Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3627 To provide for the vacating of certain convictions and expungement of certain arrests of victims of human trafficking. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 5, 2019 Mrs. WAGNER (for herself, Mr. SPANO, and Mrs. BEATTY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for the vacating of certain convictions and expungement of certain arrests of victims of human traf- ficking. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trafficking Survivors 4 Relief Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FEDERAL EXPUNGEMENT FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF- 6 FICKING. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 237 of title 18, United 8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘§ 3772. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating 1 factors 2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 3 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child’ means an individual who 4 has not attained 18 years of age; 5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered prisoner’ means an indi- 6 vidual who— 7 ‘‘(A) was convicted of a level B offense be- 8 fore the date of enactment of this section; 9 ‘‘(B) was sentenced to a term of imprison- 10 ment for the level B offense; and 11 ‘‘(C) is imprisoned under such term of im- 12 prisonment; 13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible entity’ includes— 14 ‘‘(A) a legal aid society or legal services or- 15 ganization that provides indigent legal services; 16 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization that provides 17 legal services to victims of trafficking; and 18 ‘‘(C) a public defender’s office; 19 ‘‘(4) the terms ‘employee’ and ‘officer’ have the 20 meanings given the terms in section 2105 of title 5; 21 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Federal offense’ means an of- 22 fense that is punishable under Federal law; 23 ‘‘(6) the term ‘level A offense’— 24 ‘‘(A) means a Federal offense that is not— 25 ‘‘(i) a violent crime; or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘(ii) an offense of which a child was 1 a victim; and 2 ‘‘(B) includes— 3 ‘‘(i) a conspiracy to commit an offense 4 described in subparagraph (A)(i) of which 5 a child was not a victim; and 6 ‘‘(ii) a conspiracy to commit an of- 7 fense described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 8 that is not a violent crime; 9 ‘‘(7) the term ‘level B offense’— 10 ‘‘(A) means a Federal offense that is a vio- 11 lent crime; 12 ‘‘(B) does not include a Federal offense 13 that is a violent crime of which a child was a 14 victim; and 15 ‘‘(C) includes a conspiracy to commit an 16 offense described in subparagraph (B); 17 ‘‘(8) the term ‘level C offense’ means any Fed- 18 eral offense that is not a level A offense; 19 ‘‘(9) the term ‘victim of trafficking’ has the 20 meaning given that term in section 103 of the Traf- 21 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 22 7102); and 23 ‘‘(10) the term ‘violent crime’ has the meaning 24 given that term in section 103 of the Juvenile Jus- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3627 IH tice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 1 U.S.C. 11103). 2 ‘‘(b) MOTIONS TO VACATE CONVICTIONS OR EX- 3 PUNGE ARRESTS.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 5 ‘‘(A) CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A OF- 6 FENSES.—A person convicted of any level A of- 7 fense (or an eligible entity representing such a 8 person) may move the court that imposed the 9 sentence for the level A offense to vacate the 10 judgment of conviction if the level A offense 11 was committed as a direct result of the person 12 having been a victim of trafficking. 13 ‘‘(B) ARRESTS FOR LEVEL A OFFENSES.— 14 A person arrested for any level A offense (or an 15 eligible entity representing such a person) may 16 move the district court of the United States for 17 the district and division embracing the place 18 where the person was arrested to expunge all 19 records of the arrest if the conduct or alleged 20 conduct of the person that resulted in the ar- 21 rest was directly related to the person having 22 been a victim of trafficking. 23 ‘‘(C) ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C OFFENSES.— 24 A person arrested for any level C offense (or an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3627 IH eligible entity representing such a person) may 1 move the district court of the United States for 2 the district and division embracing the place 3 where the person was arrested to expunge all 4 records of the arrest if— 5 ‘‘(i) the conduct or alleged conduct of 6 the movant that resulted in the arrest was 7 directly related to the movant having been 8 a victim of trafficking; and 9 ‘‘(ii)(I) the movant was acquitted of 10 the level C offense; 11 ‘‘(II) the Government did not pursue 12 or dismissed criminal charges against the 13 movant for the level C offense; or 14 ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the 15 movant for the level C offense were re- 16 duced to an offense that is a level A of- 17 fense; and 18 ‘‘(bb) the movant was acquitted of the 19 level A offense, the Government did not 20 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 21 against the movant for the level A offense, 22 or any subsequent conviction of the level A 23 offense was vacated. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘(D) TRAFFICKING OFFENSE UNNECES- 1 SARY.—A person may file a motion under this 2 section regardless of whether any individual, in- 3 cluding the individual accused of trafficking the 4 person, has been arrested, prosecuted, or con- 5 victed for an offense related to human traf- 6 ficking. 7 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF MOTION.—A motion de- 8 scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 9 ‘‘(A) be in writing; 10 ‘‘(B) describe any supporting evidence; 11 ‘‘(C) state the offense; and 12 ‘‘(D) include copies of any documents 13 showing that the movant is entitled to relief 14 under this section. 15 ‘‘(3) HEARING.— 16 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY HEARING.— 17 ‘‘(i) MOTION IN OPPOSITION.—Not 18 later than 30 days after the date on which 19 a motion is filed under paragraph (1), the 20 Government may file a motion in opposi- 21 tion of the motion filed under paragraph 22 (1). 23 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY HEARING.—If the 24 Government files a motion described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3627 IH clause (i), not later than 15 days after the 1 date on which the motion is filed, the court 2 shall hold a hearing on the motion. 3 ‘‘(B) DISCRETIONARY HEARING.—If the 4 Government does not file a motion described in 5 subparagraph (A)(i), the court may hold a 6 hearing on the motion not later than 45 days 7 after the date on which a motion is filed under 8 paragraph (1). 9 ‘‘(4) FACTORS.— 10 ‘‘(A) VACATING CONVICTIONS OF LEVEL A 11 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 12 under paragraph (1)(A) if, after notice to the 13 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 14 the court finds, by clear and convincing evi- 15 dence, that— 16 ‘‘(i) the movant was convicted of a 17 level A offense; and 18 ‘‘(ii) the participation in the level A 19 offense by the movant was a direct result 20 of the movant having been a victim of traf- 21 ficking. 22 ‘‘(B) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL A 23 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 24 under paragraph (1)(B) if, after notice to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3627 IH Government and an opportunity to be heard, 1 the court finds, by clear and convincing evi- 2 dence, that— 3 ‘‘(i) the movant was arrested for a 4 level A offense; and 5 ‘‘(ii) the conduct or alleged conduct 6 that resulted in the arrest was directly re- 7 lated to the movant having been a victim 8 of trafficking. 9 ‘‘(C) EXPUNGING ARRESTS FOR LEVEL C 10 OFFENSES.—The court may grant a motion 11 under paragraph (1)(C) if, after notice to the 12 Government and an opportunity to be heard, 13 the court finds, by clear and convincing evi- 14 dence, that— 15 ‘‘(i) the movant was arrested for a 16 level C offense and the conduct or alleged 17 conduct that resulted in the arrest was di- 18 rectly related to the movant having been a 19 victim of trafficking; and 20 ‘‘(ii)(I) the movant was acquitted of 21 the level C offense; 22 ‘‘(II) the Government did not pursue 23 or dismissed criminal charges against the 24 movant for the level C offense; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘(III)(aa) the charges against the 1 movant for the level C offense were re- 2 duced to a level A offense; and 3 ‘‘(bb) the movant was acquitted of the 4 level A offense, the Government did not 5 pursue or dismissed criminal charges 6 against the movant for the level A offense, 7 or any subsequent conviction of that level 8 A offense was vacated. 9 ‘‘(5) SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.— 10 ‘‘(A) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—For 11 purposes of this subsection, there shall be a re- 12 buttable presumption that the movant is a vic- 13 tim of trafficking if the movant includes in the 14 motion— 15 ‘‘(i) a copy of an official record, cer- 16 tification, or eligibility letter from a Fed- 17 eral, State, Tribal, or local proceeding, in- 18 cluding an approval notice or an enforce- 19 ment certification generated from a Fed- 20 eral immigration proceeding, that shows 21 that the movant was a victim of traf- 22 ficking, including a victim of a trafficker 23 charged with a violation of chapter 77; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘(ii) an affidavit or sworn testimony 1 from a trained professional staff member 2 of a victim services organization, an attor- 3 ney, a member of the clergy, a medical 4 professional, or another professional from 5 whom the movant has sought assistance in 6 addressing the trauma associated with 7 being a victim of trafficking. 8 ‘‘(B) OTHER EVIDENCE.— 9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 10 this section, in determining whether the 11 movant is a victim of trafficking, the court 12 may consider any other evidence the court 13 determines is of sufficient credibility and 14 probative value, including an affidavit or 15 sworn testimony of the movant. 16 ‘‘(ii) AFFIDAVIT OR SWORN TESTI- 17 MONY OF MOVANT SUFFICIENT EVI- 18 DENCE.—The affidavit or sworn testimony 19 of the movant described in clause (i) shall 20 be sufficient evidence to vacate a convic- 21 tion or expunge an arrest under this sec- 22 tion if the court determines that— 23 ‘‘(I) the affidavit or sworn testi- 24 mony is credible; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘(II) no other evidence is readily 1 available. 2 ‘‘(6) CONVICTION OR ARREST OF OTHER PER- 3 SONS NOT REQUIRED.—It shall not be necessary 4 that any person other than the movant be convicted 5 of or arrested for an offense before the movant may 6 file a motion under paragraph (1). 7 ‘‘(7) DENIAL OF MOTION.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the court denies a 9 motion filed under paragraph (1), the denial 10 shall be without prejudice. 11 ‘‘(B) REASONS FOR DENIAL.—If the court 12 denies a motion filed under paragraph (1), the 13 court shall state the reasons for the denial in 14 writing. 15 ‘‘(C) REASONABLE TIME TO CURE DEFI- 16 CIENCIES IN MOTION.—If the motion was de- 17 nied due to a curable deficiency in the motion, 18 the court shall allow the movant sufficient time 19 to cure the deficiency. 20 ‘‘(8) APPEAL.—An order granting or denying a 21 motion under this section may be appealed in ac- 22 cordance with section 1291 of title 28. 23 ‘‘(c) VACATUR OF CONVICTIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3627 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo- 1 tion to vacate a conviction of a level A offense under 2 subsection (b), the court shall immediately vacate 3 the conviction for cause, set aside the verdict and 4 enter a judgment of acquittal, and enter an 5 expungement order that directs that there be ex- 6 punged from all official records all references to— 7 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the movant for the level 8 A offense; 9 ‘‘(B) the institution of criminal pro- 10 ceedings against the movant relating to the 11 level A offense; and 12 ‘‘(C) the results of the proceedings. 13 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—If a conviction is vacated under 14 an order entered under paragraph (1)— 15 ‘‘(A) the conviction shall not be regarded 16 as a conviction under Federal law and the mov- 17 ant for whom the conviction was vacated shall 18 be considered to have the status occupied by the 19 movant before the arrest or the institution of 20 the criminal proceedings related to such convic- 21 tion; and 22 ‘‘(B) no alien may be removed, determined 23 to be inadmissible, or lose any immigration ben- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3627.IH H3627 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3627 IH efit because of such conviction, arrest, or insti- 1 tution of criminal proceedings. 2 ‘‘(d) EXPUNGEMENT OF ARRESTS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court grants a mo- 4 tion to expunge all records of an arrest for an of- 5 fense under subsection (b), the court shall imme- 6 diately enter an expungement order that directs that 7 there be expunged from all official records all ref- 8 erences to— 9 ‘‘(A) the arrest of the movant for the of- 10 fense; 11 ‘‘(B) the institution of any criminal pro- 12 ceedings against the movant relating to the of- 13 fense; and 14 ‘‘(C) the results of the proceedings, if any. 15 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—If an arrest is expunged under 16 an order entered under paragraph (1)— 17 ‘‘(A) the arrest shall not be regarded as an 18 arrest under Federal law and the movant for 19 whom the arrest is expunged shall be consid- 20 er [Text truncated for display. 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