In his first week in office, newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an immediate pause on new foreign aid spending, as well as a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts on funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.
The 90-day freeze has seriously harmed anti-trafficking action globally, including in Europe. For now, at least 9 projects in which seven of our member organisations are involved, have been frozen, which will directly affect our helpline services, work of mobile outreach teams, as well as legal and other direct support to victims. Also other NGOs in Europe and other parts of the world lost large parts of their funding. including GAATW members and Freedom Collaborative. This immediately and dramatically impacts civil society’s ability to carry out their work in the anti-trafficking field. The 90-day freeze on all actions is forcing many NGOS, including our members to lay off professionals who have been already hired and to cancel contracted services in order to manage the resulting crisis.
The U.S. is by far the largest contributor to global humanitarian aid, supplying an estimated $13.9 billion in 2024, accounting for 42% of all aid tracked by the United Nations.
Concerningly, Trumps’ ruthless actions will further harm large groups of people vulnerable for exploitation and abuse and contribute to human trafficking practices. This week he signed his first bill – the Laken Riley Act – mandating the mass detention and deportation of undocumented individuals accused – but not yet convicted – of certain crimes. Earlier he already cut back massively on US commitments to asylum seekers, blocked all asylum processes and started to remove irregular immigrants in general.
Trump’s administration’s first days in office are also raising alarms about its commitment to combating human trafficking, contradicting both commitments from Trump’s previous term, where the administration pledged to combat human trafficking through Prevention, Protection, and Prosecution, and its ambitious agenda for combating human trafficking in 2025. The administration pledged to focus on enhanced law enforcement coordination, stricter penalties for offenders, and expanded resources for victims, yet these recent moves jeopardise those goals.
The Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking (ATEST) published a policy paper outlining Presidential “Priorities for Ending Forced Labour, Human Trafficking, and Modern Slavery (2025–2029)”. This document sets key recommendations for how the Trump administration can make a lasting impact in the global fight against human trafficking, urging continued commitment to funding and international cooperation.
As uncertainty looms, La Strada International is closely watching how these policies unfold, fearing long-term consequences for human rights and anti-trafficking efforts worldwide. Next to monitoring, we consider action to support our members and others. We call upon the European Commission, other regional European governmental organisations and European private donors to step in and fund the work of civil society in Europe. Also, to reduce the strong dependency of NGOs on US funding for European anti-trafficking action, especially in the Balkans, where there is hardly any support from governments or international donors. More than ever, we need to reduce our dependency on politically biased US State funding.
Photo Copyright rights: rawpixel.com