The human trafficking business in the United States is still on the edge- dark, undocumented, and complicated. Each year thousands are tricked into working or sex against their will. To address this protracted crisis, two Congressmen, Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Lucy McBath (D-GA), introduced the bill entitled Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act at the beginning of 2025.
The bipartisan bill will mandate the U.S. department of labor (DOL) to offer special training to workers to enable them identify trafficking signs at work. Ignoring the need to act, the bill strikes at one of the biggest blind spots in the anti-trafficking system of the United States to date, as it strengthens the early detection effort and codifies the process of referrals to law regular procedures respectively.
The scope of trafficking in the U.S.
A silent, systemic threat
The International labour organization stated that there are more than 27 million victims of trafficking in the world. In the United States, thousands of victims become entangled in the agricultural sector, domestic work and construction industry, and hospitality. The Department of Justice and other advocacy organizations caution that the number of cases is barely reported because some victims fear reporting and are reluctant to talk because of language differences and are not detected.
The recent statistics identify worrying vulnerability of unaccompanied minors. More than 85,000 children have entered the country without parental custody and have not been monitored by federal agencies and investigations have been launched to examine possible trafficking networks that use gaps in the child welfare system.
How traffickers exploit labor systems
It is common to mistreat forced labor as legal labor by traffickers. Victims can be victimized by a mix of fraudulent contracts, bondage to debts, or threat of deportation. In most instances, even the inspectors or labor enforcers can barely identify the warning signs particularly when the victims have been drilled to do the silent act or deceived with confusing documents that seem so official.
Walberg’s legislation recognizes this subtlety and seeks to arm federal employees—who are already inspecting workplaces—with the knowledge to identify red flags embedded in these environments.
Inside the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act
Training tailored to job responsibilities
The Department of Labor is required by the law to design and include training modules depending on individual positions of the employees. As an example, wage inspectors, OSHA officers, and field auditors will be educated about the odd patterns of behaviors, non-delivery of documents, undue observation, or standards of living that point to the presence of coercion.
During such sessions, the psychology of the victims, the trends of the trafficking business in the region, as well as suitable reactions will be discussed. The types of delivery are in-person briefing, webinar, and mobile learning, which assure the possibility of being located in both urban and rural areas.
Establishing formal referral protocols
In addition to the detection, the bill also instructs the department of Labor to establish an integrated reporting system to communicate suspected cases to the justice department including other relevant agencies like the department of justice to direct matters to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. This will allow the limiting of confusion and delays in the time-sensitive investigations.
Protection of victim privacy is also incorporated in the process so that when making referrals, one does not end up re-traumatizing them or asking them questions that could endanger them.
Oversight and evaluation
As a form of accountability, the bill provides that regular reports should be made to the Congress on effectiveness of training and metrics of responding in the department. The result of data collection will assist in identifying some training needs and interagency coordination improvements and referral plan modifications depending on case outcomes.
A bipartisan effort with local and national stakes
Rare political unity
The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act passed unanimously in the House. Its companion bill in the Senate gained early bipartisan support, led by Senator John Husted, who emphasized,
“Labor Department employees are uniquely placed to intervene before trafficking escalates. This bill bridges a major policy gap.”
The legislation’s support across party lines reflects growing awareness that trafficking is not limited to border zones or international smuggling rings—it is often rooted in everyday workplaces and requires systemic solutions.
Building on local success stories
Communities like Monroe County, Michigan, have already shown the benefits of early detection. The VIPER task force, launched in 2021, works along the I-75 corridor to disrupt trafficking networks operating through transport routes. Local officers trained in trafficking indicators have been able to intercept cases before victims were moved across state lines.
Federal legislation like Walberg’s aims to replicate such targeted detection models nationally by scaling training across agencies.
Implementation challenges
Funding and training gaps
Whether the bill will be effective will depend on the sources providing funding and institutional support of training programs. Traditionally, anti-trafficking efforts have been both hitting and missing, as well as under-resourced.
Tree-level training routine without continuous investment may turn out to be an empty activity instead of an actual resource. Agencies will also be required to partner with NGOs and survivor-based organizations in making sure that the content of the training is based on the realities that exist.
Ensuring interagency coordination
Effective referrals rely on confidence and communication among the Department of Labor, law enforcement and victim support services. Jurisdictional errors, delay, or inadequate interviews can undermine prosecutions, or traumatize survivors again.
Proponents are emphatic that interagency training should be undertaken, more efficient digital referral mechanisms, and liaison officers to organize response efforts should be implemented.
Integrating with broader anti-trafficking legislation
Complementing financial and data initiatives
Walberg’s bill is part of a larger national strategy. It accompanies the End Banking for Human Traffickers Act, which aims at illegal financial transactions, and the National Human Trafficking Database Act that will be introduced in February 2025 to collect anti-trafficking information across state and federal authorities.
In sum, all these legislative initiatives create a more integrated policy framework to cover the aspects of the economic, legal, and operational nature of trafficking.
Bridging prevention and enforcement
The new bill narrows a significant gap in prevention because it is not geared towards prosecution but early identification. By leveraging DOL’s everyday interactions with workplaces, it makes trafficking detection a routine part of labor oversight rather than an exceptional intervention.
The practice is in line with the best practice as recommended by the U.N Office on Drugs and Crime and United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
Voices from the field
Rep. Jamie Walsh, who has supported numerous anti-trafficking bills, emphasized the bill’s strategic importance in a C-SPAN interview. She noted:
“Equipping Department of Labor employees with the tools to recognize trafficking is critical, these are the people who see workplaces firsthand and can make a real difference.”
I recently voted "yes" on HB 538, a bill to direct higher ed institutions to provide exploitation prevention and education programs to their students.
— Rep. Jamie Walsh (@RepJamieWalsh) July 9, 2025
Students would learn about human trafficking laws, facts, statistics, methods used to coerce victims, risk factors and more. pic.twitter.com/Qa8wqDAyD1
Walsh’s remarks reflect the growing recognition among lawmakers that systemic intervention requires eyes on the ground and clear channels for action.
Prioritizing victim-centered responses
Avoiding criminalization of victims
One concern raised by human rights organizations is the risk that victims may be mistaken for undocumented workers or complicit parties. Walberg’s bill addresses this by incorporating victim-centered training protocols, emphasizing empathy and non-punitive responses.
Field officers will be trained to distinguish between labor violations and coercion-based trafficking, an essential skill in avoiding misidentification.
Improving survivor outcomes
In addition to detection, the bill directly assists better survivor services indirectly by fast tracking referral to shelters, legal assistance and medical services. The sooner federal agents become aware of trafficking, the larger the window of time they can potentially have before the reputation of such services deteriorates, and the more meaningful those services end up being.
A framework with broader implications
The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act is a game-changer in combating human trafficking in the United States with no new punishments or criteria, but with the investment in the enhancement of institutional capacity. It puts to the test that bureaucracies can change and can insert themselves into one of the most evasive criminal economies in the country.
A critical test for institutional capacity
The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act marks a turning point in U.S. anti-trafficking efforts—not by introducing new penalties or definitions, but by investing in institutional capability. The challenge of policymakers will therefore rest in the ability to be flexible without loss of focus as the trafficking purposes evolve.
The bill of Walberg does not fix the problem of trafficking, but it brings the place of intervention much nearer where the exploitation process begins. What proves the level of its success will be what is observed by the inspectors, what is reported about them, and how soon that information brings about justice. Small windows of detection can be the only plausible way to prevent trafficking in the modern environment of labor exploitation, in which this type of exploitation can take very different forms.