This bill became law on 2026-01-23 as Public Law No. 119-73.
The summary below describes the bill at the version we last reviewed; the enacted text may differ.
YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessYour MoneyTransparency & AccountabilityCourts can now erase convictions of people forced into crime by traffickers — old cases count, filing is free.
Civil Liberties
A survivor can ask the judge who sentenced them to throw out the conviction. The judge must find it more likely than not that being trafficked caused the crime.
Records of an arrest can be wiped from all official files. This covers non-violent arrests, plus violent ones where charges were dropped, reduced, or ended in a not-guilty verdict.
The law reaches back. A conviction or arrest from decades ago can be cleared, and the law sets no deadline to file.
Every motion, filing, and order in these cases is sealed. Court officers and staff may not release any document that names the person.
A person on trial can argue that a trafficker forced them into the crime. If they lose that argument, or never raise it, they can still ask to clear the record later.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
A person serving time can ask for a shorter sentence, or the judge can act alone. The judge weighs the danger to others, and crimes against children never qualify.
No one else has to be arrested or convicted first. A survivor does not have to prove who the trafficker was to get relief.
The judge must consider a sworn statement from a trafficking counselor or clinician. If it is credible and nothing else is available, that alone can carry the case.
Justice Department and Violence Against Women grants pay for lawyers. Those grants can no longer be blocked from paying for work to undo a conviction after the fact.
Your Money
Courts cannot charge a filing fee, service charge, copay, or processing fee for these motions. The person pays nothing to ask.
Federally funded programs that help trafficking victims must stay open to a person who raised the trafficking defense in court and lost. The same holds if they never raised it.
Transparency & Accountability
The Government Accountability Office must tell Congress how many survivors filed, how courts ruled, and how to widen access. That report is due three years after the January 2026 enactment.
The Attorney General must list all the training U.S. attorneys got on spotting trafficking over the past year. Each U.S. attorney must also report how many of these motions were filed.
More about this bill
People forced into crime by their traffickers can now ask a federal judge to erase the record. This became law on January 23, 2026. A survivor can ask the court to throw out a federal conviction for a crime that was not violent. Arrest records can be cleared too, including violent charges that were dropped, reduced, or ended in a not-guilty verdict. The judge weighs which side is more likely right. That is a lower bar than a criminal trial. Old cases count. Relief covers arrests and convictions from any year, before or after the law passed. People still in prison can ask for a shorter sentence on the same grounds. That includes some violent crimes, but never crimes where a child was the victim. Prosecutors must dig into the facts of the original sentencing before they take a side. At trial, a person can now tell the jury that a trafficker forced them into the crime. Losing that argument does not block a later request to clear the record. It also cannot cut a person off from federal programs that help trafficking victims. Filing costs nothing. The law bars filing fees, service charges, and any other charge. Court papers stay sealed, so the public cannot see who asked. Court staff may not hand out records that name the person. Fines and restitution already ordered still stand, since the law does not wipe out those debts. Legal aid groups with Justice Department or Violence Against Women grants may now spend that money on this work. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on how the law is working by January 2029.
Congressional Summary
Trafficking Survivors Relief ActThis act establishes a process to vacate convictions and expunge arrest records for certain criminal offenses committed by victims of human trafficking that directly result from or relate to having been a trafficking victim.It defines the offenses eligible to be vacated or expunged and sets forth procedures for filing a motion.The Government Accountability Office must assess the impact of this process, including the number of human trafficking survivors who file motions to vacate convictions or expunge records.Under the act, U.S. Attorneys' Offices must report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the number of motions to vacate convictions or expunge arrest records that are filed. Additionally, the DOJ must report to Congress on professional training received by U.S. Attorneys on indicators of human trafficking during the preceding 12-month period.The act permits certain grants for legal representation to be used to seek post-conviction relief.Finally, the act allows a defendant to establish, as a defense, that the offenses were committed under duress by demonstrating that he or she was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Public Law
- Action Date
- 2026-01-23
- Date Added
- 2026-06-03
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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