Blog
What Practitioners Need to Know About the Legal Definition of Human Trafficking
Whether someone qualifies for a T visa, victim services, or other protections often depends on one legal phrase, severe form of trafficking in persons. How practitioners interpret that phrase can...
What Survivors Want Us to Know About Storytelling
Stories are a powerful tool for raising awareness. They build support for policy change. They help other survivors feel less alone. But storytelling can also come at a cost, especially...
Defunding Survival to Fund War: How the Federal FY2027 Budget Proposal Endangers Survivors and Fuels Human Trafficking
On the United Nations’ World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Cast is calling attention to how the administration’s budget priorities increase vulnerability to human trafficking on two fronts: at home,...
Processing of the T Visa, the Temporary Legal Status That Protects Human Trafficking Survivors, Has Effectively Stopped
As of June 2026, USCIS’s processing times tool shows 80% of T visa cases are completed within 30.5 months.1 Two years ago, the median processing time was 14.9 months.2 Prepared...
Cast Expands its Board of Directors, Welcoming Influential Los Angeles Civic, Philanthropic, and Business Leaders
LOS ANGELES (June 3, 2026) —The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast), the largest direct service provider supporting survivors of human trafficking in the U.S., is proud to announce the appointment of Vera...
What The New York Times Magazine Got Wrong About Human Trafficking — and Why Law Enforcement Are Not Survivors’ Saviors
Last fall, The New York Times Magazine published a story about the “Blade,” a stretch of Figueroa Street in Los Angeles where sex work and trafficking, including the exploitation of...
Cast Receives Nearly $1 Million from The Douglas Foundation to Strengthen 24/7 Emergency Hotline and Response Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking
LOS ANGELES (May 4, 2026) —The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast), the largest direct service provider supporting survivors of human trafficking in the U.S., today announced it has...
For Survivors, One Call to Our Hotline Can Change Everything. Without Federal Funding, That Call May Go Nowhere.
One call to Cast’s 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline is all it takes. Once that call is made, we are ready to respond. Cast receives around 200 urgent calls to our...
Believe Survivors: Standing in Solidarity With the Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein
Earlier this week, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein courageously spoke out once again. For more than 20 years, they have been demanding justice. This time, they came together—some for the first...
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California First Partner, Mira Sorvino, Actress and Activist, Join Cast CEO Kay Buck to Tour Shelter for Survivors of Human Trafficking
On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, Cast was immensely honored to host Jennifer Siebel Newsom, First Partner of California, and actress and activist Mira Sorvino, at our transitional shelter, Mariposa Haven, in...