WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Karen Bass (D-CA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) announced the introduction of the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. The bipartisan legislation will require the posting of the contact information of the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the restrooms of all U.S. airplanes, airports, trains, train stations, busses and bus stations so that any victim, or anyone who notices a potential victim of human trafficking, knows who to reach out to for help.  

Human Trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 24.9 million people around the world. In 2020, 10,583 situations of human trafficking were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline involving 16,658 individual victims. Due to the nature of this crime, instances of human trafficking are underreported making it difficult to identify those who are in danger. As a result, human traffickers often use the transportation systems to perpetrate this heinous crime.  

“A phone call can save a life and stop an individual from being trafficked at their most vulnerable moment. But, to make that call, you need to know who to call. The National Human Trafficking Hotline does lifesaving work to stop human trafficking and provide support to victims, and we must spread their information as far and wide as possible,” said Rep. Jeffries. “I am proud to have worked with Reps. Issa, Bass and Mace to introduce this important legislation to post the contact information of the hotline across our nation’s transportation infrastructure.” 

“Human trafficking is a crisis in every corner of our country, and the victims of this scourge need our support and deserve our commitment to fight back every way we can,” said Rep. Issa. “The Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022 is a step in the right direction, which I hope is only the beginning of a new and lasting commitment to comprehensive enforcement and education measures from a unified Congress.”

“Human trafficking in this country should be taken extremely seriously. When it comes to combatting this issue, we have to employ as many different strategies as possible. That includes the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which will help connect victims and potential victims to the help they need at the moment when they might be most vulnerable,” said Rep. Bass. “I’m proud to cosponsor the “Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022” today and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation.”

“Human trafficking is a horrific crime that takes place often right in plain sight. This legislation will help victims identify where help is only a phone call away. I was shocked when I found out that 28 people faced charges after a raid by an undercover child sex crimes sting right here in my own backyard of Goose Creek, S.C. Sadly, we saw a 15 percent increase in human trafficking in South Carolina last year,” said Rep. Mace. “This bipartisan legislation will connect victims with the help they need.”

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a toll-free service connecting victims and survivors of trafficking to critical support and resources. The Hotline provides both a toll-free phone line and SMS text lines which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Help is available in English, Spanish or in more than 200 additional languages through an on-call interpreter.

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Contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at: 1-888-373-7888, TTY: 711, Text: 233733