Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville of Washington, the chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration, has asked the Senate to pass the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022 (H.R. 6552).

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), was approved by the House of Representatives in July in a 401-20 vote, but still awaits a vote in the Senate.

In lending support to the legislation, Bishop Dorsonville was joined by the leaders of Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and the Catholic Health Association.