Marco Rubio pushes for legal help for human trafficking survivors

Marco Rubio will make history when the Senate confirms him as Secretary of State. Image via AP.

Florida’s senior Senator is behind bipartisan legislation intended to provide relief to those who have survived one of the most dehumanizing actions possible.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is teaming up with Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York on the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, which would allow expungement of criminal records of nonviolent human trafficking survivors.

“It is the sense of Congress that this Act is a first step to address the changing tactics of human traffickers, who are using forced criminality as a form of force, fraud, and coercion in their human trafficking enterprises; and Congress is committed to continuing to find solutions as needed to thwart human traffickers and protect survivors of human trafficking,” the bill reads.

Defense lawyers would be able to file motions for expungement, but the government could object.

The bill would require U.S. attorneys to submit a report to the Attorney General a year after the bill becomes law detailing expungement motions and how they were handled.

A second report would be presented to Congress no more than three years after the bill becomes law by the U.S. Comptroller General detailing motions for expungement, the final disposition thereof, and “recommendations to increase access to post-conviction relief for human trafficking survivors with Federal criminal records.”

“We can uplift and provide relief to survivors by setting a new federal precedent that would allow them to live a life free from the repercussions of previous offenses incurred through coerced abuse. This important legislation would grant many survivors the opportunity to contribute positively to their communities,” Rubio said.