Future of anti-human trafficking bills sought by Catholics unclear amid broader immigration debate – Detroit Catholic

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – A trio of bills aimed at combating human trafficking, pushed for by Catholic advocates, faces an uncertain future in Congress amid a broader debate over immigration policy.

At a June 6 briefing at the Capitol, representatives from the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd National Advocacy Center highlighted three bills they say , would contribute to efforts to combat this practice: HR 5856, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Prevention and Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023; H.R. 1325, the Asylum Seekers Work Authorization Act of 2023; and H.R. 6145, Immigration and Juvenile Court Efficiency Act of 2023.

Sister Brigid Lawlor, founder of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, or NAC, and a sister of that community, said the issues of human trafficking and forced migration are closely linked.

“We have seen first-hand how traffickers prey on those who are forced to flee their homes due to circumstances beyond their control,” she said at a press briefing. “We all know what it is: floods, famine or gang violence, domestic violence, poverty, persecution and political corruption.”

Ending human trafficking, she said, “is a bipartisan issue with bipartisan solutions,” pointing to Republican and Democratic staffers in attendance. “We need legislative action to address these particular trafficking-related vulnerabilities.”

In February, the House approved the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act with a large bipartisan majority. The office of Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said it includes age-appropriate prevention and education initiatives for elementary and secondary schools and funds for jobs, housing and survivor education, among other initiatives. The bill has been sent to the Senate and referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, which has yet to make a decision on moving it forward. This legislation is also supported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Asylum Seekers Work Authorization Act and its Senate counterpart, S 255, would reduce the waiting period for asylum seekers to obtain work permits, allowing them to seek employment and reducing their vulnerability to traffickers, supporters said. The USCCB also supports this legislation. The House and Senate versions of this legislation have not yet been considered by their appropriate committees.

The bipartisan Immigration and Children's Court Efficiency Act, which supporters say would reduce the immigration court backlog and strengthen due process rights for children in the process, has not yet passed the House Judiciary Committee.

But key provisions of that legislation were among the Biden administration's December 2023 executive actions on immigration, establishing separate dockets focused on adjudicating removal proceedings for unaccompanied children. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., praised the decision in a December statement as “welcome progress” but argued that “we must build on this executive branch effort by passing my bipartisan court bill.” for children to codify the creation of a separate children's court. Court of law. “

Members of Congress in the House and Senate who spoke with OSV News on the bills' prospects were unable to provide information on a timetable for moving them forward, with one suggesting that any legislation dealing with immigration gets drawn into broader debates beyond the border, even if the points have nothing to do with the border.

Lawmakers have repeatedly found themselves in stalemate over immigration as a bipartisan border deal repeatedly failed in 2024, as Senate and House Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump, the favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, ultimately rejected the deal. . Despite his own hard line on immigration policy, Trump argued that passing the bill would help President Joe Biden in the November election.

But advocates seemed optimistic about their efforts during the briefing.

Fran Eskin-Royer, executive director of the NAC, said in a statement released before the briefing: “There is broad consensus on the urgent need to combat human trafficking, but there is little understanding of the root and systemic causes, such as forced migration, and the need to address U.S. policies that may inadvertently facilitate the exploitation of migrants and immigrants by traffickers. »

“In considering areas where our two organizations could make changes and break some of the links between human trafficking and forced migration, we have selected three distinct areas where legislative solutions have already been proposed,” he said. she declared. “Help people to be safe and able to support themselves in their home country and avoid this dangerous journey altogether. Improve immigration procedures for unaccompanied children and establish a formal anti-trafficking process of human beings. Speed ​​up the process for asylum seekers to obtain legal authorizations to work so that they do not languish and become victims of trafficking.