II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 9 

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 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mr. PORTMAN) 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 2022’’. 

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 fol10 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3772. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating 

2 factors 

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

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

5 has not attained 18 years of age; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered prisoner’ means an indi7 vidual who— 

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

9 level B offense; 

10 ‘‘(B) was sentenced to a term of imprison11 ment for the offense described in subparagraph 

12 (A); and 

13 ‘‘(C) is imprisoned under such term of im14 prisonment; 

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

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

17 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Federal offense’ means an of18 fense that is punishable under Federal law; 

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

20 offense that is not a violent crime; 

21 ‘‘(6) the term ‘level B offense’— 

22 ‘‘(A) means a Federal offense that is a vio23 lent crime; and 

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

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

26 victim; 


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1 ‘‘(7) the term ‘level C offense’ means any Fed2 eral offense that is not a level A offense; 

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

4 meaning given that term in section 103 of the Traf5 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

6 7102); and 

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

8 given that term in section 103 of the Juvenile Jus9 tice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 

10 U.S.C. 11103). 

11 ‘‘(b) MOTIONS TO VACATE CONVICTIONS OR EX12 PUNGE ARRESTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A OF15 FENSES.—A person convicted of any level A of16 fense (or an attorney representing such a per17 son) may move the court that imposed the sen18 tence for the level A offense to vacate the judg19 ment of conviction if the level A offense was 

20 committed as a direct result of the person hav21 ing been a victim of trafficking. 

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

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

24 attorney representing such a person) may move 

25 the district court of the United States for the 


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1 district and division embracing the place where 

2 the person was arrested to expunge all records 

3 of the arrest if the conduct or alleged conduct 

4 of the person that resulted in the arrest was di5 rectly related to the person having been a vic6 tim of trafficking. 

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

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

9 attorney representing such a person) may move 

10 the district court of the United States for the 

11 district and division embracing the place where 

12 the person was arrested to expunge all records 

13 of the arrest if— 

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

15 the movant that resulted in the arrest was 

16 directly related to the movant having been 

17 a victim of trafficking; and 

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

19 the level C offense; 

20 ‘‘(II) the Government did not pursue 

21 or dismissed criminal charges against the 

22 movant for the level C offense; or 

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

24 movant for the level C offense were reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Nov 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S9.IS S9

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1 duced to an offense that is a level A of2 fense; and 

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

4 level A offense, the Government did not 

5 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 

6 against the movant for the level A offense, 

7 or any subsequent conviction of the level A 

8 offense was vacated. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF MOTION.—A motion de10 scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) be in writing; 

12 ‘‘(B) describe any supporting evidence; 

13 ‘‘(C) state the offense; and 

14 ‘‘(D) include copies of any documents 

15 showing that the movant is entitled to relief 

16 under this section. 

17 ‘‘(3) HEARING.— 

18 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY HEARING.— 

19 ‘‘(i) MOTION IN OPPOSITION.—Not 

20 later than 30 days after the date on which 

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

22 Government may file a motion in opposi23 tion of the motion filed under paragraph 

24 (1). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY HEARING.—If the 

2 Government files a motion described in 

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

4 date on which the motion is filed, the court 

5 shall hold a hearing on the motion. 

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

7 Government does not file a motion described in 

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

9 hearing on the motion not later than 45 days 

10 after the date on which a motion is filed under 

11 paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) VACATING CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A

14 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

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

16 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

17 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi18 dence, that— 

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

20 level A offense; and 

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

22 offense by the movant was a direct result 

23 of the movant having been a victim of traf24 ficking. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL A

2 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

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

4 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

5 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi6 dence, that— 

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

8 level A offense; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the conduct or alleged conduct 

10 that resulted in the arrest was directly re11 lated to the movant having been a victim 

12 of trafficking. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C

14 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 

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

16 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 

17 the court finds, by a preponderance of the evi18 dence, that— 

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

20 level C offense and the conduct or alleged 

21 conduct that resulted in the arrest was di22 rectly related to the movant having been a 

23 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 a level A offense; and 

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

8 level A offense, the Government did not 

9 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 

10 against the movant for the level A offense, 

11 or any subsequent conviction of that level 

12 A offense was vacated. 

13 ‘‘(5) SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—For 

15 purposes of this subsection, there shall be a re16 buttable presumption that the movant is a vic17 tim of trafficking if the movant includes in the 

18 motion— 

19 ‘‘(i) a copy of an official record, cer20 tification, or eligibility letter from a Fed21 eral, State, Tribal, or local proceeding, in22 cluding an approval notice or an enforce23 ment certification generated from a Fed24 eral immigration proceeding, that shows 

25 that the movant was a victim of trafVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Nov 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S9.IS S9

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1 ficking, including a victim of a trafficker 

2 charged with a violation of chapter 77; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) an affidavit or sworn testimony 

4 from a trained professional staff member 

5 of a victim services organization, an attor6 ney, a member of the clergy, a medical 

7 professional, or another professional from 

8 whom the movant has sought assistance in 

9 addressing the trauma associated with 

10 being a victim of trafficking. 

11 ‘‘(B) OTHER EVIDENCE.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

13 this section, in determining whether the 

14 movant is a victim of trafficking, the court 

15 may consider any other evidence the court 

16 determines is of sufficient credibility and 

17 probative value, including an affidavit or 

18 sworn testimony of the movant. 

19 ‘‘(ii) AFFIDAVIT OR SWORN TESTI20 MONY OF MOVANT SUFFICIENT EVI21 DENCE.—The affidavit or sworn testimony 

22 of the movant described in clause (i) shall 

23 be sufficient evidence to vacate a convic24 tion or expunge an arrest under this sec25 tion if the court determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the affidavit or sworn testi2 mony is credible; and 

3 ‘‘(II) no other evidence is readily 

4 available. 

5 ‘‘(6) CONVICTION OR ARREST OF OTHER PER6 SONS NOT REQUIRED.—It shall not be necessary 

7 that any person other than the movant be convicted 

8 of or arrested for an offense before the movant may 

9 file a motion under paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(7) DENIAL OF MOTION.— 

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

12 motion filed under paragraph (1), the denial 

13 shall be without prejudice. 

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

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

16 court shall state the reasons for the denial in 

17 writing. 

18 ‘‘(C) REASONABLE TIME TO CURE DEFI19 CIENCIES IN MOTION.—If the motion was de20 nied due to a curable deficiency in the motion, 

21 the court shall allow the movant sufficient time 

22 to cure the deficiency. 

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

24 motion under this section may be appealed in ac25 cordance with section 1291 of title 28. 


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1 ‘‘(c) VACATUR OF CONVICTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo3 tion to vacate a conviction of a level A offense under 

4 subsection (b), the court shall immediately— 

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

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

7 judgment of acquittal; 

8 ‘‘(C) enter an expungement order that di9 rects that there be expunged from all official 

10 records all references to— 

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

12 level A offense; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the institution of criminal pro14 ceedings against the movant relating to the 

15 level A offense; and 

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

17 and 

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

19 cost, or restitution associated with the convic20 tion and paid by the movant. 

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

22 an order entered under paragraph (1)— 

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

24 as a conviction under Federal law and the mov25 ant for whom the conviction was vacated shall 


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1 be considered to have the status occupied by the 

2 movant before the arrest or the institution of 

3 the criminal proceedings related to such convic4 tion; and 

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

6 to be inadmissible, or lose any immigration ben7 efit because of such conviction, arrest, or insti8 tution of criminal proceedings, or any related 

9 conduct. 

10 ‘‘(d) EXPUNGEMENT OF ARRESTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo12 tion to expunge all records of an arrest for an of13 fense under subsection (b), the court shall imme14 diately enter an expungement order that directs that 

15 there be expunged from all official records all ref16 erences to— 

17 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the movant for the of18 fense; 

19 ‘‘(B) the institution of any criminal pro20 ceedings against the movant relating to the of21 fense; and 

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

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

24 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 movant for 

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

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 that imposed 

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

15 a covered prisoner may reduce the term of imprison16 ment for the offense— 

17 ‘‘(A) upon— 

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

19 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the court’s own motion; 

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

22 ‘‘(C) after considering— 

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

24 3553(a); 


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

2 danger to any person, if applicable; and 

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

4 victims; and 

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

6 of the evidence, that the covered prisoner com7 mitted the offense as a direct result of the cov8 ered prisoner having been a victim of traf9 ficking. 

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

11 purposes of this subsection, there shall be a rebutta12 ble presumption that a covered prisoner is a victim 

13 of trafficking if the covered prisoner provides— 

14 ‘‘(A) a copy of an official record, certifi15 cation, or eligibility letter from a Federal, 

16 State, Tribal, or local proceeding, including an 

17 approval notice or an enforcement certification 

18 generated from a Federal immigration pro19 ceeding, that shows that the covered prisoner 

20 was a victim of trafficking, including a victim 

21 of a trafficker charged with a violation of chap22 ter 77; or 

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

24 a trained professional staff member of a victim 

25 services organization, an attorney, a member of 


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1 the clergy, a medical professional, or another 

2 professional from whom the covered prisoner 

3 has sought assistance in addressing the trauma 

4 associated with being a victim of trafficking. 

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

6 this subsection shall be subject to section 3771. 

7 ‘‘(4) 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 

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

19 ‘‘(h) CONFIDENTIALITY OF MOVANT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A motion under this sec21 tion and any documents, pleadings, or orders relat22 ing to the motion shall be filed under seal. 

23 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUB24 LIC INSPECTION.—An officer or employee may make 

25 not make available for public inspection any report, 


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1 paper, picture, photograph, court file, or other docu2 ment, in the custody or possession of the officer or 

3 employee, that 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.— 

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

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

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

11 SEC. 3. REPORTS. 

12 (a) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY MOTIONS FOR

13 VACATUR OR EXPUNGEMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

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

15 attorney shall submit to the Attorney General a report 

16 that details— 

17 (1) the number of motions for vacatur or 

18 expungement filed under section 3772 of title 18, 

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

20 district of the United States attorney; and 

21 (2) for each motion described in paragraph 

22 (1)— 

23 (A) the underlying offense; 

24 (B) the response of the United States at25 torney 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

4 HUMAN TRAFFICKING INDICATORS.—Not later than 1 

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

6 General shall submit to Congress a report that details all 

7 professional training received by United States attorneys 

8 on indicators of human trafficking during the preceding 

9 12-month period. 

10 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Not 

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

12 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

13 to Congress a report that— 

14 (1) assesses the impact of the enactment of sec15 tion 3772 of title 18, United States Code, as added 

16 by section 2; and 

17 (2) includes— 

18 (A) the number of human trafficking sur19 vivors who have filed motions for vacatur or 

20 expungement under such section 3772; 

21 (B) the final determination of each court 

22 that adjudicated a motion described in subpara23 graph (A); 


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1 (C) recommendations to increase access to 

2 post-conviction relief for human trafficking sur3 vivors with Federal criminal records; and 

4 (D) recommendations for improving the 

5 implementation and tracking of professional 

6 training of United States attorneys on indica7 tors of human trafficking. 

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

9 REPRESENTATION. 

10 The Office of Justice Programs or the Office on Vio11 lence Against Women, in awarding a grant that may be 

12 used for legal representation, may not prohibit a recipient 

13 from using the grant for legal representation for post-con14 viction relief. 

15 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that— 

17 (1) this Act is a first step to address the chang18 ing tactics of human traffickers, who are using 

19 forced criminality as a form of force, fraud, and co20 ercion in their human trafficking enterprises; and 

21 (2) Congress is committed to continuing to find 

22 solutions as needed to thwart human traffickers and 

23 protect survivors of human trafficking. 


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1 SEC. 6. HUMAN TRAFFICKING DEFENSE. 

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

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 18. Human trafficking defense 

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

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

8 as those terms are defined in section 3772. 

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

10 for a covered Federal offense, a defendant who establishes 

11 by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was 

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

13 committed the offense shall create a rebuttable presump14 tion that the offense was induced by duress. 

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

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

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

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

19 such time as a conviction is entered for the offense. 

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

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

22 an individual who is convicted of a covered Federal offense 

23 may not preclude the individual from asserting as a miti24 gating factor, at sentencing or in a proceeding for any 

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


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

2 and committed the offense under duress. 

3 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL AID.—A failure to assert, or failed as4 sertion of, a defense under subsection (b) by an individual 

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

6 used for the purpose of disqualifying the individual from 

7 participating in any federally funded program that aids 

8 victims of human trafficking.’’. 

9 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

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

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

‘‘18. Human trafficking defense.’’. 

Æ 


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