U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg said May 2 that he discussed efforts to protect communities and hold human traffickers accountable after meeting with Branch County Circuit Judge Zach Stempien.
“I recently had the opportunity to sit down with former Branch County prosecutor and current circuit judge Zach Stempien to talk about how we can protect our communities and hold bad actors accountable. Last month the House voted unanimously to pass my bipartisan bill the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act to ensure that Department of Labor employees receive the proper training to recognize instances of human trafficking and refer these cases to law enforcement agencies,” Walberg said in a post on X.
H.R. 4307, the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act, passed the House by voice vote on March 3. Walberg sponsored the legislation, which would require Department of Labor employees to receive training to recognize and refer suspected human trafficking cases, according to Congress.gov.
Michigan recorded 340 human trafficking cases identified through the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2024. The hotline reported both sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases in the state, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
In fiscal year 2023, 2,329 people were referred to U.S. attorneys for human trafficking offenses. There were 1,782 prosecutions and 1,008 convictions for human trafficking offenses that year, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Walberg is serving his ninth term representing Michigan’s 5th Congressional District. He chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, according to his official biography.