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U.S. Departnent of Justice
Office of Legislative Affairs
i I i tt srs a
Office of the Assistant Attomey General Washington, D.C. 20530
November 9, 2007
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This letter presents the views of the Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) on
H.R. 3887, the “William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of
2007,” as introduced by Congressman Lantos on October 18, 2007, The Department has
significant concerns, which are detailed below in a section-by-section analysis. The proposed
legislation, as drafted, would eliminate the Department’s role in several important steps in the
victim identification process, and thereby negatively impact our ability to ensure the safety of
victims and their families, rescue additional victims, and apprehend and prosecute human
traffickers; it would broaden the criminal statutes regarding prosecution in a manner that detracts
from effective enforcement efforts and raises serious federalism implications; and it would
unconstitutionally intrude into Executive authority.
1. Sevtion 102
The provision in subsection (e)(2)(B) authorizing the Director of the Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) at the Department of State to interview victims
should clarify that the Director is authorized to do so only with the consent of the Attorney
General in any case where an ongoing investigation or prosecution may exist. Otherwise,
serious issues could arise that would complicate or even scutile prosecution. For example, any
statements made to the Director would presumptively have to be turned over to the defense and
any statements that contradict statements made to law enforcement or prosecutors would be
required to be turned over to the defense.
2. Section 103
DOJ finds section 103 unnecessary and duplicative of existing efforts and, therefore,
opposes its inclusion in the bill. DOJ and other Federal agencies are already offering the types
of assistance that are described in the section. Furthermore, the new subsection (a)()(3) would
require the United States Government to provide “technical assistance to provide legal
frameworks and other programs to foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations to
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