22 U.S.C. § 7102 — Definitions

Page 1891 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 7102 ‘‘(2) Since the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division A of Public Law 106–386) [see Short Title note above], the United States Government has made significant progress in investigating and prosecuting acts of trafficking and in responding to the needs of victims of trafficking in the United States and abroad. ‘‘(3) On the other hand, victims of trafficking have faced unintended obstacles in the process of securing needed assistance, including admission to the United States under section 101(a)(15)(T)(i) of the Immigra- tion and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)(i)]. ‘‘(4) Additional research is needed to fully under- stand the phenomenon of trafficking in persons and to determine the most effective strategies for com- bating trafficking in persons. ‘‘(5) Corruption among foreign law enforcement au- thorities continues to undermine the efforts by gov- ernments to investigate, prosecute, and convict traf- fickers. ‘‘(6) International Law Enforcement Academies should be more fully utilized in the effort to train law enforcement authorities, prosecutors, and members of the judiciary to address trafficking in persons-re- lated crimes.’’ § 7102. Definitions In this chapter: (1) Abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process The term ‘‘abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process’’ means the use or threatened use of a law or legal process, whether administra- tive, civil, or criminal, in any manner or for any purpose for which the law was not de- signed, in order to exert pressure on another person to cause that person to take some ac- tion or refrain from taking some action. (2) Appropriate congressional committees The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Re- lations and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. (3) Coercion The term ‘‘coercion’’ means— (A) threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; (B) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; or (C) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process. (4) Commercial sex act The term ‘‘commercial sex act’’ means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person. (5) Concrete actions The term ‘‘concrete actions’’ means actions that demonstrate increased efforts by the gov- ernment of a country to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, including any of the following: (A) Enforcement actions taken. (B) Investigations actively underway. (C) Prosecutions conducted. (D) Convictions attained. (E) Training provided. (F) Programs and partnerships actively underway. (G) Efforts to prevent severe forms of traf- ficking, including programs to reduce the vulnerability of particularly vulnerable pop- ulations, involving survivors of trafficking in community engagement and policy mak- ing, engagement with foreign migrants, end- ing recruitment fees, and other such meas- ures. (H) Victim services offered, including im- migration services and restitution. (I) The amount of money the government has committed to the actions described in subparagraphs (A) through (H). (6) Credible information The term ‘‘credible information’’ includes all of the following: (A) Reports by the Department of State. (B) Reports of other Federal agencies, in- cluding the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor and List of Products Produced by Forced Labor or Indentured Child Labor. (C) Documentation provided by a foreign country, including— (i) copies of relevant laws, regulations, and policies adopted or modified; and (ii) an official record of enforcement ac- tions taken, judicial proceedings, training conducted, consultations conducted, pro- grams and partnerships launched, and services provided. (D) Materials developed by civil society or- ganizations. (E) Information from survivors of human trafficking, vulnerable persons, and whistle- blowers. (F) All relevant media and academic re- ports that, in light of reason and common sense, are worthy of belief. (G) Information developed by multilateral institutions. (H) An assessment of the impact of the ac- tions described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of paragraph (5) on the prevalence of human trafficking in the country. (7) Debt bondage The term ‘‘debt bondage’’ means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of his or her personal services or of those of a person under his or her control as a security for debt, if the value of those serv- ices as reasonably assessed is not applied to- ward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respec- tively limited and defined. (8) Involuntary servitude The term ‘‘involuntary servitude’’ includes a condition of servitude induced by means of— (A) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that, if the per- son did not enter into or continue in such condition, that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical re- straint; or (B) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process. Page 1892 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 7102 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by ‘‘of’’. 2 See References in Text note below. (9) Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking The term ‘‘minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking’’ means the stand- ards set forth in section 7106 of this title. (10) Nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related for- eign assistance The term ‘‘nonhumanitarian, nontrade-re- lated foreign assistance’’ means— (A) any assistance under the Foreign As- sistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.], other than— (i) assistance under chapter 4 of part II of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.] in sup- port of programs of nongovernmental or- ganizations that is made available for any program, project, or activity eligible for assistance under chapter 1 of part I of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.]; (ii) assistance under chapter 8 of part I of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2291 et seq.]; (iii) any other narcotics-related assist- ance under part I of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.] or under chapter 4 or 5 1 part II of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq., 2347 et seq.], but any such assistance provided under this clause shall be subject to the prior notification procedures applicable to reprogrammings pursuant to section 634A of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2394–1]; (iv) disaster relief assistance, including any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2292 et seq.]; (v) antiterrorism assistance under chap- ter 8 of part II of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2349aa et seq.]; (vi) assistance for refugees; (vii) humanitarian and other develop- ment assistance in support of programs of nongovernmental organizations under chapters 1 and 10 2 of that Act; (viii) any support under subchapter II of chapter 103 of this title relating to the United States International Development Finance Corporation; (ix) other programs involving trade-re- lated or humanitarian assistance; and (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.], other than sales or financing pro- vided for narcotics-related purposes fol- lowing notification in accordance with the prior notification procedures applicable to reprogrammings pursuant to section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2394–1]. (11) Severe forms of trafficking in persons The term ‘‘severe forms of trafficking in per- sons’’ means— (A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coer- cion, or in which the person induced to per- form such act has not attained 18 years of age; or (B) the recruitment, harboring, transpor- tation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peon- age, debt bondage, or slavery. (12) Sex trafficking The term ‘‘sex trafficking’’ means the re- cruitment, harboring, transportation, provi- sion, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act. (13) State The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Co- lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and territories and possessions of the United States. (14) Task Force The term ‘‘Task Force’’ means the Inter- agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking established under section 7103 of this title. (15) United States The term ‘‘United States’’ means the fifty States of the United States, the District of Co- lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories and possessions of the United States. (16) Victim of a severe form of trafficking The term ‘‘victim of a severe form of traf- ficking’’ means a person subject to an act or practice described in paragraph (9) 2. (17) Victim of trafficking The term ‘‘victim of trafficking’’ means a person subjected to an act or practice de- scribed in paragraph (9) or (10) 2. (18) Grounds related to human trafficking The term ‘‘grounds related to human traf- ficking’’ means grounds related to the criteria for inadmissibility to the United States de- scribed in subsection (a)(2)(H) of section 1182 of title 8. (Pub. L. 106–386, div. A, § 103, Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1469; Pub. L. 108–193, § 8(b)(1), Dec. 19, 2003, 117 Stat. 2887; Pub. L. 110–457, title III, § 304(a), Dec. 23, 2008, 122 Stat. 5087; Pub. L. 113–4, title XII, § 1212(b)(1), Mar. 7, 2013, 127 Stat. 143; Pub. L. 114–22, title I, § 108(b), May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 239; Pub. L. 115–254, div. F, title VI, § 1470(p), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3518; Pub. L. 115–427, § 2, Jan. 9, 2019, 132 Stat. 5503; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XII, § 1299R(d)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4028.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this division’’, meaning division A of Pub. L. 106–386, Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1466, known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which is classified prin- cipally to this chapter. For complete classification of division A to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, referred to in par. (10)(A), is Pub. L. 87–195, Sept. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 424, Page 1893 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 7103 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma. which is classified principally to chapter 32 (§ 2151 et seq.) of this title. Part I of the Act is classified gen- erally to subchapter I (§ 2151 et seq.) of chapter 32 of this title. Chapters 1, 8, and 9 of part I of the Act are classified generally to parts I (§ 2151 et seq.), VIII (§ 2291 et seq.), and IX (§ 2292 et seq.), respectively, of sub- chapter I of chapter 32 of this title. Title IV of chapter 2 of part I of the Act was classified generally to subpart iv (§ 2191 et seq.) of part II of subchapter I of chapter 32 of this title, and was repealed, except for subsections (g), (l), (m), and (n) of section 2197 of this title, by Pub. L. 115–254, div. F, title VI, § 1464(2), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3513, effective at the end of the transition period, as de- fined in section 9681 of this title. Chapters 4, 5, and 8 of part II of the Act are classified generally to part IV (§ 2346 et seq.), part V (§ 2347 et seq.), and part VIII (§ 2349aa et seq.), respectively, of subchapter II of chap- ter 32 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 2151 of this title and Tables. Chapters 1 and 10 of that Act, referred to in par. (10)(A)(vii), probably means chapters 1 and 10 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which are classi- fied generally to parts I (§ 2151 et seq.) and X (§ 2293 et seq.), respectively, of subchapter I of chapter 32 of this title. For complete classification of these chapters to the Code, see Tables. The Arms Export Control Act, referred to in par. (10)(B), is Pub. L. 90–629, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1320, which is classified principally to chapter 39 (§ 2751 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 2751 of this title and Tables. Paragraphs (9) and (10), referred to in pars. (16) and (17), were redesignated pars. (11) and (12), respectively, by Pub. L. 115–427, § 2(1), Jan. 9, 2019, 132 Stat. 5503. See 2019 Amendment note below. AMENDMENTS 2021—Par. (18). Pub. L. 116–283 added par. (18). 2019—Pars. (5) to (17). Pub. L. 115–427 added pars. (5) and (6) and redesignated former pars. (5) to (15) as (7) to (17), respectively. 2018—Par. (8)(A)(viii). Pub. L. 115–254 amended cl. (viii) generally. Prior to amendment, cl. (viii) read as follows: ‘‘programs under title IV of chapter 2 of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private Invest- ment Corporation; and’’. 2015—Par. (10). Pub. L. 114–22 substituted ‘‘obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting’’ for ‘‘or obtaining’’. 2013—Pub. L. 113–4 added par. (1), redesignated former pars. (1) to (14) as (2) to (15), respectively, and sub- stituted ‘‘paragraph (9)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ in par. (14) and ‘‘paragraph (9) or (10)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (8) or (9)’’ in par. (15). 2008—Par. (1). Pub. L. 110–457 substituted ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’ for ‘‘Committee on International Relations’’. 2003—Par. (7)(A)(i). Pub. L. 108–193 inserted ‘‘in sup- port of programs of nongovernmental organizations’’ before ‘‘that is made available’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–254 effective at the end of the transition period, as defined in section 9681 of this title, see section 1470(w) of Pub. L. 115–254, set out as a note under section 905 of Title 2, The Congress. § 7103. Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (a) Establishment The President shall establish an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. (b) Appointment The President shall appoint the members of the Task Force, which shall include the Sec- retary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of National Intelligence, the Sec- retary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education, the Sec- retary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Treas- ury, the United States Trade Representative, and such other officials as may be designated by the President. (c) Chairman The Task Force shall be chaired by the Sec- retary of State. (d) Activities of the Task Force The Task Force shall carry out the following activities: (1) Coordinate the implementation of this chapter. (2) Measure and evaluate progress of the United States and other countries in the areas of trafficking prevention, protection, and as- sistance to victims of trafficking, and prosecu- tion and enforcement against traffickers, in- cluding the role of public corruption in facili- tating trafficking. The Task Force shall have primary responsibility for assisting the Sec- retary of State in the preparation of the re- ports described in section 7107 of this title. (3) Expand interagency procedures to collect and organize data, including significant re- search and resource information on domestic and international trafficking and providing an annual report on the case referrals received from the national human trafficking hotline by Federal departments and agencies. Any data collection procedures and reporting re- quirements established under this subsection shall respect the confidentiality of victims of trafficking. (4) Engage in efforts to facilitate coopera- tion among countries of origin, transit, and destination. Such efforts shall aim to strengthen local and regional capacities to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and assist trafficking victims, and shall include initiatives to enhance cooperative efforts be- tween destination countries and countries of origin and assist in the appropriate reintegra- tion of stateless victims of trafficking. (5) Examine the role of the international ‘‘sex tourism’’ industry in the trafficking of persons and in the sexual exploitation of women and children around the world. (6) Engage in consultation and advocacy with governmental and nongovernmental or- ganizations, among other entities, to advance the purposes of this chapter, and make reason- able efforts to distribute information to en- able all relevant Federal Government agencies to publicize the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline on their websites, in all headquarters offices, and in all field offices throughout the United States. (7) Not later than May 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 1 the Committee