II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4214 

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

arrests of victims of human trafficking. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2024 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. WELCH, Mr. DAINES, Mr. 

COONS, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the vacating of certain convictions and 

expungement of certain arrests of victims of human trafficking. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL EXPUNGEMENT FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF2 FICKING. 

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

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 3771A. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating 

7 factors 

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

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

10 has not attained 18 years of age; 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered prisoner’ means an indi12 vidual who— 

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

14 level B offense; 

15 ‘‘(B) was sentenced to a term of imprison16 ment for the offense described in subparagraph 

17 (A); and 

18 ‘‘(C) is imprisoned under such term of im19 prisonment; 

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

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

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Federal offense’ means an of23 fense that is punishable under Federal law; 

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

25 offense that is not a violent crime; 

26 ‘‘(6) the term ‘level B offense’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means a Federal offense that is a vio2 lent crime; and 

3 ‘‘(B) does not include a Federal offense 

4 that is a violent crime of which a child was a 

5 victim; 

6 ‘‘(7) the term ‘level C offense’ means any Fed7 eral offense that is not a level A offense; 

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

9 meaning given that term in section 103 of the Traf10 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

11 7102); and 

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

13 given that term in section 103 of the Juvenile Jus14 tice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 

15 U.S.C. 11103). 

16 ‘‘(b) MOTIONS TO VACATE CONVICTIONS OR EX17 PUNGE ARRESTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A OF20 FENSES.—A person convicted of any level A of21 fense (or an attorney representing such a per22 son) may move the court that imposed the sen23 tence for the level A offense to vacate the judg24 ment of conviction if the level A offense was 


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1 committed as a direct result of the person hav2 ing been a victim of trafficking. 

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

4 A person arrested for any level A offense (or an 

5 attorney representing such a person) may move 

6 the district court of the United States for the 

7 district and division embracing the place where 

8 the person was arrested to expunge all records 

9 of the arrest if the conduct or alleged conduct 

10 of the person that resulted in the arrest was di11 rectly related to the person having been a vic12 tim of trafficking. 

13 ‘‘(C) ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C OFFENSES.— 

14 A person arrested for any level C offense (or an 

15 attorney representing such a person) may move 

16 the district court of the United States for the 

17 district and division embracing the place where 

18 the person was arrested to expunge all records 

19 of the arrest if— 

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

21 the movant that resulted in the arrest was 

22 directly related to the movant having been 

23 a victim of trafficking; and 

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

25 the level C offense; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the Government did not pursue 

2 or dismissed criminal charges against the 

3 movant for the level C offense; or 

4 ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the 

5 movant for the level C offense were re6 duced to an offense that is a level A of7 fense; and 

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

9 level A offense, the Government did not 

10 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 

11 against the movant for the level A offense, 

12 or any subsequent conviction of the level A 

13 offense was vacated. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF MOTION.—A motion de15 scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) be in writing; 

17 ‘‘(B) describe any supporting evidence; 

18 ‘‘(C) state the offense; and 

19 ‘‘(D) include copies of any documents 

20 showing that the movant is entitled to relief 

21 under this section. 

22 ‘‘(3) HEARING.— 

23 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY HEARING.— 

24 ‘‘(i) MOTION IN OPPOSITION.—Not 

25 later than 30 days after the date on which 


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

2 Government may file a motion in opposi3 tion of the motion filed under paragraph 

4 (1). 

5 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY HEARING.—If the 

6 Government files a motion described in 

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

8 date on which the motion is filed, the court 

9 shall hold a hearing on the motion. 

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

11 Government does not file a motion described in 

12 subparagraph (A)(i), the court may hold a 

13 hearing on the motion not later than 45 days 

14 after the date on which a motion is filed under 

15 paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) VACATING CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A

18 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

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

20 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

21 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi22 dence, that— 

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

24 level A offense; and 


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

2 offense by the movant was a direct result 

3 of the movant having been a victim of traf4 ficking. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL A

6 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

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

8 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

9 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi10 dence, that— 

11 ‘‘(i) the movant was arrested for a 

12 level A offense; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the conduct or alleged conduct 

14 that resulted in the arrest was directly re15 lated to the movant having been a victim 

16 of trafficking. 

17 ‘‘(C) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C

18 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

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

20 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

21 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi22 dence, that— 

23 ‘‘(i) the movant was arrested for a 

24 level C offense and the conduct or alleged 

25 conduct that resulted in the arrest was diVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4214.IS S4214

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1 rectly related to the movant having been a 

2 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 

9 movant for the level C offense were re10 duced to a level A offense; and 

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

12 level A offense, the Government did not 

13 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 

14 against the movant for the level A offense, 

15 or any subsequent conviction of that level 

16 A offense was vacated. 

17 ‘‘(5) SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.— 

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

19 section, in determining whether the movant is a 

20 victim of trafficking, the court may consider 

21 any evidence the court determines is of suffi22 cient credibility and probative value, including 

23 an affidavit or sworn testimony of the movant. 

24 ‘‘(B) AFFIDAVIT OR SWORN TESTIMONY OF

25 MOVANT SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.—The affidavit 


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1 or sworn testimony of the movant described in 

2 subparagraph (A) may be sufficient evidence to 

3 vacate a conviction or expunge an arrest under 

4 this section if the court determines that— 

5 ‘‘(i) the affidavit or sworn testimony 

6 is credible; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) no other evidence is readily avail8 able. 

9 ‘‘(6) CONVICTION OR ARREST OF OTHER PER10 SONS NOT REQUIRED.—It shall not be necessary 

11 that any person other than the movant be convicted 

12 of or arrested for an offense before the movant may 

13 file a motion under paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(7) DENIAL OF MOTION.— 

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

16 motion filed under paragraph (1), the denial 

17 shall be without prejudice. 

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

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

20 court shall state the reasons for the denial in 

21 writing. 

22 ‘‘(C) REASONABLE TIME TO CURE DEFI23 CIENCIES IN MOTION.—If the motion was de24 nied due to a curable deficiency in the motion, 


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1 the court shall allow the movant sufficient time 

2 to cure the deficiency. 

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

4 motion under this section may be appealed in ac5 cordance with section 1291 of title 28. 

6 ‘‘(c) VACATUR OF CONVICTIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo8 tion to vacate a conviction of a level A offense under 

9 subsection (b), the court shall immediately— 

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

11 ‘‘(B) set aside the verdict and enter a 

12 judgment of acquittal; 

13 ‘‘(C) enter an expungement order that di14 rects that there be expunged from all official 

15 records all references to— 

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

17 level A offense; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the institution of criminal pro19 ceedings against the movant relating to the 

20 level A offense; and 

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

22 and 

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

24 cost, or restitution associated with the convic25 tion and paid by the movant. 


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

2 an order entered under paragraph (1) the conviction 

3 shall not be regarded as a conviction under Federal 

4 law and the movant for whom the conviction was va5 cated shall be considered to have the status occupied 

6 by the movant before the arrest or the institution of 

7 the criminal proceedings related to such conviction. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXPUNGEMENT OF ARRESTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo10 tion to expunge all records of an arrest for an of11 fense under subsection (b), the court shall imme12 diately enter an expungement order that directs that 

13 there be expunged from all official records all ref14 erences to— 

15 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the movant for the of16 fense; 

17 ‘‘(B) the institution of any criminal pro18 ceedings against the movant relating to the of19 fense; and 

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

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

22 an order entered under paragraph (1) the arrest 

23 shall not be regarded as an arrest under Federal law 

24 and the movant for whom the arrest is expunged 

25 shall be considered to have the status occupied by 


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1 the movant before the arrest or the institution of the 

2 criminal proceedings related to such arrest, if any. 

3 ‘‘(e) MITIGATING FACTORS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The court that imposed 

5 sentence for a level A offense or level B offense upon 

6 a covered prisoner may reduce the term of imprison7 ment for the offense— 

8 ‘‘(A) upon— 

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

10 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) the court’s own motion; 

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

13 ‘‘(C) after considering— 

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

15 3553(a); 

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

17 danger to any person, if applicable; and 

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

19 victims; and 

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

21 of the evidence, that the covered prisoner com22 mitted the offense as a direct result of the cov23 ered prisoner having been a victim of traf24 ficking. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Any proceeding under 

2 this subsection shall be subject to section 3771. 

3 ‘‘(3) PARTICULARIZED INQUIRY.—For any mo4 tion under paragraph (1), the Government shall con5 duct a particularized inquiry of the facts and cir6 cumstances of the original sentencing of the covered 

7 prisoner in order to assess whether a reduction in 

8 sentence would be consistent with this section. 

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

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

11 additional action necessary to grant the movant full relief. 

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

13 a filing fee, service charge, copay fee, processing fee, or 

14 any other charge for filing a motion under this section. 

15 ‘‘(h) CONFIDENTIALITY OF MOVANT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A motion under this sec17 tion and any documents, pleadings, or orders relat18 ing to the motion shall be filed under seal. 

19 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUB20 LIC INSPECTION.—An officer or employee may not 

21 make available for public inspection any report, 

22 paper, picture, photograph, court file, or other docu23 ment, in the custody or possession of the officer or 

24 employee, that identifies the movant. 


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

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

3 of enactment of this section.’’. 

4 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

5 The table of sections of chapter 237 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

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

8 SEC. 3. REPORTS. 

9 (a) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY MOTIONS FOR

10 VACATUR OR EXPUNGEMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, each United States 

12 attorney shall submit to the Attorney General a report 

13 that details— 

14 (1) the number of motions for vacatur or 

15 expungement filed under section 3771A of title 18, 

16 United States Code, as added by section 2, in the 

17 district of the United States attorney; and 

18 (2) for each motion described in paragraph 

19 (1)— 

20 (A) the underlying offense; 

21 (B) the response of the United States at22 torney to the motion; and 

23 (C) the final determination of the court 

24 with respect to the motion. 


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1 (b) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY TRAINING ON

2 HUMAN TRAFFICKING INDICATORS.—Not later than 1 

3 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

4 General shall submit to Congress a report that details all 

5 professional training received by United States attorneys 

6 on indicators of human trafficking during the preceding 

7 12-month period. 

8 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Not 

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

10 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

11 to Congress a report that— 

12 (1) assesses the impact of the enactment of sec13 tion 3771A of title 18, United States Code, as added 

14 by section 2; and 

15 (2) includes— 

16 (A) the number of human trafficking sur17 vivors who have filed motions for vacatur or 

18 expungement under such section 3771A; 

19 (B) the final determination of each court 

20 that adjudicated a motion described in subpara21 graph (A); 

22 (C) recommendations to increase access to 

23 post-conviction relief for human trafficking sur24 vivors with Federal criminal records; and 


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1 (D) recommendations for improving the 

2 implementation and tracking of professional 

3 training of United States attorneys on indica4 tors of 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 

16 forced criminality as a form of force, fraud, and co17 ercion in 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 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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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 

6 for a covered Federal offense, a defendant who establishes 

7 by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was 

8 a victim of trafficking at the time at which the defendant 

9 committed the offense shall create a rebuttable presump10 tion that the offense was induced by duress. 

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

12 any proceeding in which a defense under subsection (b) 

13 is raised, any record or part of the proceeding related to 

14 the defense shall, on motion, be placed under seal until 

15 such time as 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 

18 an 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 

21 post-conviction relief, that at the time of the commission 

22 of the offense, the defendant was a victim of trafficking 

23 and committed 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.— 

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

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

‘‘28. Human trafficking defense.’’. 

Æ 


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