For decades, survivors of human trafficking have faced a devastating paradox within the criminal justice system: they are punished for crimes that were committed as a direct result of their exploitation. The recent enactment of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (H.R. 4323) marks a significant step toward correcting that injustice at the federal level.
Having passed both the House and Senate in December, the bill was signed by the President on January 23, 2026. This Act creates a meaningful pathway for survivors to avoid conviction and to clear records tied to their victimization.
What the Act Does
The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act introduces two critical forms of relief for survivors of trafficking.
First, it establishes an affirmative defense for individuals charged with federal crimes that arose directly from their trafficking. This defense applies to non-violent offenses and allows survivors to demonstrate that their conduct was a product of exploitation. Rather than being treated as offenders, survivors will have the opportunity to assert their status as trafficking victims.
Second, the Act provides post-conviction relief for survivors who have already been convicted for conduct associated with their trafficking victimization. Specifically, it allows for:
- Vacatur, which nullifies a conviction,
- Expungement, which removes records from public access, and
- Sentencing mitigation, which may reduce penalties.
Together, these mechanisms recognize that individuals should not carry lifelong criminal consequences for acts they were compelled to commit.
For a court to grant a motion to vacate a conviction or expunge an arrest, an individual must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the offense was committed as a direct result of having been a victim of trafficking. Alongside this showing, the individual must establish (by clear and convincing evidence) that they were a victim of trafficking at the time the offense was committed.
Why This Law Is Necessary
The need for federal relief is not theoretical – it is reflected in the lived experiences of trafficking survivors.
One such example is Bekah Charleston, a survivor who was prosecuted in federal court for tax evasion. While under the control of her trafficker, she was forced to place financial assets in her own name, resulting in legal responsibility for conduct that was not truly her own.
Charleston ultimately received a presidential pardon. However, her case highlights the shortcomings of relying on pardons as a remedy.
A pardon does not erase a conviction. It requires the recipient to accept guilt and often to express remorse, placing the burden on survivors to take accountability for actions over which they had little or no control. This creates a troubling inconsistency: victims must validate a conviction that, in reality, never should have occurred in the first place.
Moreover, pardons are exceedingly rare. Charleston remains the only known trafficking survivor to have received federal clemency for crimes tied to trafficking. As such, pardons cannot function as a systemic solution.
Prior to the passage of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, there was no comprehensive federal mechanism to address this injustice. Survivors convicted of federal offenses had limited options for relief, even where their conduct was directly linked to trafficking.
Why Vacatur is Different
The distinction between a pardon and a vacatur is fundamental.
A pardon forgives a conviction but leaves it intact, along with the stigma and collateral consequences that follow.
By contrast, vacatur recognizes that the conviction itself was unjust. It effectively removes the conviction from the legal record, allowing survivors to move forward without enduring barriers that criminal records create, particularly in employment, housing, education, and child custody.
Vacatur reframes the remedy from one of forgiveness to one of legal recognition of victimization.
Closing the Gap Between State and Federal Law
Prior to the Act’s passage, many states had already adopted laws allowing survivors to seek relief for convictions arising from trafficking. Pennsylvania, for example, provides a pathway for vacatur in certain circumstances under 18 Pa. C.S. § 3019(d).
However, the protections afforded under § 3019(d) are limited to state-level offenses. Survivors prosecuted under federal law (often for financial crimes, drug offenses, or immigration violations) had no comparable remedy.
The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act closes this gap by extending protections into the federal system, ensuring that survivors are not denied relief simply because their case was prosecuted federally.
A Meaningful Step Forward
The CSE Institute commends and thanks the bill sponsors, advocacy groups, and survivor leaders who championed for years to pass the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act. While the Act is not a complete solution — it applies only to non-violent offenses and will require careful implementation — it represents a critical shift in the treatment of survivors of trafficking in the federal system.
Rather than forcing survivors to carry the lifelong consequences of coerced conduct, the law acknowledges a fundamental principle: survivors should not be punished for their victimization.
By creating both a defense against unjust charges and a mechanism for the erasure of unjust convictions, the Act offers something that has long been missing at the federal level – a reliable pathway to a clean slate.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.