Trafficking survivors can now erase criminal records tied to their victimization
H.R. 4323 — Trafficking Survivors Relief Act · Filed by Russell Fry (R-SC) · 19 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 10, 2025 · Signed
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What it does
This bill allows human trafficking survivors to ask courts to erase or vacate criminal convictions and arrests that resulted directly from their trafficking victimization. It creates a legal pathway for survivors to clear their records for non-violent crimes (and in limited cases violent crimes where no child was harmed), provided they can show their criminal conduct was a direct result of being trafficked. The bill also establishes a legal defense of duress for trafficking survivors prosecuted for federal crimes, and requires reporting on how often courts grant these motions.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a civil remedy—motion-based post-conviction relief—designed to restore legal status to trafficking survivors whose criminal records are artifacts of their victimization. It is not a criminal-justice reform bill broadly, but a targeted relief statute for a defined vulnerable population.
What the text implies
- Survivors may face evidentiary burden proving trafficking causation; courts may deny motions if Government presents counter-evidence, creating potential re-traumatization in adversarial hearings.
- Expungement is federal-only; state and local records remain, limiting practical reintegration benefit for survivors with state convictions.
- Restitution and fine orders survive vacatur, meaning survivors may still owe money to crime victims even after conviction is erased.
- Confidentiality protections (filing under seal) may limit public awareness of trafficking patterns and court outcomes, reducing transparency on survivor relief rates.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Trafficking survivors—a vulnerable population coerced into crime—gain a legal remedy to clear records that perpetuate their victimization and block reintegration. The bill imposes no new restrictions on ordinary citizens and creates no new criminal liability; it only expands access to post-conviction relief for a specific class of victims. Courts retain gatekeeping authority via preponderance-of-evidence standard.
Named in the bill
Human trafficking survivors, United States Attorneys, Federal courts, Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women, Government Accountability Office, Anti-human trafficking service providers
Where it stands
19 cosponsors: 10 Republicans, 8 Democrats, 1 Independents.
- Jul 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
- Sep 10, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Sep 10, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote”
- Dec 1, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4919-4921)”
- Dec 1, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Fry moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
- Dec 18, 2025 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8894)”
- Jan 12, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
- Jan 23, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-73”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $18,300,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 14 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Russell Fry, the sponsor, reported $817,999 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. — $17,960,000 on 1 filing
- National Marine Manufacturers Association — $340,000 on 1 filing
- Tides Center — $0 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (16,743 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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