Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Current Landscape of Human Trafficking Law

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Human Trafficking: A Global Health Emergency

  • 239 Accesses

Abstract

The law of human trafficking in the United States has been in development since independence and started well before. The current state of human trafficking law relies on punishing traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing trafficking before it happens. The law relies on a careful cooperation between the branches of government at the federal, state, local, and international levels. U.S. human trafficking law rests on the foundation of the Thirteenth Amendment’s abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude. Ever since the Thirteenth Amendment, legislation has struggled to keep ahead of the many forms of human trafficking. The current legal framework builds on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which was designed to fill gaps in the existing. The TVPA broadened human trafficking’s legal definition, built up interagency cooperation, and made provisions to help victims recover. At the same time, international cooperation through the Palermo Protocol has strengthened cross-border efforts to combat human trafficking. This chapter describes how the law of human trafficking developed in the U.S. and provides a snapshot of its current framework in the context of broader international efforts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Axam H, Leonardo J (2017) Human trafficking: the fundamentals. United States Attorneys Bull 65(6):3–16

    Google Scholar 

  2. Garner B (ed) (2019) Black’s law dictionary, 11th edn. Thomson Reuters

    Google Scholar 

  3. U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2

    Google Scholar 

  4. U.S. Const. amend. X

    Google Scholar 

  5. Pound R (1921) The spirit of the common law. Marshall Jones Company, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  6. Wormald P (2021) The making of English law, vol 1. Blackwell, Middletown, pp c1999–c2001

    Google Scholar 

  7. Pollock F, Maitland F (1968) History of English law, vol 1, 2nd edn. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp c1895–c1898

    Google Scholar 

  8. Smith v. Brown and Cooper (1705) 91 Eng. Rep. 566-67; 2 Salk. 666

    Google Scholar 

  9. Somerset v. Stewart (1772) 98 Eng. Rep. 499; 1 Lofit. 1

    Google Scholar 

  10. Slavery Abolition Act 1833, 3 & 4 Will. 4 c. 73

    Google Scholar 

  11. U.S. Const. amend. XIII

    Google Scholar 

  12. U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 1

    Google Scholar 

  13. Act of Mar. 2, 1807, ch. 22, 2 Stat. 426

    Google Scholar 

  14. U.S. Const. art. IV, § 2, cl. 3

    Google Scholar 

  15. Office of the Law Revision Counsel: United States Code. https://uscode.house.gov/. Accessed 29 Nov 2022

  16. 18 U.S.C. §§ 1581-1597, 2421-2429

    Google Scholar 

  17. Act of Mar. 22, 1794, ch. 11, 1 Stat. 347

    Google Scholar 

  18. Act of May 15, 1820, ch. 113, 3 Stat. 600

    Google Scholar 

  19. Act of Sept. 20, 1850, ch. 68, 9 Stat. 467

    Google Scholar 

  20. Act of Feb. 19, 1862, ch. 27, 12 Stat. 340

    Google Scholar 

  21. Act of Apr. 16, 1862, ch. 54, 12 Stat. 376

    Google Scholar 

  22. Act of June 19, 1862, ch. 111, 12 Stat. 432

    Google Scholar 

  23. Act of May 21, 1866, ch. 86, 14 Stat. 50

    Google Scholar 

  24. Act of Mar. 2, 1867, ch. 187, 14 Stat. 546 (codified as amended at 77 U.S.C. § 1581)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Kiser WS (2017) Borderlands of slavery: the struggle over captivity and peonage in the American southwest. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia

    Book  Google Scholar 

  26. Clyatt v. United States, 197 U.S. 207 (1905)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Act of June 23, 1874, ch. 464, 18 Stat. 251

    Google Scholar 

  28. 70 Rev. Stat. §§ 5375-5382, 5524-5527; 71 Rev. Stat. §§ 5551-5569 (1878)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Shucha B (2016) White slavery in the Northwoods: early U.S. anti-sex trafficking and its continuing relevance to trafficking reform. William Mary J Women Law 23:75–115

    Google Scholar 

  30. White-Slave Traffic (Mann) Act, ch. 395, 36 Stat. 825 (1910) (codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421-2424)

    Google Scholar 

  31. White-Slave Traffic (Mann) Act, ch. 395, § 2, 36 Stat. 825 (1910)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Chemerinsky E (2015) Constitutional law: principles and policies, 5th edn. Wolters Kluwer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  33. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3

    Google Scholar 

  34. Hoke v. United States, 227 U.S. 308 (1913)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-386, 14 Stat. 1464

    Google Scholar 

  36. Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-301 (amending 22 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(1)(B)(ii))

    Google Scholar 

  37. Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-392, 132 Stat. 5250

    Google Scholar 

  38. Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-425, 132 Stat. 5472 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-193, 117 Stat. 2875

    Google Scholar 

  40. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-164, 119 Stat. 3558

    Google Scholar 

  41. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017, Pub. L. 115-427, 132 Stat. 5503

    Google Scholar 

  42. Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022, Pub. L. 117-348

    Google Scholar 

  43. William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-457, 122 Stat. 5044

    Google Scholar 

  44. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017, Pub. L. 115-393, 132 Stat. 5265

    Google Scholar 

  45. 18 U.S.C. § 1589(a)

    Google Scholar 

  46. 18 U.S.C. § 1593A

    Google Scholar 

  47. 18 U.S.C. § 1589(b)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Hawk BJ, Kane B, Ford K (2020) Chapter 77 and beyond: charging strategies in human trafficking cases. United States Attorneys Bull 65(6):45–57

    Google Scholar 

  49. 18 U.S.C. § 1591

    Google Scholar 

  50. 18 U.S.C. §§ 1592-1593, 1596

    Google Scholar 

  51. 18 U.S.C. § 1595

    Google Scholar 

  52. U.S. Department of State: 3Ps: prosecution, protection, and prevention. https://www.state.gov/3ps-prosecution-protection-and-prevention/. Accessed 29 Nov 2022

  53. 22 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(1)(a)

    Google Scholar 

  54. 22 U.S.C. § 7105

    Google Scholar 

  55. Carr B, Milgram A, Kim K, Warnath S (2014) Human trafficking law and policy. LexisNexis, Leeds, pp 409–437

    Google Scholar 

  56. Branscum C, Cain CM, Fallik SW (2021) Exploring the nature of anti-trafficking laws: a content analysis of state statutes. J Hum Traffick 9(3):348–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2021.1917213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Uniform Law Commission: About us. http://www.uniformlaws.org/aboutulc/overview. Accessed 26 Jan 2022

  58. Uniform Law Commission: Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking Act. https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=0c541796-903d-450a-bb0e-8485650bf360. Accessed 26 Jan 2022

  59. National Archives: Code of Federal Regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov. Accessed 29 Nov 2022

  60. 22 U.S.C. § 7103

    Google Scholar 

  61. U.S. Department of Justice (2022) National strategy to combat human trafficking (2022). https://www.justice.gov/d9/press-releases/attachments/2022/01/31/doj_ht_strategy.pdf

  62. Office on Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of Health and Human. Services: Victim assistance. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/victim-assistance. Accessed 30 Nov 2022

  63. U.S. Department of Education: Human trafficking. https://www.ed.gov/human-trafficking. Accessed 30 Nov 2022

  64. Office of the Assistant Secretary For Policy, U.S. Department of Labor: Trafficking in persons. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasp/resources/trafficking. Accessed 30 Nov 2022

  65. National Human Trafficking Hotline. www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Accessed 8 Jan 2023

  66. Notice to Award a Grant, 72 Fed. Reg. 48,688 (Aug. 24, 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  67. Act of Dec. 14, 2016, Pub. L. 114-271, 130 Stat. 1398 (amending 22 U.S.C. § 7105)

    Google Scholar 

  68. United States v. Kozminski, 487 U.S. 931 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  69. 22 U.S.C. § 7101(b)(13)

    Google Scholar 

  70. U.S. Sentencing Commission (2021) Guidelines manual. https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2021/GLMFull.pdf

  71. United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 258-59 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  72. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 49-50 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  73. U.S. Const. art. II, § 2

    Google Scholar 

  74. Treaty of Peace and Amity, Algiers-U.S., Sept. 5, 1795, 8 Stat. 133; T.S. No. 1

    Google Scholar 

  75. Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Morocco-U.S., June 23—July 6, 1786, 8 Stat. 100; T.S. No. 244-1

    Google Scholar 

  76. Treaty of Peace and Amity art. 10, U.K.-U.S., Dec. 24, 1814, 8 Stat. 218; T.S. 109 [Treaty of Ghent]

    Google Scholar 

  77. Treaty on Africa: Revision of General Act of Berlin and General Act and Declaration of Brussels, Sept. 10, 1919, 49 Stat. 3027, T.S. 877

    Google Scholar 

  78. Treaty on Slave Trade and Importation into Africa of Firearms, Ammunition, and Spirituous Liquors, July 2, 1890, 27 Stat. 886, T.S. 383 [General Act of Brussels]

    Google Scholar 

  79. Agreement on the Suppression of White Slave Traffic, May 18, 1904, 35 Stat. 1979, T.S. No. 496

    Google Scholar 

  80. Treaty on Suppression of Slave Trade and Slavery, Sept. 25, 1926, 46 Stat. 2183, T.S. 778 [Slavery Convention]

    Google Scholar 

  81. Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, Sept. 7, 1956, 266 U.N.T.S. 3, 40-41

    Google Scholar 

  82. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, Nov. 15, 2000, 2237 U.N.T.S 319 [hereinafter Palermo Protocol]

    Google Scholar 

  83. G.A. Res. 55/25 (Jan. 8, 2001), https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/427192

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western New England University School of Law Springfield, Springfield, MA, USA

    Christopher Collins

Authors
  1. Christopher Collins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. WellStar School of Nursing, Professor Emerita, Kennesaw State Univer, Kennesaw, GA, USA

    Mary de Chesnay

  2. Executive Director: Delaware Anti Trafficking Action Council (DATAC), Wilmington, DE, USA

    Donna Sabella

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Collins, C. (2023). The Current Landscape of Human Trafficking Law. In: de Chesnay, M., Sabella, D. (eds) Human Trafficking: A Global Health Emergency. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33875-5_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33875-5_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-33874-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-33875-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation