A coalition of more than 50 anti-trafficking organizations has sued the Trump administration, accusing it of unlawful censorship that undermines the fight against human trafficking. The groups argue that Trump’s ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts violate the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

“These policies silence survivors—and we will note self-censor,” said Karen Romero, co-executive director of Freedom Network USA, the coalition leading the lawsuit.

A gag order on justice

At the heart of the complaint are two executive orders issued in January that restrict how federally funded organizations discuss race, gender, and inequality. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has reportedly barred Freedom Network USA from using dozens of words—including “gender,” “race,” “ethnicity,” “accessibility,” and “fairness.” The organization relies on the DoJ for 70% of its funding.

Sabrina Talukder, an attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, called the restrictions a “major civil rights issue.” According to DoJ data, “40% of sex trafficking survivors in the US are Black women.” Many survivors are also immigrants or LGBTQ+ people, communities disproportionately vulnerable to trafficking.

The lawsuit contends that the creation of “forbidden terms” weakens anti-trafficking advocacy by erasing the systemic inequalities that drive exploitation. The Guardian reports that the complaint states,

“When it enacted the TVPA Congress specifically found ‘discrimination’ as a gap that traffickers exploit for their gain—but ‘discrimination’ is a forbidden term in the DoJ-issued list.”

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