Freedom Network USA v. Trump
Protecting Trafficking Survivors Is A Racial Justice Issue.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law represents Freedom Network USA, the nation’s largest survivor- and advocate-led anti-trafficking coalition, in a federal lawsuit challenging executive orders that censor equity-driven programming and threaten lifesaving services for survivors of human trafficking who are disproportionately from communities made vulnerable by poverty and discrimination.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the lawsuit challenges executive orders and funding conditions that:
- Terminate or threaten “equity-related” grants
- Impose unconstitutional and vague speech restrictions
- Condition federal funding on censorship
- Exceed executive authority
More than 70% of Freedom Network USA’s funding comes from Department of Justice grants authorized by Congress under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The administration’s anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion executive orders place Freedom Network USA in an impossible position: silence its core mission and its ability to carry out the purposes of the funding to serve those most vulnerable to trafficking, or risk losing federal grants.
Preventing trafficking requires confronting systemic inequities, not pretending they don’t exist.
When the government censors terms like “racial,” “gender,” “discrimination,” or “accessibility,” it prevents organizations from describing survivors’ lived experiences and designing effective services.
Freedom Network USA refuses to self-censor. It refuses to silence survivors. It refuses to abandon the promise of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
What’s at Stake
Human trafficking does not impact all communities equally. Poverty, housing instability, discrimination, lack of worker protections, and barriers to immigration relief make girls, Black women, immigrant women, and LGBTQ people more vulnerable to exploitation.
Freedom Network USA was founded in 2001 to address these systemic gaps. It is the nation’s largest coalition working to ensure that trafficked persons have access to justice, safety, and opportunity. Freedom Network serves over 4,000 survivors annually and provides training and technical assistance to more than 1,000 stakeholders nationwide, including housing providers. Freedom Network USA’s mission is rooted in equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression—ensuring that all survivors, regardless of background or trafficking experience, can access meaningful services.
In January 2025, executive orders targeting so-called “DEI” programs imposed vague and sweeping restrictions on federal grantees. The Department of Justice subsequently censored Freedom Network USA from using words central to its mission—including “gender,” “racial,” “accessibility,” and “diverse identities”—in federally and privately funded materials.
These restrictions:
- Chill protected speech
- Threaten termination of congressionally authorized grants
- Jeopardize services for thousands of survivors
- Undermine Congress’s explicit intent in passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to protect the most vulnerable survivors.
Equity is not unlawful. Silencing equity--centered programs for survivors is.
Our Role
This case is brought by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Economic Justice Project.
Freedom Network USA is represented by:
- Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Press Statements
- Federal Court Delivers Major Victory for Trafficking Survivors, Halting Anti-DEI Executive Orders and Harmful DOJ Funding Condition (March 24, 2026)
- FNUSA Granted A Temporary Restraining Order By A Federal Judge (February 25, 2026): Following the ruling, Sabrina Talukder, senior counsel with the Economic Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee, released the following statement: “Congress authorized $88 million in funding through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and protect survivors, especially those who are the most vulnerable to trafficking. Because of the Court’s temporary restraining order, the Department of Justice cannot require organizations applying for TVPA funding to agree to cooperate with immigration enforcement and certify they do not promote diversity, equity, or inclusion as part of their applications. The decision allows organizations to serve all trafficking survivors, regardless of their backgrounds or trafficking experiences, as Congress intended.”
- Lawyers’ Committee Sues Trump Administration Over Anti-DEI Executive Orders on Behalf of Anti-Human Trafficking Organization (October 10, 2025)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is human trafficking?
Federal law defines severe forms of trafficking as sex trafficking induced by force, fraud, or coercion—or involving minors—and labor trafficking involving involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery.
Why is equity central to anti-trafficking work?
Human trafficking thrives where poverty, discrimination, and weak worker protections create vulnerability. Effective prevention must address these root causes. Services must be tailored to the needs of each individual, a one-size fits all approach fails everyone. And outreach and education must be localized to the language and culture of the communities most at risk.
How do these executive orders harm survivors?
By censoring survivor-centered programming and threatening funding, they undermine access to housing, legal relief, and trauma-informed care. And they directly silence survivors working to address trafficking in their own communities.
Donate & Support Our Litigation
