II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4611 

To improve services for trafficking victims by establishing, in Homeland 

Security Investigations, the Investigators Maintain Purposeful Awareness 

to Combat Trafficking Trauma Program and the Victim Assistance Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2022 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve services for trafficking victims by establishing, 

in Homeland Security Investigations, the Investigators 

Maintain Purposeful Awareness to Combat Trafficking 

Trauma Program and the Victim Assistance Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. INVESTIGATORS MAINTAIN PURPOSEFUL 

4 AWARENESS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING 

5 TRAUMA PROGRAM. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, in 

7 Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration 


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1 and Customs Enforcement, the Investigators Maintain 

2 Purposeful Awareness to Combat Trafficking Trauma 

3 Program (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘IMPACTT Pro4 gram’’). 

5 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The IMPACTT Program shall— 

6 (1) provide outreach and training to Homeland 

7 Security Investigations employees and partners who 

8 have been exposed to various forms of trauma in 

9 working with victims of human trafficking, includ10 ing— 

11 (A) self-awareness training for the relevant 

12 employees on recognizing the signs of burnout, 

13 compassion fatigue, critical incident stress, 

14 traumatic stress, posttraumatic stress, sec15 ondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma; 

16 (B) training material that provides mecha17 nisms for self-care and resilience, and notify of 

18 resources available through the U.S. Immigra19 tion and Customs Enforcement Employee As20 sistance Program and other relevant accredited 

21 programs, as available; and 

22 (C) provide additional training to first line 

23 supervisors of relevant employees on recog24 nizing the signs referred to in subparagraph 


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1 (A) and the appropriate responses to employees 

2 exhibiting such signs; 

3 (2) include training modules that are carried 

4 out by— 

5 (A) licensed and accredited clinicians who 

6 have been trained on the exposure of various 

7 forms of trauma and other stressors experi8 enced in working with victims; and 

9 (B) additional subject matter experts, as 

10 available; and 

11 (3) be overseen and coordinated by the Home12 land Security Investigations Countering Human 

13 Trafficking Center to ensure that— 

14 (A) appropriate program materials are dis15 tributed; 

16 (B) training is offered to all relevant em17 ployees; and 

18 (C) any needed travel and equipment is 

19 provided. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi21 tion to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated, 

22 there is authorized to be appropriated $800,000 for each 

23 fiscal year to the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry 

24 out this subsection. 


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1 SEC. 2. HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS VICTIM AS2 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title IV of the 

4 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 447. HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS VICTIM 

7 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) FORENSIC INTERVIEW SPECIALIST.—The 

10 term ‘forensic interview specialist’ is an interview 

11 professional who has specialized experience and 

12 training in conducting trauma-informed forensic 

13 interviews with victims of crime. 

14 ‘‘(2) VICTIM ASSISTANCE SPECIALIST.—The 

15 term ‘victim assistance specialist’ is a victim assist16 ance professional who— 

17 ‘‘(A) has experience working with victims 

18 of crime in a service capacity; and 

19 ‘‘(B) has been trained on the exposure of 

20 various forms of trauma and other stressors ex21 perienced in working with victims. 

22 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—There is established, in Home23 land Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Cus24 toms Enforcement, the Victim Assistance Program. 

25 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Victim Assistance Program 

26 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) provide oversight, guidance, training, trav2 el, equipment, and coordination to victim assistance 

3 personnel throughout the United States; 

4 ‘‘(2) recruit not fewer than— 

5 ‘‘(A) 1 forensic interview specialist and 1 

6 victim assistance specialist for each Homeland 

7 Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge 

8 office; 

9 ‘‘(B) 1 victim assistance specialist for— 

10 ‘‘(i) every Homeland Security Inves11 tigations office participating in a human 

12 trafficking task force; 

13 ‘‘(ii) every Homeland Security Inves14 tigations regional attache ́ office; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) every Homeland Security Inves16 tigations office participating in a child sex17 ual exploitation task force; 

18 ‘‘(3) provide training regarding victims’ rights, 

19 victim-related policies, roles of forensic interviewers 

20 and victim assistance specialists, and an approach 

21 that is— 

22 ‘‘(A) victim-centered; 

23 ‘‘(B) trauma-informed; and 

24 ‘‘(C) linguistically appropriate; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) provide sufficient funding for emergency 

2 expenditures to purchase items needed to assist 

3 identified victims, including food, clothing, hygiene 

4 products, transportation, and temporary shelter that 

5 is not otherwise provided by a nongovernmental or6 ganization. 

7 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each fis9 cal year to carry out this section.’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107– 

12 296) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 1(b) (6 U.S.C. 101 note)— 

14 (A) by striking the item relating to section 

15 442 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 442. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

18 section 446 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 447. Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program.’’; 

19 (2) in section 442— 

20 (A) by amending the section heading to 

21 read as follows: ‘‘U.S. IMMIGRATION AND

22 CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT’’; 


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1 (B) striking ‘‘bureau’’ each place such 

2 term appears (except in subsection (a)(1)) and 

3 inserting ‘‘agency’’; 

4 (C) striking ‘‘the Bureau of Border Secu5 rity’’ each place such term appears and insert6 ing ‘‘U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce7 ment’’; 

8 (D) in subsection (a)— 

9 (i) in the subsection heading, striking 

10 ‘‘OF BUREAU’’; 

11 (ii) in paragraph (3)(C), striking ‘‘af12 fecting the Bureau of’’ and inserting ‘‘af13 fecting U.S.’’; and 

14 (iii) in paragraph (4), striking ‘‘the 

15 Bureau.’’ and inserting ‘‘the agency.’’; and 

16 (E) in subsection (b)(2)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding subpara18 graph (A), striking ‘‘Bureau of Border Se19 curity’’ and inserting ‘‘U.S. Immigration 

20 and Customs Enforcement’’; and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (B), striking ‘‘the 

22 Bureau of’’ before ‘‘Citizenship and Immi23 gration Services’’ and inserting ‘‘U.S.’’; 

24 and 


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1 (3) in section 443(2), by striking ‘‘such bu2 reau’’ and inserting ‘‘such agency’’. 

3 SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT. 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security shall submit a report to Congress that 

7 identifies, with respect to the reporting period— 

8 (1) the number of trainings that were provided 

9 through the IMPACTT Program and the number of 

10 personnel who received such training; and 

11 (2) the number of potential human trafficking 

12 victims who were assisted by the Homeland Security 

13 Investigations Victim Assistance Program. 

Æ 


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