The Trump administration is hollowing out the United States’ anti-trafficking capacity at home and abroad. From cutting international programs to sidelining domestic investigators, the moves amount to a systematic retreat from commitments to prevent trafficking, support survivors, and hold perpetrators accountable. With a crucial October 1 funding deadline approaching, the very organizations that provide lifesaving services to survivors could soon be left without resources.

Global and domestic retreat

The administration has terminated 69 international programs focused on anti-trafficking and labor rights. These initiatives, often partnerships with frontline organizations overseas, prevented exploitation before it took root. Their elimination creates gaps across global supply chains and weakens the US’s role as an international partner in combating trafficking.

Domestically, Homeland Security has reassigned investigators who once pursued traffickers to focus on deportations. Experts warn that such a shift elevates immigration enforcement above trafficking investigations, pushing people into more precarious circumstances and increasing their risk of exploitation.

Survivors themselves are also being deported, treated as immigration cases rather than trafficking victims. This cuts them off from protection and returning them to danger. Unaccompanied and migrant children are among those left most at risk.

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