I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 459 

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

arrests of victims of human trafficking. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2017 

Mrs. WAGNER (for herself, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mrs. MIMI

WALTERS of California, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. MEEHAN, 

Mr. DESANTIS, Mr. PAULSEN, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. 

KNIGHT, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. YOHO, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 

FARENTHOLD, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. YOUNG of Iowa, 

Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Ms. TITUS, and Mr. 

ROYCE of California) introduced the following bill; which was 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 2017’’. 


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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 ‘‘§ 3772. 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 offense’— 

12 ‘‘(A) includes any offense against the 

13 United States and any offense punishable under 

14 the laws of the District of Columbia; and 

15 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

16 ‘‘(i) a crime of violence; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) an offense, if a child was a vic18 tim of the offense; 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered prisoner’ means an indi20 vidual who— 

21 ‘‘(A) was convicted of a noncovered offense 

22 before the date of enactment of this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) was sentenced to a term of imprison24 ment for the noncovered offense; and 

25 ‘‘(C) is imprisoned under such term of im26 prisonment; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘crime of violence’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 16; 

3 ‘‘(5) the term ‘eligible entity’ includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) a legal aid society or legal services or5 ganization that provides indigent legal services; 

6 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization that provides 

7 legal services to victims of trafficking; and 

8 ‘‘(C) a public defender’s office; 

9 ‘‘(6) the terms ‘employee’ and ‘officer’ have the 

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

11 ‘‘(7) the term ‘noncovered offense’— 

12 ‘‘(A) means an offense that is an offense 

13 against the United States or punishable under 

14 the laws of the District of Columbia; and 

15 ‘‘(B) does not include an offense, if a child 

16 was a victim of the offense; and 

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

18 meaning given that term in section 103 of the Traf19 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

20 7102). 

21 ‘‘(b) MOTIONS TO VACATE CONVICTIONS OR EX22 PUNGE ARRESTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) CONVICTIONS OF COVERED OF25 FENSES.—A person convicted of any covered ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jan 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H459.IH H459

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1 fense (or an eligible entity representing such a 

2 person) may move the court which imposed the 

3 sentence for the covered offense to vacate the 

4 judgment of conviction if the covered offense 

5 was committed as a direct result of the person 

6 having been a victim of trafficking. 

7 ‘‘(B) ARRESTS FOR COVERED OF8 FENSES.—A person arrested for any covered of9 fense (or an eligible entity representing such a 

10 person) may move the district court for the dis11 trict and division embracing the place where the 

12 person was arrested to expunge all records of 

13 the arrest if the conduct or alleged conduct of 

14 the person which resulted in the arrest was di15 rectly related to the person having been a vic16 tim of trafficking. 

17 ‘‘(C) ARRESTS FOR NONCOVERED OF18 FENSES.—A person arrested for any noncovered 

19 offense (or an eligible entity representing such 

20 a person) may move the district court for the 

21 district and division embracing the place where 

22 the person was arrested to expunge all records 

23 of the arrest if— 

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

25 the person which resulted in the arrest was 


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1 directly related to the person having been 

2 a victim of trafficking; and 

3 ‘‘(ii)(I) the person is acquitted of the 

4 noncovered offense; 

5 ‘‘(II) the Government does not pursue 

6 or dismisses criminal charges against the 

7 person for the noncovered offense; or 

8 ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the per9 son for the noncovered offense are reduced 

10 to an offense that is a covered offense; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) the person is acquitted of the 

12 covered offense, the Government does not 

13 pursue or dismisses criminal charges 

14 against the person for the covered offense, 

15 or any subsequent conviction of the cov16 ered offense is vacated. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF MOTION.—A motion de18 scribed 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 

23 showing that the movant is entitled to relief 

24 under 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 

16 hearing on the motion not later than 45 days 

17 after the date on which a motion is filed under 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) VACATING CONVICTIONS OF COVERED

21 OFFENSES.—The court shall grant a motion 

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

23 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

24 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi25 dence, that— 


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

2 covered offense; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the participation in the covered 

4 offense by the movant was a direct result 

5 of the movant having been a victim of traf6 ficking. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR COVERED

8 OFFENSES.—The court shall grant a motion 

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

10 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

11 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi12 dence, that— 

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

14 covered offense; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the conduct or alleged conduct 

16 which resulted in the arrest was directly 

17 related to the movant having been a victim 

18 of trafficking. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR NON20 COVERED OFFENSES.—The court shall grant a 

21 motion under paragraph (1)(C) if, after notice 

22 to the Government and an opportunity to be 

23 heard, the court finds, by a preponderance of 

24 the evidence, that— 


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

2 noncovered offense and the conduct or al3 leged conduct which resulted in the arrest 

4 was directly related to the movant having 

5 been a victim of trafficking; and 

6 ‘‘(ii)(I) the person is acquitted of the 

7 noncovered offense; 

8 ‘‘(II) the Government does not pursue 

9 or dismisses criminal charges against the 

10 person for the covered offense; or 

11 ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the per12 son for the noncovered offense are reduced 

13 to a covered offense; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) the person is acquitted of the 

15 covered offense, the Government does not 

16 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 

17 against the person for the covered offense, 

18 or any subsequent conviction of that cov19 ered offense is vacated. 

20 ‘‘(5) SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—For 

22 purposes of this section, there shall be a rebut23 table presumption that the movant is a victim 

24 of trafficking if the movant includes in the mo25 tion— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a copy of an official record, cer2 tification, or eligibility letter from a Fed3 eral, State, tribal, or local proceeding, in4 cluding an approval notice or an enforce5 ment certification generated from a Fed6 eral immigration proceeding, that shows 

7 that the movant was a victim of traf8 ficking, including a victim of a trafficker 

9 charged with a violation of chapter 77; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) an affidavit or sworn testimony 

11 from a trained professional staff member 

12 of a victim services organization, an attor13 ney, a member of the clergy, or a medical 

14 or other professional from whom the mov15 ant has sought assistance in addressing 

16 the trauma associated with being a victim 

17 of trafficking. 

18 ‘‘(B) OTHER EVIDENCE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

20 this section, in determining whether the 

21 movant is a victim of trafficking, the court 

22 may consider any other evidence the court 

23 determines is of sufficient credibility and 

24 probative value, including an affidavit or 

25 sworn testimony of the movant. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) AFFIDAVIT OR SWORN TESTI2 MONY OF MOVANT SUFFICIENT EVI3 DENCE.—The affidavit or sworn testimony 

4 of the movant described in clause (i) shall 

5 be sufficient evidence to vacate a convic6 tion or expunge an arrest under this sec7 tion if the court determines that— 

8 ‘‘(I) the affidavit or sworn testi9 mony is credible; and 

10 ‘‘(II) no other evidence is readily 

11 available. 

12 ‘‘(6) CONVICTION OR ARREST OF OTHER PER13 SONS NOT REQUIRED.—It shall not be necessary 

14 that any person other than the movant be convicted 

15 of or arrested for a covered offense before the mov16 ant may file a motion under paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(7) DENIAL OF MOTION.— 

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

19 motion filed under paragraph (1), the denial 

20 shall be without prejudice. 

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

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

23 court shall state the reasons for the denial in 

24 writing. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REASONABLE TIME TO CURE DEFI2 CIENCIES IN MOTION.—If the motion was de3 nied due to a curable deficiency in the motion, 

4 the court shall allow the movant sufficient time 

5 for the movant to cure the deficiency. 

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

7 motion under this section may be appealed in ac8 cordance with section 1291 of title 28 and section 

9 3731 of this title. 

10 ‘‘(c) VACATUR OF CONVICTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo12 tion to vacate a conviction under subsection (b), the 

13 court shall immediately vacate the conviction for 

14 cause, set aside the verdict and enter a judgment of 

15 acquittal, and enter an expungement order that di16 rects that there be expunged from all official records 

17 all references to— 

18 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the person for the cov19 ered offense; 

20 ‘‘(B) the institution of criminal pro21 ceedings against the person relating to the cov22 ered offense; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the results of the proceedings. 

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

25 an order entered under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the conviction shall not be regarded 

2 as a conviction under Federal law and the per3 son for whom the conviction was vacated shall 

4 be considered to have the status occupied by the 

5 person before the arrest or the institution of the 

6 criminal proceedings related to such conviction; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) no alien may be removed, determined 

9 to be inadmissible, or lose any immigration ben10 efit because of such conviction, arrest, or insti11 tution of criminal proceedings. 

12 ‘‘(d) EXPUNGEMENT OF ARRESTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo14 tion to expunge an arrest under subsection (b), the 

15 court shall immediately enter an expungement order 

16 that directs that there be expunged from all official 

17 records all references to— 

18 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the person for the cov19 ered offense; 

20 ‘‘(B) the institution of any criminal pro21 ceedings against the person relating to the cov22 ered offense; and 

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

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

25 an order entered under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the arrest shall not be regarded as an 

2 arrest under Federal law and the person for 

3 whom the arrest is expunged shall be consid4 ered to have the status occupied by the person 

5 before the arrest or the institution of the crimi6 nal proceedings related to such arrest, if any; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) no alien may be removed, determined 

9 to be inadmissible, or lose any immigration ben10 efit because of arrest or institution of criminal 

11 proceedings, if any. 

12 ‘‘(e) MITIGATING FACTORS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The court which imposed 

14 sentence for a noncovered offense upon a covered 

15 prisoner may reduce the term of imprisonment for 

16 the noncovered offense— 

17 ‘‘(A) upon motion by a covered prisoner, 

18 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or the 

19 court’s own motion; 

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

21 ‘‘(C) after considering— 

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

23 3553(a); 

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

25 danger to any person; and 


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

2 victims; and 

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

4 of the evidence, that the covered prisoner com5 mitted the noncovered offense as a direct result 

6 of the covered prisoner having been a victim of 

7 trafficking. 

8 ‘‘(2) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—For the 

9 purposes of this subsection, there shall be a rebutta10 ble presumption that a covered prisoner is a victim 

11 of trafficking if the covered prisoner provides— 

12 ‘‘(A) a copy of an official record, certifi13 cation, or eligibility letter from a Federal, 

14 State, tribal, or local proceeding, including an 

15 approval notice or an enforcement certification 

16 generated from a Federal immigration pro17 ceeding, that shows that the covered prisoner 

18 was a victim of trafficking, including a victim 

19 of a trafficker charged with a violation of chap20 ter 77; or 

21 ‘‘(B) an affidavit or sworn testimony from 

22 a trained professional staff member of a victim 

23 services organization, an attorney, a member of 

24 the clergy, or a medical or other professional 

25 from whom the covered prisoner has sought asVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jan 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H459.IH H459

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1 sistance in addressing the trauma associated 

2 with being a victim of trafficking. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—Any proceeding under 

4 this subsection shall be subject to section 3771. 

5 ‘‘(4) PARTICULARIZED INQUIRY.—For any mo6 tion under paragraph (1), the Government shall con7 duct a particularized inquiry of the facts and cir8 cumstances of the original sentencing of the covered 

9 prisoner in order to assess whether a reduction in 

10 sentence would be consistent with this section. 

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

12 may, upon granting a motion under this section take such 

13 additional action as the court determines is appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(g) CONFIDENTIALITY OF MOVANT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A motion under this sec16 tion and any documents, pleadings, or orders relat17 ing to the motion shall be filed under seal. 

18 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUB19 LIC INSPECTION.—No officer or employee may make 

20 any report, paper, picture, photograph, court file or 

21 other document, in the custody or possession of the 

22 officer or employee, that identifies the movant avail23 able for public inspection. 


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1 ‘‘(h) 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: 

‘‘3772. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating factors.’’. 

Æ 


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