A vacated conviction is not regarded as a conviction under Federal law
To provide for the vacating of certain convictions and expungement of certain arrests of victims of human trafficking, section 2, Sec. 2.
Written by .
A vacated conviction is not regarded as a conviction under Federal law
The document says “shall not”Who acts: United States district courtsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“If a conviction is vacated under an order entered under paragraph (1), the conviction shall not be regarded as a conviction under Federal law and the movant for whom the conviction was vacated shall be considered to have the status occupied by the movant before the arrest”
The stated effect of a vacatur. The conviction is not to be regarded as a conviction under Federal law, and the movant is considered to have the status occupied before the arrest or the institution of the criminal proceedings related to the conviction.
What the document actually says
“If a conviction is vacated under an order entered under paragraph (1), the conviction shall not be regarded as a conviction under Federal law and the movant for whom the conviction was vacated shall be considered to have the status occupied by the movant before the arrest”
That sentence, in plain words
Once wiped out, the ruling no longer counts as a guilty ruling under federal law. The person stands where they stood before the arrest.
What this is about
A guilty ruling can block a job, a home, or a loan. This rule puts the person back to the way things were. It is as if the case never started.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, Public Law 119-73, sec. 2, 139 Stat. 2003 (2026). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ73/html/PLAW-119publ73.htm
This page
“A vacated conviction is not regarded as a conviction under Federal law,” Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, section 2, Sec. 2. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/trafficking-survivors-relief-act/proposal/sec02-effect-of-vacatur/ (retrieved October 10, 2026).
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