THE GOVERNMENT OF the United States fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore the United States remained on Tier 1. These efforts included increasing the number of investigations, increasing the amount of funding for victim services, and increasing enforcement of the prohibition of imports made wholly or in part by forced labor. Although the government meets the minimum standards, it prosecuted fewer cases and secured convictions against fewer traffickers, issued fewer victims trafficking-specific immigration benefits, and did not adequately screen vulnerable populations for human trafficking indicators. Anti-trafficking advocates reported a continued lack of sustained effort to address labor trafficking, increased obstacles for foreign nationals to secure victim protections, and a systemic inability to prevent traffickers from using employment-based and other nonimmigrant visa programs.

PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS:

Increase investigation and prosecution of labor trafficking cases. • Reduce obstacles for victims to appropriately obtain trafficking- specific immigration options. • Increase the number of trafficking investigations and prosecutions. • Increase and diversify efforts to proactively identify potential trafficking victims among populations vulnerable to human trafficking. • Seek to ensure immigration enforcement does not hinder human trafficking criminal law enforcement or victim protections. • Increase access to victim services for men, boys, LGBTI individuals, and labor trafficking survivors, and improve access to stable housing for all victims. • Screen all individuals in immigration detention or custody for human trafficking indicators. • Increase the number of requests by federal law enforcement officials for Continued Presence. • Mitigate vulnerabilities in employment-based or other nonimmigrant U.S. visa programs, including by providing protections for those who report program violations to encourage others to come forward. • Encourage state and local authorities to implement policies not to prosecute victims for the unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit. • Develop and implement early intervention services approaches and inclusive government policies that reduce the vulnerabilities of marginalized and disadvantaged communities traffickers often target. • Train prosecutors and judges to increase the number of forfeiture orders and mandatory restitution orders for trafficking victims. • Increase survivor engagement, including by more systematically incorporating survivor input when forming policies, programs, and trainings.