WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-Md.-04) with Representatives David Valadao (R-Calif.-22), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.- 03) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill this week to protect survivors of human trafficking. Their bill, the Continued Presence Improvement Act (S.4887), strengthens basic protections for noncitizen survivors of trafficking and their families, serving as a critical tool for law enforcement investigations against traffickers. Drafted in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), which has administered the program since February 2021, and key trafficking prevention organizations, this commonsense legislation will improve and increase the utilization of the existing program created in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.     

“It is essential that we provide noncitizen survivors of human trafficking with the protections they need to reclaim their lives and to empower them to participate fully in law enforcement prosecutions of their traffickers. Strengthening and expanding the Continued Presence Program will make all of us safer,” said Senator Cardin. “In Maryland, we are proud of the work of the University of Maryland SAFE Center not only to represent individual survivors but to advocate for commonsense legislative changes that increase safety and empower state, local and federal law enforcement to take action against these traffickers.”

“The Continued Presence Improvement Act will assist law enforcement in combating human trafficking, bringing perpetrators to justice, and ensuring victims receive the protections needed to keep themselves and their families safe,” said Representative Ivey. “I am proud to lead this critically important bicameral and bipartisan legislation with Senator Ben Cardin, Representative David Valadao, and Representative Delia Ramirez.”

“We need to ensure survivors of human trafficking have the resources and support they need to get back on their feet,” said Representative Valadao. “The Continued Presence program aims to provide some stability to these victims while they work with law enforcement to get justice. This bipartisan bill makes important reforms to the program so we can better support victims in one of the most difficult periods of their lives. I’ll continue working to support initiatives like this that aim to put an end to this growing and disturbing crime.”

“Through my years of advocacy, I’ve heard about the trauma experienced by survivors of human trafficking and the difficulties they still experience as they recover from that pain and trauma. While programs like Continued Presence aim to provide them with the temporary opportunity to live and work safely in the United States, many survivors face barriers to receiving Continued Presence and are left in a state of instability, uncertainty, and vulnerability,” said Representative Ramirez. “We must bring long overdue improvements to the Continued Presence process and much-needed relief to survivors of human trafficking who have shown unmatched bravery and resilience as they rebuild their lives. That’s why I am honored to introduce the urgently needed, bipartisan, bicameral Continued Presence Improvement Act of 2024.”

“Victims of Human Trafficking often desperately need help— which the Continued Presence Improvement Act helps enhance. Expanding and strengthening resources means that abuse victims can work and live in the U.S. temporarily while they seek more permanent solutions,” said Senator Blumenthal.

The U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, a presidentially appointed council comprised of people with lived experience of human trafficking, including former undocumented individuals, said “After leaving their trafficking situations, undocumented survivors may spend well over a year or more without legal status. Without work permits these survivors remain vulnerable to being trafficked again and live in the daily fear of deportation – just like the fear they’d been living under while trafficked. Undocumented survivors are among the most vulnerable to re-exploitation and violence, and the Continued Presence Improvement Act of 2024 would drastically increase their access to dignified work and safety.”

“Continued Presence is a critical protection for human trafficking survivors that has been greatly underutilized. Foreign national survivors who are not offered protection from removal are often afraid to seek help and remain in trafficking situations longer,” said Freedom Network USA Senior Policy Specialist, Emma Ecker. “The common-sense changes in the Continued Presence Improvement Act will help survivors achieve safety and financial stability while they assist law enforcement, preventing them from becoming vulnerable to re-exploitation.”

“The NDAA is proud to support the Continued Presence Improvement Act. Streamlining the process and strengthening the discretion of the Continued Presence designation during human trafficking investigations and prosecutions is a welcomed improvement to assist in the proper handling of human trafficking cases. Continued Presence is also vital to ensure the safety of human trafficking survivors by allowing them to remain in a protected designation during times of uncertainty,” said Nelson Bunn, Executive Director, National District Attorneys Association (NDAA).

“The Continued Presence Improvement Act would substantially strengthen protections for human trafficking survivors in the U.S. and reduce their vulnerability to further exploitation,” said Ambassador Susan Esserman, Founder and CEO of the University of Maryland SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors. “The Continued Presence program is currently underutilized, and we have seen its limitations create severe hardships for the survivors we serve. This bill would address those limitations and enable human trafficking survivors to work, stabilize their lives and better support law enforcement investigations and prosecutions of traffickers.”

The Continued Presence Improvement Act:

1. Strengthens human trafficking investigations by expanding law enforcement officials’ use of continued presence.
2. Ensures that human trafficking victims with continued presence maintain continuous protection from removal after an investigation or prosecution is complete and before an immigration benefit is granted.
3. Expands access to justice by clarifying that bringing a civil action for human trafficking is an independent basis for continued presence, regardless of the status of criminal investigation or prosecution.
4. Authorizes USCIS to issue work permits incidents to Continued Presence to eliminate additional paperwork and burden on law enforcement officials.
5. Removes procedural roadblocks to improve the efficiency of the program by defining “Law Enforcement Official” to include state & local law enforcement and providing instructions regarding immigration enforcement actions.
6. Require multiple federal agencies to encourage use of continued presence and increase awareness and adds protections from removal for CP recipients’ family members in the United States.

Endorsing Organizations: Freedom Network, National District Attorney’s Association, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, Tahirih Justice Center, Justice in Motion, U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, University of Maryland SAFE Center, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, ASISTA Immigration Assistance, National Survivor Network, Florida Legal Services, Inc., Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Swan Counseling Services, Preble Street, Advocates for Human Rights, Legal Aid Society (New York City).

A one-page summary of the bill can be downloaded here. The full text of the bill can be downloaded here.  

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