“Extremely irresponsible and maybe even immoral”: US government continues withholding vital funding

The US Department of Justice has failed to distribute nearly $90 million in funds earmarked for organizations providing support for survivors of human trafficking. Anti-trafficking experts say that failure is putting survivors at risk of homelessness, criminalization, or re-exploitation, leading some on Capitol Hill to say it’s time to hold the administration accountable.  

It makes no sense- the money is there  

Jordann Hare was forced to live in modern slavery for three years. Without help, she says she would be in prison or dead instead of rebuilding her life. From subsidized housing to legal advocacy, Hare received lifesaving support from a local non-profit. Support mainly funded by grants from the US Department of Justice. But this funding round, those grant funds have yet to be disbursed. Further, this is just one example of how the US federal government is rolling back efforts to combat human trafficking more broadly.  

In an article by The Guardian, Senator Richard Durbin points to the government’s behavior in this case as fitting a pattern of: 

…disregarding congressionally appropriated funds intended to target the most heinous crimes and national security threats – including human trafficking.  

Gary Peters, who sits on a subcommittee that funds the justice department, went even further. He called the withholding of resources already approved by lawmakers illegal.  

And Senator Ben Ray Luján said: 

The Trump administration must be held accountable, funding for these essential services must be fully restored immediately. 

Previous government funding ran out at the end of September. Experts say the hold-up makes no sense. Indeed, the money for the next round of grants is already there. Meanwhile, the delay in disbursement spells disaster for organizations helping trafficking survivors. The number of survivors able to receive any form of support is drastically reduced due to cutting services to slashing staff. Accordingly, survivors have no help finding safe housing, a job, or legal support. Thus, leaving them vulnerable to re-trafficking.  

Set up for disaster 

Legal, religious and advocacy groups sent a letter to Congress in October warning of the disastrous consequences of defunding these grants. Markedly, the letter spelled out that for many regions, it would lead to catastrophe. Numerous locations across the country have only one service provider. Thus, the lack of funding has led to countless closures. Survivors are left with no safe emergency housing, case management, or counseling.

Senator Durbin said in his view, the failure to release the funds fits a pattern of diverting “important resources from combating crimes”.  

Senator Durbin shared: 

Instead, the administration was using ‘that money for their single-minded immigration enforcement agenda, which has included arresting immigrant survivors attempting to report crimes to the police’ 

Advocates say they can’t remember another time when funding already set aside for human trafficking programs took this long to be released. Even if the funds were released tomorrow, programs have already been shuttered, and staff let go. All of this is contrary to good policy for effectively combating human trafficking.  

For Hare, there is a dangerous parallel to the administration’s failure to spend the allocated money. Rather, she sees it as an abuse of power that parallels the type of power traffickers use. Consequently, one that sends a harmful and dangerous message. 

Hare shared: 

For some of these survivors, the only support they have is these non-profits. (and now) You’re getting the same response from the government as you are from the person who exploited you: ‘You don’t matter, we don’t care about you.’ 

Freedom United stands beside Hare and all advocates calling on the US government to stop the abuse of power. That’s why we’ve joined hands with Freedom Network to demand an immediate end to the government’s withholding of vital funding for survivor services. Add your voice to ours, call on the DOJ to act!