Date Approved

2024

Degree Type

Open Access Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Political Science

First Advisor

Shu Wang, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Barbara Patrick, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Ann R. Eisenberg, Ph.D.

Abstract

Despite the establishment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000, the state and prevalence of human trafficking in the United States has greatly increased. While there exists more information and legislation, it still remains an under-researched and under-evaluated issue. This study looks through the enacted human trafficking federal legislation over the last decade to track whether migrant vulnerability to human trafficking has been further addressed with the evolution of the issue within the country. To provide a relevant analysis, this study will look through human trafficking legislation through the years of 2013-2023 and will focus on the main research question of whether or not migrant vulnerability to human trafficking has been explicitly addressed in federal legislation and, if so, how. It is predicted that due to the issue’s massive increase in awareness throughout law enforcement, policy making, and society as a whole, a majority of human trafficking-focused enacted legislation will explicitly recognize and address migrant victims’ protections against human trafficking within the United States.

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