Pouring Fuel on the Fire: Implications of Trump's Executive Actions for Human Trafficking Victimization and Vulnerability
Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
5-20-2025
Publisher
University of Oxford
Language
en-US
Abstract
The second Trump administration has just passed the “first-100-days” benchmark, and there is deep concern about the devastating impact of President Trump’s executive actions on efforts to combat human trafficking. In his first term, Trump promised to bring the “full force and weight” of the U.S. government against the “epidemic” of human trafficking. However, under Trump’s leadership, federal human trafficking prosecutions fell, and his policies often left survivors unable to access important protections, like T visas. Now in his second term, Trump has renewed calls for harsh measures, like the death penalty, to address purported perpetrators of sex trafficking. Yet, despite his anti-trafficking rhetoric, his executive orders are poised to exacerbate the drivers of human trafficking and cause profound harm to trafficking survivors.
Recommended Citation
Julie A. Dahlstrom & Rachel J. Wechsler,
Pouring Fuel on the Fire: Implications of Trump's Executive Actions for Human Trafficking Victimization and Vulnerability
,
Oxford Human Rights Hub
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/shorter_works/281
Publisher URL
https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/pouring-fuel-on-the-fire-implications-of-trumps-executive-actions-for-human-trafficking-victimization-and-vulnerability/
