“I had acquired 16 felonies at the hands of my trafficker. I served a year in the county jail and four years in prison to follow. My record upon release prevented me from jobs.
I had a job that I loved, an employer took a chance on me, but my record stopped me from promoting and gaining opportunities in my workplace. It prevented me from doing outreach in jails and prisons with recovery groups and ministries when I wanted to reach women who had been where I’d been. It was hard to move on and regain my life after exploitation with charges following me that didn’t reveal my trafficking experience. Instead, my charges painted me as a criminal.
I’m calling on the elected officials and members of Congress from California to support TSRA because it’s common for survivors like myself to have criminal records. This is the barrier that keeps us from fully receiving the freedom we deserve, and often it has us turn back to the life of exploitation.”
Ashley is one of the many survivors who advocated for the passing of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (TSRA), which helps trafficking survivors expunge criminal records that were obtained while under the control of a trafficker. Now, thanks to the power of their voices, those survivors have achieved victory!
Today, January 23, 2026, President Trump signed the TSRA into law. This comes after an incredible unanimous passage by the Senate on December 18, 2025.
Thanks to the TSRA, survivors across the country have an easier path to rebuilding their lives. Unjust criminal records from crimes committed due to trafficking can prevent survivors from obtaining employment, housing, public services and benefits, education, loans, meaningful volunteer opportunities, the right to be with and care for their loved ones, and more. Years after these brave individuals escape their traffickers, they continue to be punished for their own exploitation. And the barriers they face often push them right back into sexual exploitation.
The TSRA is a crucial step toward remedying this. Under this law, all non-violent crimes that were committed while under the control of a trafficker can now be wiped from survivors’ records. It also makes legal representation for survivors more accessible through grant funding from the Office for Victims of Crimes and the Office on Violence Against Women. Further, the TSRA allows for an individual’s status as a trafficking survivor to be a mitigating factor for courts to consider when imposing a prison sentence for violent crimes.
NCOSE remains concerned that many survivors who were coerced into committing violent crimes, through no fault of their own, will be unjustly punished. Nonetheless, we celebrate this amazing step forward, which will positively impact the lives of countless survivors across the country.
Forty-nine states, all except South Carolina, have some form of vacatur or expungement for trafficking survivors. Now, this is the federal standard.
Our warmest gratitude and congratulations to the survivor-advocates who made this victory possible!
