Trump administration’s sex-trafficking crackdown stalls as prosecutions plummet

A review of court records indicates that federal sex-trafficking prosecutions have slipped to their slowest rate since 2010, with just 73 defendants charged through June—a 22% decline from the previous three-year average. The downturn aligns with cuts to agency budgets, the diversion of Homeland Security Investigations agents to immigration enforcement, and the exit of seasoned prosecutors. Grants that fund victim assistance have been postponed or frozen, and T-visa approvals, essential for cooperating victims, are at roughly half the historic pace, leaving over 71,000 applications pending.

New Attorney General Todd Blanche reiterated the department’s commitment to combat trafficking, while national coordinator Alessandra Serano linked the drop in new cases to investigators being tied up in existing, resource-intensive prosecutions. Critics argue that the combined effect of staffing losses, funding gaps, and immigration priorities is weakening the federal response to human-trafficking networks.