Experts say the Acosta-era Labor Dept.— one of the federal agencies tasked with preventing human trafficking — has been too slow to certify special visas for trafficking victims, potentially weakening protections for an already vulnerable population.
"I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that the new procedures will slow down the process exponentially," said Martina Vandenberg, the president of the Human Trafficking Legal Center in Washington, D.C.
But under the Trump administration, the process has effectively ground to a halt, experts said. The processing time for T-visa applications across the federal government lasts anywhere from 16 months to almost three years, according to data on the website of the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that decides on applications.
"We have to remember that time is of the essence for trafficking victims. They're terrified to come forward in this environment, and then to learn that one of the agencies that has authority to certify T-visas is not being responsive — that's extremely troubling," she said.
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