Human Trafficking

Today the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) bipartisan Preventing Child Labor Exploitation in Federal Contracting Act to prohibit companies that engage in illegal child labor practices from securing coveted federal government contracts. "Companies that illegally employ children have no business leveraging lucrative federal government contracts for corporate gain. This...

By U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) | Feb. 5, 2024 | Compact Magazine This week, the Senate is supposedly voting on the biggest immigration overhaul in decades.  That is a polite way of saying that US workers are on the chopping block. The Senate’s “border deal” is a terrible bargain hashed out behind closed doors, one that sells out the American working class in favor of illegal immigrants, the biggest corporations, and Wall Street.   […]  America’s big corporations...

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced bipartisan legislation to hold human traffickers accountable by giving victims their day in court. “Human trafficking survivors deserve justice, not forced arbitration,” said Senator Hawley. “This legislation puts power in the hands of survivors and gives them the power to hold human traffickers accountable.” “Forcing victims of modern-day slavery into a rigged arbitration system deprives...

During a second round of questioning at today’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called out Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for taking special investigators off of human trafficking and fentanyl cases and reassigning them to in-person services at the southern border. Senator Hawley referenced a whistleblower who came to him with these allegations, then questioned the Secretary....

Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the bipartisan Preventing Child Labor Exploitation Act to prohibit companies that illegally employ children from securing coveted federal government contracts. Senator Hawley's legislation comes as the Department of Labor recently reported a startling 69 percent increase in illegal child labor since 2018. This dramatic uptick in child-labor exploitation includes a series of...

This week U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) talked to Real Clear Politics about the necessity of tougher legislation against human trafficking. ...Congress is expected to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act this year, and Hawley, RealClearPolitics is first to report, plans to introduce a host of reforms to strike harder at human traffickers while also providing new support for victims as they try to get back on their feet. “We are a nation of liberators, and the fight...

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced seven amendments to the United States Innovation and Competition Act—the Senate’s proposed legislation to increase competitiveness with China—to put American workers first, fight back against Beijing’s trade abuses, stand up for human rights, protect American national security, and crack down on multi-billion-dollar corporations that are heavily invested in China.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Survivors of Human Trafficking Fight Back Act to create a private cause of action allowing victims of rape and sex trafficking, as well as individuals whose intimate images are distributed without their consent, to sue pornographic websites that profit off their exploitation. Senator Hawley’s bill is cosponsored by Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce legislation to create a federal right to sue for every person trafficked or exploited by pornography websites like PornHub.

With human trafficking on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and introduced the bipartisan Leveraging Information on Foreign Traffickers (LIFT) Act to combat modern day slavery. This legislation supports survivor-centered efforts to monitor and prevent trafficking, and improves the U.S. Department of State’s ability to gather information on this crime. U.S. Representatives Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) are lead cosponsors of this bicameral legislation in the House and introduced the House version of the bill in January.