Press Release

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) speaks at an anti-human trafficking press conference, alongside now-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in 2014.

                Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior lawmaker and tireless advocate in the global fight against human trafficking, commemorated the 25^th anniversary of the enactment of his Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)—landmark legislation to confront the global scourge of human trafficking—and called upon the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately take up HR 1144, his newly-authored Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025.

                Since the enactment of Smith’s TVPA in 2000, more than 2,225 traffickers have been convicted and are serving serious jail time. These numbers represent thousands of survivors freed from bondage and traffickers brought to justice through coordinated global action.

                Over the course of this past quarter-century, Smith has continued to lead in advancing U.S. and international efforts to combat human trafficking through five major anti-trafficking laws: the original TVPA of 2000, three reauthorizations of the TVPA (2003, 2005, 2018) and the International Megan’s Law (PL 114-119). Together, these statutes have created the comprehensive framework for prevention, protection, and prosecution both in the United States and around the world.

                “When I first introduced the TVPA in the late 1990s, the legislation was met with a wall of skepticism—even ridicule,” said Smith.

                “Many saw it as a solution in search of a problem. At the time, the word ‘trafficking’ was widely associated with drugs or weapons—not human beings. Back then, stories of women and children being bought and sold—treated as commodities—were often met with disbelief or indifference—but we persisted. And with bipartisan support, the TVPA became law in 2000.

                “My TVPA created a new, whole-of-government domestic and international strategy and established numerous programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and to the greatest extent possible, prevent it from happening in the first place—the three Ps,” Smith noted.

                The TVPA’s subsequent reauthorizations expanded victim assistance programs, strengthened law enforcement tools, addressed exploitation in supply chains, and enhanced international cooperation.

                “Since the passage of the TVPA, the progress we have achieved has been remarkable,” Smith continued. “All 50 U.S. states have enacted anti-trafficking statutes criminalizing sex and labor trafficking, with many providing victim services and specialized law enforcement training. Internationally, more than 180 countries have adopted anti-trafficking legislation—many inspired by the UN Palermo Protocol and the standards established by the TVPA.”

                Moreover, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, trafficking prosecutions and convictions have more than doubled since the TVPA was first implemented in the early 2000s, reflecting a dramatic increase.

                Recently, Smith has authored and introduced three pieces of legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the TVPA’s provisions—the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Acts of 2022, 2023, 2025 (FD TVPRA)—the last of which has yet to reach the House floor for a vote.

                “My Frederick Douglass TVPRA of 2025 will reauthorize and strengthen anti-human trafficking programs across numerous federal agencies, including the State Department, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services; continue funding the Angel Watch Center, a program mandated by my International Megan’s Law that prevents convicted child predators and sex offenders from exploiting and assaulting children abroad; and promote anti-trafficking strategies and situational awareness training for instructors and students within elementary and secondary schools,” Smith remarked.

                “This legislation symbolizes the United States’ sustained leadership in the global fight against human trafficking—and our indefatigable commitment to advocate for the vulnerable, hold perpetrators accountable, and always address injustice wherever we see it.”

                Kenneth B. Morris Jr., the great-great-great grandson of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Co-Founder of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, offered the following statement in support of Smith’s Frederick Douglass TVPRA of 2025:

“My great-great-great-grandfather Frederick Douglass once said, ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.’ The Frederick Douglass TVPRA embodies that principle. It ensures that our nation continues to prevent exploitation, support survivors, and uphold justice. Passing this bill is a profound act of unity — a reminder that freedom is still our shared work.”

                When enacted, Smith’s Frederick Douglass TVPRA of 2025 will also require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement a Frederick Douglass Human Trafficking Survivors Employment and Education Program to “prevent the re-exploitation of eligible individuals who have been victims of trafficking, by assisting such individuals to integrate or reintegrate into society through social services support for the attainment of life skills, employment, and education necessary to achieve self-sufficiency.”

                Smith also highlighted the bill’s provisions to extend his International Megan’s Law (PL 114-119), which requires notification to foreign governments when convicted U.S. child sex offenders attempt to travel abroad—closing dangerous loopholes that predators had exploited.

                Smith’s legislation, first enacted in 2016, was named in honor of Megan Kanaka, a seven-year-old girl from Smith’s then-congressional district, who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by her neighbor, an undisclosed sex offender.

                In the same way that U.S. federal and state Megan’s Laws compel notifications when a convicted pedophile moves into a neighborhood, International Megan’s Law requires that notifications be sent to destination countries when a convicted pedophile seeks to travel abroad.

                “More than 27,000 travel notifications have been sent to foreign countries, as of 2024,” Smith said. The law also orders all convicted child sex offenders in the United States to display a special insignia on their passports, denoting them as criminals and predators.

                In addition to these legislative victories on the federal level, Smith lauded local and state governments’ efforts to prevent and punish human trafficking crimes in their communities. Namely, he praised New Jersey Senate Bill 1990, introduced in January, which would require all current and future drivers employed by transportation network companies (TNC) and rideshare services, such as Uber and Lyft, to complete an anti-trafficking training course approved by the Attorney General.

                The anti-trafficking training courses mandated by this legislation would need to provide “an overview of human trafficking, including how human trafficking is defined; guidance on the role transportation network company drivers play in reporting and responding to human trafficking; and information on how to report suspected human trafficking.”

                “This legislation is critical to preventing, identifying, and combatting human trafficking on the state-level. This ever-evolving and elusive crime can entail the use of rideshare services, with drivers unknowingly transporting victims between traffickers,” Smith stated.

                “I extend special thanks to Monmouth County Commissioner Director Tom Arnone and his fellow Commissioners for drafting a resolution in support of this vital legislation, raising local awareness of the importance of its passage.

                “As we mark this 25th anniversary, we recommit to the promise we made in 2000: that all persons shall live free from coercion, exploitation, and modern-day slavery,” Smith said. “We must act with courage, compassion, and resolve to ensure that freedom is more than a word—it is a lived reality for every human being.

                “May this silver anniversary inspire leaders to carry on this fight so that we may one day see a world where human trafficking is not merely reduced—but entirely eradicated.”

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