The Trump administration has repeatedly described the fight against sex trafficking as a priority, but federal prosecutions have slowed this year amid staffing shortages, funding cuts and a shift in law-enforcement resources toward immigration enforcement, a Reuters review found.
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Federal prosecutors charged 73 people with sex trafficking through June, about 22% fewer than the average for the same period over the previous three years. Reuters based its findings on interviews with 25 former prosecutors, current agents and victims’ advocates, as well as a review of federal court records.
Former prosecutors and agents told Reuters that experienced personnel have left the Justice Department, while some Homeland Security Investigations agents previously involved in trafficking cases were reassigned to immigration duties. In some offices, remaining investigators have struggled to find prosecutors able to take on their cases.
The shift has also affected victims, whose cooperation is often crucial in trafficking investigations. Advocates said reassigned agents disrupted relationships with vulnerable victims and witnesses, while some survivors became reluctant to work with federal authorities.
Funding for victim-support organisations has also been affected. Reuters reported that some Justice Department grants for housing, food and mental-health services were delayed or frozen, while the number of T-visas approved for trafficking victims was running at roughly half the typical pace.
The Justice Department said combating human trafficking remained a priority and attributed some of the decline to prosecutors and investigators being occupied with major ongoing cases. The department also said it was hiring to fill vacant positions.
