Nevada's congressional delegation is once again pushing legislation that would let human trafficking survivors board flights without government-issued identification, a barrier advocates say strands people who have already managed to escape their captors. U.S. Reps. Susie Lee and Mark Amodei reintroduced the Jimmy Deal Trafficking Survivors Assistance Act, while U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jerry Moran brought a companion bill in the Senate.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, the legislation was first proposed back in 2023 but never passed into law before that congressional term ended. The Senate companion, formally designated S. 5192, was introduced on July 30 by Cortez Masto and cosponsored by Moran, according to a press release from Sen. Cortez Masto's office. The bill would direct the Transportation Security Administration to establish a Trafficking Survivor Point of Contact at every airport where it screens passengers and property.
Named for a Reno TSA Official Who Broke the Rules to Help Victims
The bill is named for James “Jimmy” Deal, who served as assistant federal security director at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and led efforts there to raise awareness of human trafficking before his death in 2022, per the Sun's reporting. Deal, a TSA officer, worked with agencies across Nevada to help victims escape traffickers and personally helped survivors without identification get approved for travel.
The bill reflects work Deal did at the Reno airport with local advocates to help survivors without identification. Awaken identifies Melissa Holland and Jen Robinson as its founders and has reached more than 700 women and children. Cortez Masto said the legislation honors Deal's legacy, according to the Sun.
Why Missing Paperwork Keeps Survivors Trapped
Traffickers often control victims' identification documents, and survivors frequently leave their papers behind when fleeing violence and abuse, the Sun reports. Emergency hotline data from Rescue America found that, since October 2020, 1,025 callers did not possess government-issued identity documents when trying to flee, according to a press release from Sen. Moran's office.
That gap has widened since the TSA rolled out its ConfirmID program on February 1, 2026, which offers travelers without REAL ID or acceptable government identification the option to pay a $45 fee and undergo alternative identity verification, following mandatory federal REAL ID enforcement in May 2025. Transportation remains a concern for trafficking survivors, including those trying to escape.
Existing Training Doesn't Solve the ID Problem
The federal government already runs the Blue Lightning Initiative under the Department of Homeland Security and DOT.
Lee said survivors often lack the identification and resources needed to travel by air, and that the legislation would partner the TSA with advocacy organizations to deliver safe air travel and critical care, per the Sun. The bill calls for ongoing contact, communication and relationships between service-providing organizations and TSA points of contact, creating avenues for identity verification before survivors need them. Training for those designated contacts would be required to incorporate trauma-informed services and ensure survivors are supported during reunification with families and communities.
Nevada's Outsized Role in Trafficking Data
The bill's local roots reflect Nevada's persistent visibility in trafficking statistics. The Sun reports Nevada ranks second in the nation for human trafficking rates per capita, and a Southern Nevada Human Sex Trafficking Gap Analysis cited by the outlet found roughly 5.8 victims per 100,000 Nevada residents, according to the University of Nevada, Reno. Separately, long-term analysis from the National Human Trafficking Hotline covering 2007 through 2024 found that Nevada ranks alongside Delaware and South Dakota among the states with the highest per-capita rates of reported trafficking, per Polaris, which operates that hotline.
Las Vegas has long been described as a major human trafficking hub, and local enforcement has grappled with the transportation piece of the problem directly. In a multi-day Vegas trafficking sting late last year, LVMPD made 115 arrests and citations while detectives contacted 78 individuals involved in commercial sex; victim advocates assisted an out-of-state victim with emergency housing and transportation.
Broad Coalition Backs the Bill
The Jimmy Deal Trafficking Survivors Assistance Act has drawn support from a coalition spanning frontline victim services and airport management, including Awaken, Polaris, Street Grace, Freedom Network USA, 3Strands Global Foundation, the American Association of Airport Executives, and Airports Council International – North America, according to 3Strands Global Foundation.
Cortez Masto said human trafficking survivors should be able to escape their captors and get the help they need, and that this bill would help them return to their families and communities. Whether the reintroduced measure will fare better than its 2023 predecessor remains to be seen, but its backers argue the stakes are the same ones Jimmy Deal faced at the Reno airport counter: a survivor standing at a checkpoint with nothing but the clothes on their back and nowhere else to turn.
