Bishops offer firm support for legislation to combat human trafficking

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated its unwavering support for legislation that advances “our nation’s commitment to eradicating the sin of human trafficking.”

In an April letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, and Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, expressed their support for the legislation (S. 2241 / H.R. 4307) on behalf of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and Committee on Migration.

The bill, which the House passed in March, would require the Department of Labor to train its employees to detect human trafficking, identify suspected victims, and refer potential cases to the Department of Justice or other appropriate authorities.

“The Catholic Church is a steadfast voice against human trafficking and other forms of exploitation, as well as a longtime provider of services and pastoral care to victims of these crimes,” the bishops wrote.

Under the bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, the Labor secretary would tailor training for the departmentʼs Wage and Hour Division by taking into account the needs of those operating in states where oppressive child labor has recently surged. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who is Catholic, introduced the Senate version of the measure with one cosponsor, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan. No committee action is scheduled.

“We urge the committee to report the bill favorably to the full Senate and for the chamber to join with the House in passing this measure to bolster the U.S. Department of Labor’s important role in combatting human trafficking,” the bishops said.

“We appreciate the bill’s specific mention of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, which plays such an instrumental role in detection and thwarting labor exploitation by unscrupulous employers, especially for children,” the bishops said.

As Congress has begun the appropriations process for fiscal 2027 and funding for the Department of Labor, “we renew our previous calls for the long underfunded agency to receive increased support to address its pervasive staffing and resource shortages, particularly given its role in thwarting child labor exploitation, as S. 2241 acknowledges,” they wrote.

Further support

The bishops also recently voiced support for H.R. 1144, a bill introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, that would reauthorize a 2000 anti-trafficking bill.

“This is another important, bipartisan anti-trafficking measure that warrants immediate action as a further step to counter the scourge of human trafficking in our country and beyond,” the bishops wrote in a March letter to U.S. representatives.

The bill would update elements of the federal framework to prevent international trafficking, and establish and reauthorize anti-trafficking programs across the State Department, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Among other actions, the bill would authorize HHS to carry out a program to help victims of trafficking integrate or reintegrate into society. It also would require the Department of Stateʼs Trafficking in Persons Report to include information about trafficking for the purposes of organ removal.

“I … want to recognize and thank the amazing, heroic, and extraordinarily compassionate survivor-leaders who helped write this bill,” Smith said at a press conference on April 23. “Their courage, strength, tenacity, wisdom, and, above all, their love for the vulnerable not only inspires but helped us get it right.”

“This legislation is of, by, and for them — to help heal, restore, and empower,” said Smith, who is Catholic.

Reauthorizing the bill “is essential to sustaining a comprehensive, prevention-focused response to human trafficking,” Katie Boller Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, an anti-trafficking organization founded and supported by U.S. Catholic sisters, told EWTN News.

“The bill strengthens the systems that protect those most at risk while ensuring survivors have access to the services and support needed for long-term stability and healing. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking urges Congress to act without delay to move this legislation forward in both the House and Senate and ensure its swift passage.”

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/bishops-offer-firm-support-for-legislation-to-combat-human-trafficking