relations marked up the bill
in open session, pursuant to notice, on November 9, 1999.
During its consideration, the Committee agreed to a single
amendment, to add a paragraph to the ``findings'' section of
the bill and the Committee adopted a substitute consisting of
the text as amended. Subsequently, the Committee agreed to a
motion to favorably report the bill to the House of
Representatives, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
RECORD VOTES ON AMENDMENTS AND MOTION TO REPORT
Clause (3)(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires that the results of each record vote
on an amendment or motion to report, together with the names of
those voting for or against, be printed in the committee
report. No record votes were taken during the consideration of
H.R. 3244.
Other Matters
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM FINDINGS
Clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires each committee report to contain a
summary of the oversight findings and recommendations made by
the Government Reform Committee pursuant to clause (4)(c)(2) of
rule X of those Rules. The Committee on International Relations
has received no such findings or recommendations from the
Committee on Government Reform.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
In compliance with clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee cites the
following specific powers granted to the Congress in the
Constitution as authority for enactment of H.R. 3244 as
reported by the Committee: Article I, section 8, clause 1
(relating to providing for the common defense and general
welfare of the United States); Article I, section 8, clause 3
(relating to the regulation of commerce with foreign nations);
and Article I, section 8, clause 18 (relating to making all
laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution powers
vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United
States or in any Department or Officer thereof).
PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a committee statement on the extent to
which the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state
or local law. The Committee states that H.R. 3244 is not
intended to preempt any state or local law.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Sec. 1. Short Title; table of contents
This section states that this Act may be cited as the
``Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999'' and lists its
contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes and findings
This section states that the purposes of this Act are to
combat trafficking in persons, to ensure just punishment of
traffickers, and to protect their victims. The Congress finds
that every year millions of people, predominantly women and
children, are trafficked within or across international
borders. Many victims are trafficked into the international sex
industry, often through force, fraud, or coercion. Trafficking
in persons is not limited to sex trafficking, but often
involves forced labor and other violations of human rights.
Trafficking is a growing transnational problem that is
increasingly perpetrated by organized criminal enterprises.
Existing legislation and law enforcement in the United States
and abroad is inadequate to deter trafficking, bring
traffickers to justice, and meet the safe reintegration needs
of trafficking victims. In some countries, anti-trafficking
efforts are hindered by official indifference, corruption, and
sometimes even official participation in trafficking.
Trafficking in persons is a matter of pressing international
concern and the United States must work bilaterally and
multilaterally to abolish trafficking and protect trafficking
victims.
Sec. 3. Definitions
This section defines certain terms used in this Act. ``Sex
trafficking'' is defined as the purchase, sale, recruitment,
harboring, transportation, transfer, or receipt of a person for
the purpose of a commercial sex act. ``Severe forms of
trafficking in persons'' is defined as sex trafficking induced
by force, fraud, or coercion, or involving a person under the
age of 18, as well as trafficking for the purpose of subjecting
the trafficked person to involuntary servitude, slavery, or
slavery-like practices by force, fraud, or coercion. ``Slavery-
like practices'' means inducement of a person to perform labor
or other services by force, coercion, or by any scheme, plan,
or pattern to cause the person to believe that failure to
perform the work will result in the infliction of serious harm,
debt bondage amounting to involuntary servitude, or subjection
to conditions so harsh or degrading as to provide a clear
indication that the person has been subjected to them by force,
fraud, or coercion. In the context of this bill, ``serious
harm'' could include physical restraint that severely limits
freedom of movement. ``Coercion,'' as defined, includes the use
of force, violence, and physical restraint, as well as acts
calculated to have the same effect (such as the credible threat
of serious harm). In various places, the act uses more general
terms such as ``trafficking'' or ``trafficking in persons.'' In
such contexts, these terms are intended to be used in a more
general sense, giving the President and other officials some
degree of discretion to apply the relevant provision to a
broader range of actions or victims beyond those associated
with severe forms of trafficking in persons. Such discretion is
particularly appropriate in assistance to and protection of
victims, because trafficked women and children may have a
compelling needfor such assistance and protection even though
they have not been subjected to severe forms of trafficking.
Sec. 4. Annual Country Reports on human rights practices
This section requires the Secretary of State to include in
the annual Country Reports information regarding the status of
trafficking in persons, including countries or origin, transit
or destination for a significant number of victims of severe
forms of trafficking in persons and the extent to which the
government of those countries are involved in such trafficking,
and an assessment on the steps governments are taking to combat
trafficking, and to assist victims of trafficking and protect
their rights.
Sec. 5. Interagency Task Force to monitor and combat trafficking
Trafficking in persons is a complex problem that involves
multiple issues, including translational crime, human rights,
economics, migration, labor, and public health. To effectively
combat trafficking in the United States and abroad, the
Departments of State, Justice, Labor, and Health and Human
Services and the Agency for International Development must work
together to address the many issues surrounding the trafficking
industry.
To facilitate and oversee cooperation among the U.S.
agencies engaged in the implementation of the Act, this section
requires the President to establish an Inter-Agency Task Force
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and authorizes the
establishment an Office in the State Department to provide
assistance to the Task Force. It charges the Task Force with:
coordinating the implementation of this Act; evaluating
progress in trafficking prevention, victim assistance, and the
prosecution of traffickers; expanding the collection of
trafficking data by government agencies; facilitating
cooperation among countries to prevent trafficking, prosecute
traffickers, and assist victims; and examining the
international ``sex tourism'' industry and recommending
appropriate measure to combat it.
Sec. 6. Prevention of trafficking
Economic deprivation drives the trafficking industry.
Traffickers target women and girls, who are disproportionately
affected by poverty, lack of access to education, chronic
unemployment, discrimination, and lack of viable economic
opportunities in countries of origin. Traffickers lure women
with promises of high-paying jobs overseas or buy girls from
poor families.
Section 6 addresses economic deprivation as a root cause of
trafficking. This section charges the President--acting through
the Agency for International Development and other agencies and
in consultation with appropriate non-governmental
organizations--with establishing initiatives to enhance
economic opportunity for potential trafficking victims as a
means of deterring trafficking, such as microcredit lending
programs, training, and education. It directs the President to
establish programs to increase public awareness of the dangers
oftrafficking and the protections available to victims.
Sec. 7. Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking
The United States and countries around the world lack
sufficient infrastructure to meet the needs of trafficking
victims. This section seeks to expend domestic services
available to trafficking victims and to increase the capacity
of foreign countries to assist trafficking victims.
Subsection (a) charges the State Department and AID with
establishing programs and initiatives in foreign countries to
assist victims of trafficking.
Subsection (b) directs the Attorney General, the
Secretaries of Labor and of Health and Human Services, and the
Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation to expand
assistance to victims of severe forms of trafficking in the
United States. It also makes victims of severe forms of
trafficking in the United States eligible for benefits under
the Crime Victims Fund, and allows the Attorney General to make
grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to
expand services for victims of trafficking. Furthermore, it
provides trafficking victims a civil right of action against
traffickings for violations of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1589 (trafficking
into slavery-like conditions) or Sec. 1589A (sex trafficking of
children or by force, fraud, or coercion).
Subsection (c) requires the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State to promulgate regulations to ensure that:
(1) victims of severe forms of trafficking are provided with
adequate shelter and care while in Federal custody; (2) victims
are not jailed or fined merely because they were trafficked;
(3) victims have access to legal assistance and translation
services; (4) victims are assured continuous presence in the
United States to assist in the prosecution of traffickers; and
(5) State and Justice Department personnel are trained in
identifying and protecting victims of severe forms of
trafficking.
Subsection (d) makes clear that nothing in subsection (c)
creates a private cause of action against the United States or
its employees.
Subsection (e) makes funds derived from the sale of assets
seized from and forfeited by trafficking (pursuant to section
12(a) of this Act) available for the victims assistance
programs outlined in subsections (a) and (b), above.
Subsection (f) authorizes the Attorney General to grant
nonimmigrant visas to certain victims of severe forms of
trafficking who are in the United States and who would face a
significant possibility of retribution or other harm if they
were removed from the U.S. It also allows adjustment to lawful
permanent resident status for victims who have been in the U.S.
continuously for 3 years since admission; have remained of good
moral character; have not unreasonably refused to assist in
trafficking investigations or prosecutions; and would face a
significant possibility of retribution or other harm if removed
from the United States.
Sec. 8 Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking
This section establishes minimum standards applicable to
countries that have a significant trafficking problem,
requiring them to prohibit and adequately punish severe forms
of trafficking in persons, and to make serious and sustained
efforts to eliminate such trafficking.
Sec. 9. Assistance to foreign countries to meeting minimum standards
This section authorizes the Agency for International
Development to fund activities designed to help foreign
countries meet the minimum standards outlined in section 8(a)
of this Act. Such activities include, but are not limited to,
assistance in drafting anti-trafficking legislation, training
law enforcement and judicial system officials in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases, and efforts
by foreign governments to assist victims.
Sec. 10. Actions against governments failing to meet minimum standards
This section requires the Secretary of State to submit to
Congress an annual report on the status of severe forms of
trafficking. The report will consist of a list of countries
that do not meet the minimum standards set forth in section
8(a) of the Act, together with such other information as the
Secretary may wish to provide. The Secretary may also file
interim reports. Beginning in FY2002, for each government that
fails to meet the minimum standards, the President must either
(a) withhold nonhumanitarian U.S. foreign assistance to that
government and vote against nonhumanitarian assistance to that
government by multilateral lending institutions during the
following fiscal year, or (b) waive that prohibition if the
President finds that the provision of nonhumanitarian
assistance to that country is in the national interest of the
United States. The two year delay in implementation of this
provision is intended to give foreign governments time to come
into compliance with the minimum standards.
Sec. 11. Action against significant traffickers in persons
This section authorizes the Secretary of State to compile
and publish a list of foreign persons who have a significant
role in a severe form of trafficking in persons, directly or
indirectly in the United States, who materially support such
persons, or who are owned or controlled by such persons. It
allows the President to impose International Emergency Economic
Power Acts (IEEPA) sanctions, including the freezing of assets
located in the United States, without regard to section 202 of
such Act against any foreign person on that list, and requires
that the President report to Congress on any such sanctions. It
also allows for the non-disclosure of persons on the list for
intelligence and law enforcement reasons, and requires that
Congress be notified of such exclusions on an annual basis.
Subsection (e) excludes significant traffickers, as well as
people who knowingly assist them, from entry into the United
States.
Sec. 12. Strengthening prosecution and punishment of traffickers
This section seeks to criminalize trafficking in persons in
the United States and to strengthen penalties against
trafficking and components of the trafficking scheme.
Subsection (a) includes amendments to Title 18 of the
United States Code (Crimes andCriminal Procedure) that are
intended to strengthen United States laws against trafficking.
Subsection (a)(1) doubles the current maximum penalties for
peonage, enticement into slavery, and sale into involuntary
servitude to 20 years, and adds the possibility of life
imprisonment for such violations where they result in death or
involve kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to
kill.
The subsection also defines new criminal offenses aimed at
traffickers and the criminal ``kingpins'' behind the growing
problem of international trafficking. It criminalizes
trafficking a person into involuntary servitude, peonage, or
slavery-like conditions, which is punishable by 20 years in
prison, or life in prison in cases that result in death or
involve kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to
kill. It also criminalizes sex trafficking of children, and
provides penalties of up to life imprisonment in cases where
the child was under 14, and up to 20 years in prison in cases
where the trafficked child was 14 or older and no force, fraud,
or coercion was involved. It also criminalizes sex trafficking
by force, fraud, or coercion, which is punishable by life
imprisonment. In addition to targeting those who recruit,
transport, buy, or sell trafficking victims, each of these new
offenses also applies to those who knowingly benefit from
severe forms of trafficking, such as owners or managers of
enterprises engaged in trafficking.
Subsection (a)(1) also provides for up to five years
imprisonment for anyone who unlawfully possesses or destroys
the identification or immigration documents of another in the
course of a trafficking violation, or in an attempt to impair a
trafficking investigation or to restrict a victim's movement.
In addition, it requires that convicted traffickers provide
full restitution to their victims, and directs that courts
order the forfeiture to the United States of any of the
trafficker's property that was used for or derived from
violations of these laws. Victims of these crimes will be
eligible for the Federal witness protection program.
Subsection (b) directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to
review and, if appropriate, amend the sentencing guidelines
applicable to trafficking offenses to ensure that they are
adequately stringent.
Subsection (c) adds the new trafficking offenses to the
list of ``racketeering activit[ies]'' for purposes of the
Federal RICO statute.
Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations
This section authorizes a total of $94.5 million ($31.5
million for FY2000, $63 million for FY01) in the following
categories:
(a) Interagency Task Force: $1.5 million for fiscal
year 2000, $3 million for fiscal year 2001;
(b) Health and Human Services for victim assistance
in the United States: $5 million for fiscal year 2000,
$10 million for fiscal year 2001;
(c) Department of State for foreign victim
assistance: $5 million for fiscal year 2000, $10
million for fiscal year 2001;
(d) The Attorney General for victim assistance in the
United States: $5 million for fiscal year 2000, $10
million for fiscal year 2001;
(e) The President for (1) foreign victim assistance:
$5 million for fiscal year 2000, $10 million for fiscal
year 2001, and (2) assistance to help countries meet
minimum trafficking standards: $5 million for fiscal
year 2000, $10 million for fiscal year 2001; and
(f) Department of Labor for victim assistance in the
United States: $5 million for fiscal year 2000, $10
million for fiscal year 2001.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--GENERAL
definitions
Section 101. (a) As used in this Act--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(15) The term ``immigrant'' means every alien except an alien
who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant
aliens--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(R) an alien, and the spouse and children of the
alien if accompanying or following to join the alien,
who--
(i) * * *
(ii) seeks to enter the United States for a
period not to exceed 5 years to perform the
work described in subclause (I), (II), or (III)
of paragraph (27)(C)(ii); [or]
(S) subject to section 214(k), an alien--
(i) * * *
* * * * * * *
(ii) who the Secretary of State and the
Attorney General jointly determine--
(I) * * *
* * * * * * *
(IV) is eligible to receive a reward
under section 36(a) of the State
Department Basic Authorities Act of
1956,
and, if the Attorney General (or with respect to clause
(ii), the Secretary of State and the Attorney General
jointly) considers it to be appropriate, the spouse,
married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents
of an alien described in clause (i) or (ii) if
accompanying, or following to join, the alien[.]; or
(T) an alien who the Attorney General determines--
(i) is physically present in the United
States or at a port of entry thereto;
(ii) is or has been a victim of a severe form
of trafficking in persons as defined in section
3 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
1999;
(iii)(I) has not unreasonably refused to
assist in the investigation or prosecution of
acts of trafficking; or
(II) has not attained the age of 14 years;
and
(iv) would face a significant possibility of
retribution or other hardship if removed from
the United States, and, if the Attorney General
considers it to be appropriate, the spouse,
married and unmarried sons and daughters, and
parents of an alien described in this
subparagraph if accompanying, or following to
join, the alien, except that no person shall be
eligible for admission to the United States
under this subparagraph if there is substantial
reason to believe that the person has committed
an act of a severe form of trafficking in
persons as defined in section 3 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999.
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--IMMIGRATION
* * * * * * *
Chapter 2--Qualifications for Admission of Aliens; Travel Control of
Citizens and Aliens
* * * * * * *
GENERAL CLASSES OF ALIENS INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE VISAS AND INELIGIBLE
FOR ADMISSION; WAIVERS OF INADMISSIBILITY
Sec. 212. (a) Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Visas or
Admission.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, aliens
who are inadmissible under the following paragraphs are
ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to
the United States:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(2) Criminal and related grounds.--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(H) Significant traffickers in persons.--Any
alien who--
(i) is on the most recent list of
significant traffickers provided in
section 10 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 1999, or who the
consular officer or the Attorney
General knows or has reason to believe
is or has been a knowing aider,
abettor, assister, conspirator, or
colluder with such a trafficker in
severe forms of trafficking in persons
as defined in the section 3 of such
Act; or
(ii) who the consular officer or the
Attorney General knows or has reason to
believe is the spouse, son, or daughter
of an alien inadmissible under clause
(i), has, within the previous 5 years,
obtained any financial or other benefit
from the illicit activity of that
alien, and knew or reasonably should
have known that the financial or other
benefit was the product of such illicit
activity, is inadmissible.
* * * * * * *
(d)(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(13) The Attorney General shall determine whether a
ground for inadmissibility exists with respect to a
nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(T). The
Attorney General, in the Attorney General's discretion,
may waive the application of subsection (a) (other than
paragraph (3)(E)) in the case of a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(T), if the Attorney
General considers it to be in the national interest to
do so. Nothing in this section shall be regarded as
prohibiting the Immigration and Naturalization Service
from instituting removal proceedings against an alien
admitted as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(T)
for conduct committed after the alien's admission into
the United States, or for conduct or a condition that
was not disclosed to the Attorney General prior to the
alien's admission as a nonimmigrant under section
101(a)(15)(T).
* * * * * * *
Chapter 5--Adjustment and Change of Status
ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF NONIMMIGRANT TO THAT OF PERSON ADMITTED FOR
PERMANENT RESIDENCE
Sec. 245. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(l)(1) If, in the opinion of the Attorney General, a
nonimmigrant admitted into the United States under section
101(a)(15)(T)--
(A) has been physically present in the United States
for a continuous period of at least 3 years since the
date of admission as a nonimmigrant under section
101(a)(15)(T);
(B) has, throughout such period, been a person of
good moral character;
(C) has not, during such period, unreasonably refused
to provide assistance in the investigation or
prosecution of acts of trafficking; and
(D) would face a significant possibility of
retribution or other hardship if removed from the
United States,
the Attorney General may adjust the status of the alien (and
the spouse, married and unmarried sons and daughters, and
parents of the alien if admitted under that section) to that of
an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien
is not described in section 212(a)(3)(E).
(2) An alien shall be considered to have failed to maintain
continuous physical presence in the United States under
paragraph (1)(A) if the alien has departed from the United
States for any period in excess of 90 days or for any periods
in the aggregate exceeding 180 days.
* * * * * * *
----------
TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 77--PEONAGE AND SLAVERY
Sec.
1581. Peonage; obstructing enforcement.
* * * * * * *
1589. Trafficking into involuntary servitude, peonage, or slavery-like
conditions.
1589A. Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion.
1590. Unlawful possession of documents in furtherance of trafficking
involuntary servitude, or peonage.
1591. Mandatory restitution.
1592. General provisions.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 1581. Peonage; obstructing enforcement
(a) Whoever holds or returns any person to a condition of
peonage, or arrests any person with the intent of placing him
in or returning him to a condition of peonage, shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than [10] 20 years, or
both. If, in addition to the foregoing elements, death results
from a violation of this section, or if such violation includes
kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or
the attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to
kill, the defendant shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned for any term of years or life, or both.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 1583. Enticement into slavery
Whoever kidnaps or carries away any other person, with the
intent that such other person be sold into involuntary
servitude, or held as a slave; or
Whoever entices, persuades, or induces any other person to go
on board any vessel or to any other place with the intent that
he may be made or held as a slave, or sent out of the country
to be so made or held--
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
[10] 20 years, or both. If, in addition to the foregoing
elements, death results from a violation of this section, or if
such violation includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap,
aggravated sexual abuse or the attempt to commit aggravated
sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, the defendant shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or
life, or both.
Sec. 1584. Sale into involuntary servitude
Whoever knowingly and willfully holds to involuntary
servitude or sells into any condition of involuntary servitude,
any other person for any term, or brings within the United
States any person so held, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than [10] 20 years, or both. If, in
addition to the foregoing elements, death results from a
violation of this section, or if such violation includes
kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or
the attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, oran attempt to
kill, the defendant shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for
any term of years or life, or both.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 1589. Trafficking into involuntary servitude, peonage, or slavery-
like conditions
(a) Whoever recruits, harbors, provides, transports, employs,
purchases, sells, or secures, by any means, any person, knowing
or having reason to know that the person is or will be
subjected to involuntary servitude or peonage or to slavery-
like conditions as described in subsection (b) of this section,
or in any way, financially or otherwise, knowingly benefits
from, or makes use of, the labor or services of a person
subjected to a condition of involuntary servitude or peonage,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20
years, or both; and if, in addition to the foregoing elements,
death results from an act committed in violation of this
section, or if such act includes kidnapping or an attempt to
kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or the attempt to commit
aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or life,
or both.
(b) As used in this section, the term ``slavery-like
conditions'' means that the labor or services of a person are
obtained or maintained through any scheme or artifice to
defraud, or by means of any plan or pattern, including but not
limited to false and fraudulent pretenses and
misrepresentations, such that the person reasonably believes
that if he did not perform the labor or services serious harm
would be inflicted on himself or on another person.
(c) This section does not apply to labor performed as a
punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted.
Sec. 1589A. Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion
(a) In General.--Whoever--
(1) recruits, entices, harbors, purchases, sells,
transports, or transfers a person, or
(2) owns, manages, operates, or shares in the
proceeds of an enterprise in which a person has been
recruited, enticed, harbored, purchased, sold,
transported, or transferred, knowing or having reason
to know that the person will be caused by force, fraud,
or coercion to engage in a commercial sex act, or that
the person has not attained the age of 18 years and
will be caused or expected to engage in a commercial
sexual act, shall be punished as provided in subsection
(b).
(b) Punishment.--The punishment for an offense under
subsection (a) is--
(1) if the offense was effected by fraud, force, or
coercion, or if the person transported had not attained
the age of 14 years at the time of such offense, by a
fine under this title or imprisonment for any term of
years or for life, or both; or
(2) if the offense was not effected by fraud, force,
or coercion, and the person transported had attained
the age of 14 years but had not attained the age of 18
years at the time of such offense, by a fine under this
title or imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or
both.
(c) Definition of Commercial Sexual Act.--In this section,
the term ``commercial sexual act'' means any sexual act, on
account of which anything of value is given to or received by
any person, and--
(1) which takes place in the United States;
(2) which affects United States foreign commerce; or
(3) in which either the person caused or expected to
participate in the act or the person committing the
violation is a United States citizen or an alien
admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
Sec. 1590. Unlawful possession of documents in furtherance of
trafficking, involuntary servitude, or peonage
(a) Whoever destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates, or
possesses any identification, passport, or other immigration
documents, or any other documentation of another person--
(1) in the course of, or under circumstances which
facilitate a violation of section 1581, 1583, 1584,
1589, or 1589A or a conspiracy or attempt to commit
such a violation; or
(2) to conceal or impair the investigation or
prosecution of a violation of any section described in
paragraph (1); or
(3) to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority,
the person's liberty to move or travel in interstate or
foreign commerce, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
Sec. 1591. Mandatory restitution
(a) Notwithstanding sections 3663 or 3663A, and in addition
to any other civil or criminal penalties authorized by law, the
court shall order restitution for any offense under this
chapter.
(b)(1) The order of restitution under this section shall
direct the defendant to pay the victim (through the appropriate
court mechanism) the full amount of the victim's losses, as
determined by the court under paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(2) An order of restitution under this section shall be
issued and enforced in accordance with section 3664 in the same
manner as an order under section 3663A.
(3) As used in this subsection, the term ``full amount of the
victim's losses'' has the same meaning as provided in section
2259(b)(3) and shall in addition include the greater of the
gross income or value to the defendant of the victim's services
or labor or the value of the victim's labor as guaranteed under
the minimum wage and overtime guarantees of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201, et seq.).
(c) As used in this section, the term ``victim'' means the
individual harmed as a result of a crime under this chapter,
including, in the case of a victim who is under 18 years of
age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal
guardian of the victim or a representative of the victim's
estate, or another family member, or any other person appointed
as suitable by the court, but in no event shall the defendant
be named such representative or guardian.
Sec. 1592. General provisions
(a) In a prosecution under sections 1581, 1583, 1584, or
1589, a condition of involuntary servitude or peonage may be
established by proof that the defendant obtained or maintained
the labor or service of any person--
(1) by the use, or threatened use, of force,
violence, physical restraint, or physical injury, or by
extortion or the abuse or threatened abuse of law or
the legal process;
(2) through representations made to any person that
physical harm may occur to that person, or to another,
in an effort to wrongfully obtain or maintain the labor
or services of that person; or
(3) by the use of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation
toward any person in an effort to wrongfully obtain or
maintain the labor or services of that person, where
the person is a minor, one who is mentally disabled, or
one who is otherwise particularly susceptible to
coercion.
(b) An attempt or conspiracy to violate sections 1581, 1583,
1584, 1589, or 1589A shall be punishable in the same manner as
a completed violation of each of these sections, respectively.
(c)(1) The court, in imposing sentence on any person
convicted of a violation of this chapter, shall order, in
addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any
provision of State law, that such person forfeit to the United
States--
(A) such person's interest in any property, real or
personal, that was used or intended to be used to
commit or to facilitate the commission of such
violation; and
(B) any property, real or personal, constituting or
derived from, any proceeds that such person obtained,
directly or indirectly, as a result of such violation.
(2) The criminal forfeiture of property under this
subsection, any seizure and disposition thereof, and any
administrative or judicial proceeding in relation thereto,
shall be governed by the provisions of section 413 of the
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21
U.S.C. 853), except subsection (d) of that section.
(d)(1) The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the
United States and no property right shall exist in them--
(A) any property, real or personal, used or intended
to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of
any violation of this chapter; and
(B) any property, real or personal, which constitutes
or is derived from proceeds traceable to any violation
of this chapter.
(2) The provisions of chapter 46 of this title relating to
civil forfeitures shall extend to any seizure or civil
forfeiture under this subsection.
(f) Witness protection.--Any violation of this chapter shall
be considered an organized criminal activity or other serious
offense for the purposes of application of chapter 224
(relating to witness protection).
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 96--RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 1961. Definitions
As used in this chapter--
(1) ``racketeering activity'' means (A) any act or
threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson,
robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter,
or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical
(as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances
Act), which is chargeable under State law and
punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; (B)
any act which is indictable under any of the following
provisions of title 18, United States Code: Section 201
(relating to bribery), section 224 (relating to sports
bribery), sections 471, 472, and 473 (relating to
counterfeiting), section 659 (relating to theft from
interstate shipment) if the act indictable under
section 659 is felonious, section 664 (relating to
embezzlement from pension and welfare funds), sections
891-894 (relating to extortionate credit transactions),
section 1028 (relating to fraud and related activity in
connection with identification documents), section 1029
(relating to fraud and related activity in connection
with access devices), section 1084 (relating to the
transmission of gambling information), section 1341
(relating to mail fraud), section 1343 (relating to
wire fraud), section 1344 (relating to financial
institution fraud), section 1425 (relating to the
procurement of citizenship or nationalization
unlawfully), section 1426 (relating to the reproduction
of naturalization or citizenship papers), section 1427
(relating to the sale of naturalization or citizenship
papers), sections 1461-1465 (relating to obscene
matter), section 1503 (relating to obstruction of
justice), section 1510 (relating to obstruction of
criminal investigations), section 1511 (relating to the
obstruction of State or local law enforcement), section
1512 (relating to tampering with a witness, victim, or
an informant), section 1513 (relating to retaliating
against a witness, victim, or an informant), section
1542 (relating to false statement in application and
use of passport), section 1543 (relating to forgery or
false use of passport), section 1544 (relating to
misuse of passport), section 1546 (relating to fraud
and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents),
sections 1581-1588 (relating to peonage and slavery),
section 1951 (relating to interference with commerce,
robbery, or extortion), section 1952 (relating to
racketeering), section 1953 (relating to interstate
transportation of wagering paraphernalia), section 1954
(relating to unlawful welfare fund payments), section
1955 (relating to the prohibition of illegal gambling
businesses), section 1956 (relating to the laundering
of monetary instruments), section 1957 (relating to
engaging in monetary transactions in property derived
from specified unlawful activity), section 1958
(relating to use of interstate commerce facilities in
the commission of murder-for-hire), section 1589
(relating to trafficking into involuntary servitude,
peonage, or slavery-like conditions), section 1589A
(relating to sex trafficking of children or by force,
fraud, or coercion), sections 2251, 2251A, 2252, and
2260 (relating to sexual exploitation of children),
sections 2312 and 2313 (relating to interstate
transportation of stolen motor vehicles), sections 2314
and 2315 (relating to interstate transportation of
stolen property), section 2318 (relating to trafficking
in counterfeit labels for phonorecords, computer
programs or computer program documentation or packaging
and copies of motion pictures or other audiovisual
works), section 2319 (relating to criminal infringement
of a copyright), section 2319A (relating to
unauthorized fixation of and trafficking in sound
recordings and music videos of live musical
performances), section 2320 (relating to trafficking in
goods or services bearing counterfeit marks), section
2321 (relating to trafficking in certain motor vehicles
or motor vehicle parts), sections 2341-2346 (relating
to trafficking in contraband cigarettes), sections
2421-24 (relating to white slave traffic), (C) any act
which is indictable under title 29, United States Code,
section 186 (dealing with restrictions on payments and
loans to labor organizations) or section 501(c)
(relating to embezzlement from union funds), (D) any
offense involving fraud connected with a case under
title 11 (except a case under section 157 of this
title), fraud in the sale of securities, or the
felonious manufacture, importation, receiving,
concealment, buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in a
controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in
section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act),
punishable under any law of the United States, (E) any
act which is indictable under the Currency and Foreign
Transactions Reporting Act, or (F) any act which is
indictable under the Immigration and Nationality Act,
section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring
certain aliens), section 277 (relating to aiding or
assisting certain aliens to enter the United States),
or section 278 (relating to importation of alien for
immoral purpose) if the act indictable under such
section of such Act was committed for the purpose of
financial gain.