WASHINGTON — New legislation introduced in the Senate aims to broaden human trafficking bans as they apply to truck drivers while extending lifetime bans to workers in the rail, maritime, and air sectors.
The Trafficker Restrictions for Aviation, Federal Freight, and Interstate Carriers (TRAFFIC) Act, introduced on Wednesday by Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., would ensure that those convicted of human trafficking crimes are permanently prohibited from holding any professional transportation license issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2019 banned for life truck drivers who used a commercial motor vehicle to commit human trafficking crimes, through a final rule that reflected changes made by the “No Human Trafficking on our Roads Act,” signed into law by President Trump in January 2018.
The proposed bill would broaden the scope of the disqualification by removing the requirement that the driver must use a commercial motor vehicle in committing the human trafficking felony, and would apply to those convicted for similar offenses under state, local or tribal laws.