IB 

Union Calendar No. 702 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7137 

[Report No. 118–863] 

To provide for the vacating of certain convictions and expungement of certain 

arrests of victims of human trafficking. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2024 

Mr. FRY (for himself, Mr. LIEU, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mr. DONALDS, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. 

TIMMONS, Ms. MACE, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. LATURNER, 

Mrs. HOUCHIN, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. 

ROUZER, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. BUDZINSKI, 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. PELTOLA, Ms. 

LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. OWENS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 

MILLER of Ohio, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. COLLINS, Mr. 

FROST, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. BIGGS, Mrs. CAMMACK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 

NADLER, Ms. ROSS, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. SWALWELL, and Mr. 

BERA

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 30, 2024] 


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A BILL 

To provide for the vacating of certain convictions and 

expungement of certain arrests of victims of human trafficking. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trafficking Survivors 

5 Relief Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL EXPUNGEMENT FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF7 FICKING. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 237 of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 3771A. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating 

11 factors 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child’ means an individual who 

14 has not attained 18 years of age; 

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered prisoner’ means an indi16 vidual who— 

17 ‘‘(A) was convicted of a level A offense or 

18 level B offense; 

19 ‘‘(B) was sentenced to a term of imprison20 ment for the offense described in subparagraph 

21 (A); and 

22 ‘‘(C) is imprisoned under such term of im23 prisonment; 

24 ‘‘(3) the terms ‘employee’ and ‘officer’ have the 

25 meanings given the terms in section 2105 of title 5; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Federal offense’ means an offense 

2 that is punishable under Federal law; 

3 ‘‘(5) the term ‘level A offense’ means a Federal 

4 offense that is not a violent crime; 

5 ‘‘(6) the term ‘level B offense’— 

6 ‘‘(A) means a Federal offense that is a vio7 lent crime; and 

8 ‘‘(B) does not include a Federal offense that 

9 is a violent crime of which a child was a victim; 

10 ‘‘(7) the term ‘level C offense’ means any Federal 

11 offense that is not a level A offense; 

12 ‘‘(8) the term ‘victim of trafficking’ has the 

13 meaning given that term in section 103 of the Traf14 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

15 7102); and 

16 ‘‘(9) the term ‘violent crime’ has the meaning 

17 given that term in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice 

18 and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 

19 11103). 

20 ‘‘(b) MOTIONS TO VACATE CONVICTIONS OR EXPUNGE

21 ARRESTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A OF24 FENSES.—A person convicted of any level A of25 fense (or an attorney representing such a person) 


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1 may move the court that imposed the sentence for 

2 the level A offense to vacate the judgment of con3 viction if the level A offense was committed as a 

4 direct result of the person having been a victim 

5 of trafficking. 

6 ‘‘(B) ARRESTS FOR LEVEL A OFFENSES.—A 

7 person arrested for any level A offense (or an at8 torney representing such a person) may move the 

9 district court of the United States for the district 

10 and division embracing the place where the per11 son was arrested to expunge all records of the ar12 rest if the conduct or alleged conduct of the per13 son that resulted in the arrest was directly re14 lated to the person having been a victim of traf15 ficking. 

16 ‘‘(C) ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C OFFENSES.—A 

17 person arrested for any level C offense (or an at18 torney representing such a person) may move the 

19 district court of the United States for the district 

20 and division embracing the place where the per21 son was arrested to expunge all records of the ar22 rest if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the conduct or alleged conduct of 

24 the movant that resulted in the arrest was 


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1 directly related to the movant having been 

2 a victim of trafficking; and 

3 ‘‘(ii)(I) the movant was acquitted of 

4 the level C offense; 

5 ‘‘(II) the Government did not pursue 

6 or dismissed criminal charges against the 

7 movant for the level C offense; or 

8 ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the mov9 ant for the level C offense were reduced to 

10 an offense that is a level A offense; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) the movant was acquitted of the 

12 level A offense, the Government did not pur13 sue or dismissed criminal charges against 

14 the movant for the level A offense, or any 

15 subsequent conviction of the level A offense 

16 was vacated. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF MOTION.—A motion described 

18 in paragraph (1) shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) be in writing; 

20 ‘‘(B) describe any supporting evidence; 

21 ‘‘(C) state the offense; and 

22 ‘‘(D) include copies of any documents show23 ing that the movant is entitled to relief under 

24 this section. 

25 ‘‘(3) HEARING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY HEARING.— 

2 ‘‘(i) MOTION IN OPPOSITION.—Not 

3 later than 30 days after the date on which 

4 a motion is filed under paragraph (1), the 

5 Government may file a motion in opposi6 tion of the motion filed under paragraph 

7 (1). 

8 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY HEARING.—If the 

9 Government files a motion described in 

10 clause (i), not later than 15 days after the 

11 date on which the motion is filed, the court 

12 shall hold a hearing on the motion. 

13 ‘‘(B) DISCRETIONARY HEARING.—If the 

14 Government does not file a motion described in 

15 subparagraph (A)(i), the court may hold a hear16 ing on the motion not later than 45 days after 

17 the date on which a motion is filed under para18 graph (1). 

19 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) VACATING CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A

21 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

22 under paragraph (1)(A) if, after notice to the 

23 Government and an opportunity to be heard, the 

24 court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the movant was convicted of a 

2 level A offense; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the participation in the level A 

4 offense by the movant was a direct result of 

5 the movant having been a victim of traf6 ficking. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL A

8 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

9 under paragraph (1)(B) if, after notice to the 

10 Government and an opportunity to be heard, the 

11 court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) the movant was arrested for a level 

14 A offense; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the conduct or alleged conduct 

16 that resulted in the arrest was directly re17 lated to the movant having been a victim of 

18 trafficking. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C

20 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

21 under paragraph (1)(C) if, after notice to the 

22 Government and an opportunity to be heard, the 

23 court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the movant was arrested for a level 

2 C offense and the conduct or alleged conduct 

3 that resulted in the arrest was directly re4 lated to the movant having been a victim of 

5 trafficking; and 

6 ‘‘(ii)(I) the movant was acquitted of 

7 the level C offense; 

8 ‘‘(II) the Government did not pursue 

9 or dismissed criminal charges against the 

10 movant for the level C offense; or 

11 ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the mov12 ant for the level C offense were reduced to 

13 a level A offense; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) the movant was acquitted of the 

15 level A offense, the Government did not pur16 sue or dismissed criminal charges against 

17 the movant for the level A offense, or any 

18 subsequent conviction of that level A offense 

19 was vacated. 

20 ‘‘(5) OTHER EVIDENCE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

22 section, in determining whether the movant is a 

23 victim of trafficking, the court shall consider an 

24 affidavit or sworn testimony of a licensed anti25 human trafficking service provider or clinician. 


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1 The court may consider any other evidence the 

2 court determines is of sufficient credibility and 

3 probative value, including sworn testimony from 

4 a law enforcement officer detailing the role of the 

5 movant in coercing other victims into commit6 ting Federal offenses. 

7 ‘‘(B) AFFIDAVIT OR SWORN TESTIMONY SUF8 FICIENT EVIDENCE.—The affidavit or sworn tes9 timony described in subparagraph (A) shall be 

10 sufficient evidence to vacate a conviction or ex11 punge an arrest under this section if the court 

12 determines that— 

13 ‘‘(i) the affidavit or sworn testimony is 

14 credible; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) no other evidence is readily avail16 able. 

17 ‘‘(6) CONVICTION OR ARREST OF OTHER PER18 SONS NOT REQUIRED.—It shall not be necessary that 

19 any person other than the movant be convicted of or 

20 arrested for an offense before the movant may file a 

21 motion under paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(7) DENIAL OF MOTION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the court denies a 

24 motion filed under paragraph (1), the denial 

25 shall be without prejudice. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REASONS FOR DENIAL.—If the court 

2 denies a motion filed under paragraph (1), the 

3 court shall state the reasons for the denial in 

4 writing. 

5 ‘‘(C) REASONABLE TIME TO CURE DEFI6 CIENCIES IN MOTION.—If the motion was denied 

7 due to a curable deficiency in the motion, the 

8 court shall allow the movant sufficient time to 

9 cure the deficiency. 

10 ‘‘(8) APPEAL.—An order granting or denying a 

11 motion under this section may be appealed in accord12 ance with section 1291 of title 28. 

13 ‘‘(c) VACATUR OF CONVICTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a motion 

15 to vacate a conviction of a level A offense under sub16 section (b), the court shall immediately— 

17 ‘‘(A) vacate the conviction for cause; 

18 ‘‘(B) set aside the verdict and enter a judg19 ment of acquittal; 

20 ‘‘(C) enter an expungement order that di21 rects that there be expunged from all official 

22 records all references to— 

23 ‘‘(i) the arrest of the movant for the 

24 level A offense; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the institution of criminal pro2 ceedings against the movant relating to the 

3 level A offense; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the results of the proceedings; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) return to the movant any fine, fee, 

7 cost, or restitution associated with the conviction 

8 and paid by the movant. 

9 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—If a conviction is vacated under 

10 an order entered under paragraph (1) the conviction 

11 shall not be regarded as a conviction under Federal 

12 law and the movant for whom the conviction was va13 cated shall be considered to have the status occupied 

14 by the movant before the arrest or the institution of 

15 the criminal proceedings related to such conviction. 

16 ‘‘(d) EXPUNGEMENT OF ARRESTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a motion 

18 to expunge all records of an arrest for an offense 

19 under subsection (b), the court shall immediately 

20 enter an expungement order that directs that there be 

21 expunged from all official records all references to— 

22 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the movant for the offense; 

23 ‘‘(B) the institution of any criminal pro24 ceedings against the movant relating to the of25 fense; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the results of the proceedings, if any. 

2 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—If an arrest is expunged under 

3 an order entered under paragraph (1) the arrest shall 

4 not be regarded as an arrest under Federal law and 

5 the movant for whom the arrest is expunged shall be 

6 considered to have the status occupied by the movant 

7 before the arrest or the institution of the criminal 

8 proceedings related to such arrest, if any. 

9 ‘‘(e) MITIGATING FACTORS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The court that imposed sen11 tence for a level A offense or level B offense upon a 

12 covered prisoner may reduce the term of imprison13 ment for the offense— 

14 ‘‘(A) upon— 

15 ‘‘(i) motion by the covered prisoner or 

16 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the court’s own motion; 

18 ‘‘(B) after notice to the Government; 

19 ‘‘(C) after considering— 

20 ‘‘(i) the factors set forth in section 

21 3553(a); 

22 ‘‘(ii) the nature and seriousness of the 

23 danger to any person, if applicable; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the community, or any crime 

25 victims; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) if the court finds, by a preponderance 

2 of the evidence, that the covered prisoner com3 mitted the offense as a direct result of the covered 

4 prisoner having been a victim of trafficking. 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Any proceeding under this 

6 subsection shall be subject to section 3771. 

7 ‘‘(3) PARTICULARIZED INQUIRY.—For any mo8 tion under paragraph (1), the Government shall con9 duct a particularized inquiry of the facts and cir10 cumstances of the original sentencing of the covered 

11 prisoner in order to assess whether a reduction in 

12 sentence would be consistent with this section. 

13 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS BY COURT.—The court 

14 shall, upon granting a motion under this section, take any 

15 additional action necessary to grant the movant full relief. 

16 ‘‘(g) NO FEES.—A person may not be required to pay 

17 a filing fee, service charge, copay fee, processing fee, or any 

18 other charge for filing a motion under this section. 

19 ‘‘(h) CONFIDENTIALITY OF MOVANT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A motion under this section 

21 and any documents, pleadings, or orders relating to 

22 the motion shall be filed under seal. 

23 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC

24 INSPECTION.—An officer or employee may not make 

25 available for public inspection any report, paper, picVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Dec 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7137.RH H7137

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1 ture, photograph, court file, or other document, in the 

2 custody or possession of the officer or employee, that 

3 identifies the movant. 

4 ‘‘(i) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to any 

5 conviction or arrest occurring before, on, or after the date 

6 of enactment of this section.’’. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

8 table of sections of chapter 237 of title 18, United States 

9 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3771A. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating factors.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. REPORTS. 

11 (a) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY MOTIONS FOR

12 VACATUR OR EXPUNGEMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, each United States attor14 ney shall submit to the Attorney General a report that de15 tails— 

16 (1) the number of motions for vacatur or 

17 expungement filed under section 3771A of title 18, 

18 United States Code, as added by section 2, in the dis19 trict of the United States attorney; and 

20 (2) for each motion described in paragraph 

21 (1)— 

22 (A) the underlying offense; 

23 (B) the response of the United States attor24 ney to the motion; and 


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1 (C) the final determination of the court 

2 with respect to the motion. 

3 (b) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY TRAINING ON HUMAN

4 TRAFFICKING INDICATORS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

6 submit to Congress a report that details all professional 

7 training received by United States attorneys on indicators 

8 of human trafficking during the preceding 12-month period. 

9 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Not 

10 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

12 to Congress a report that— 

13 (1) assesses the impact of the enactment of sec14 tion 3771A of title 18, United States Code, as added 

15 by section 2; and 

16 (2) includes— 

17 (A) the number of human trafficking sur18 vivors who have filed motions for vacatur or 

19 expungement under such section 3771A; 

20 (B) the final determination of each court 

21 that adjudicated a motion described in subpara22 graph (A); 

23 (C) recommendations to increase access to 

24 post-conviction relief for human trafficking sur25 vivors with Federal criminal records; and 


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1 (D) recommendations for improving the im2 plementation and tracking of professional train3 ing of United States attorneys on indicators of 

4 human trafficking. 

5 SEC. 4. USE OF GRANTS FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF 

6 REPRESENTATION. 

7 The Office of Justice Programs or the Office on Vio8 lence Against Women, in awarding a grant that may be 

9 used for legal representation, may not prohibit a recipient 

10 from using the grant for legal representation for post-con11 viction relief. 

12 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that— 

14 (1) this Act is a first step to address the chang15 ing tactics of human traffickers, who are using forced 

16 criminality as a form of force, fraud, and coercion in 

17 their human trafficking enterprises; and 

18 (2) Congress is committed to continuing to find 

19 solutions as needed to thwart human traffickers and 

20 protect survivors of human trafficking. 

21 SEC. 6. HUMAN TRAFFICKING DEFENSE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 18, United States 

23 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 28. Human trafficking defense 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘covered 

3 Federal offense’ means a level A offense or level B offense, 

4 as those terms are defined in section 3771A. 

5 ‘‘(b) PRESUMPTION OF DURESS.—In a prosecution for 

6 a covered Federal offense, a defendant who establishes by 

7 clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was a vic8 tim of trafficking at the time at which the defendant com9 mitted the offense shall create a rebuttable presumption that 

10 the offense was induced by duress. 

11 ‘‘(c) RECORD OR PROCEEDING UNDER SEAL.—In any 

12 proceeding in which a defense under subsection (b) is raised, 

13 any record or part of the proceeding related to the defense 

14 shall, on motion, be placed under seal until such time as 

15 a conviction is entered for the offense. 

16 ‘‘(d) POST-CONVICTION RELIEF.—A failure to assert, 

17 or failed assertion of, a defense under subsection (b) by an 

18 individual who is convicted of a covered Federal offense 

19 may not preclude the individual from asserting as a miti20 gating factor, at sentencing or in a proceeding for any post21 conviction relief, that at the time of the commission of the 

22 offense, the defendant was a victim of trafficking and com23 mitted the offense under duress. 

24 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL AID.—A failure to assert, or failed as25 sertion of, a defense under subsection (b) by an individual 

26 who is convicted of a covered Federal offense may not be 


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1 used for the purpose of disqualifying the individual from 

2 participating in any federally funded program that aids 

3 victims of human trafficking.’’. 

4 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

5 table of sections for chapter 1 of title 18, United States 

6 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘28. Human trafficking defense.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 702 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7137 

[Report No. 118–863] 

A BILL 

To provide for the vacating of certain convictions 

human trafficking. and expungement of certain arrests of victims of 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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