A new rule from Citizenship and Immigration Services changes the process for getting a special visa for victims of trafficking. The new law goes into effect in August, and makes changes to a program called the T visa — a special visa for non-U.S. citizens who are victims of sex or labor trafficking incidents.
Dominique Roe-Sepowitz directs ASU’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention and Research.
"The T visa has multiple uses for victims of trafficking, it helps them reunify with their family, it helps them go back to their country. It helps them stay here legally," she said.
Roe-Sepowitz says the visa also helps law enforcement track and respond to cases. But it's also a difficult process for victims to go through because it often requires them to be prosecutorial witnesses in cases against their traffickers.
"That also means that the victim is engaged with law enforcement, or engaged in a prosecution of their trafficker, engaged in disclosing what happened. So there’s a big burden on the victim to tell their story, be explicit and have good evidence," she said.
USCIS says the new rule updates definitions for terms like abuse and self-harm, clarifies requirements for evidence and reporting, and makes it easier for law enforcement to act on reports that come in.
