Bill Text: MS HB1037 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Human smuggling and/or harboring; create crime for those who have illegally entered or illegally remained in the U.S.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB1037 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1037-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Judiciary A
By: Representative Currie
House Bill 1037
AN ACT TO CREATE THE CRIME OF UNLAWFUL HUMAN HARBORING; TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO HARBORS OR HIDES OR ASSISTS ANOTHER IN HARBORING OR HIDING ANY PERSON WHO ILLEGALLY ENTERED OR ILLEGALLY REMAINS IN THE UNITED STATES COMMITS THE CRIME OF UNLAWFUL HARBORING; TO CREATE THE CRIME OF UNLAWFUL HUMAN SMUGGLING; TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO TRANSPORTS OR ASSISTS ANOTHER IN TRANSPORTING ANY PERSON WHO ILLEGALLY ENTERED OR ILLEGALLY REMAINS IN THE UNITED STATES COMMITS THE CRIME OF UNLAWFUL SMUGGLING; TO AMEND SECTIONS 97-3-54.1 AND 97-3-54.2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM CERTAIN HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROVISIONS TO THIS ACT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 97-3-54.4, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH CREATES A CRIME FOR DESTRUCTION AND/OR CONCEALMENT OF PASSPORTS OR IMMIGRATION DOCUMENTS, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) A person commits the crime of unlawful harboring when he or she harbors or hides or assists another person in harboring or hiding an individual in this state when the person knows or should have known that the individual has illegally entered or illegally remained in the United States, as determined by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the United States Department of Homeland Security.
(2) Upon conviction for a violation of this section, the person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a fine of no less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each person harbored or hidden in violation of this section.
SECTION 2. (1) A person commits the crime of unlawful human smuggling who knowingly:
(a) Transports ten (10) or more persons eighteen (18) years of age or older or five (5) or more persons under eighteen (18) years of age for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, with the intent to conceal the individuals from a law enforcement officer or a federal immigration officer, while knowing the persons have illegally entered or illegally remained in the United States, as determined by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the United States Department Of Homeland Security; or
(b) Encourages or induces ten (10) or more persons eighteen (18) years of age or older or five (5) or more persons under eighteen (18) years of age to enter or remain in this state in violation of federal law, as determined by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security, by concealing, harboring, or shielding those persons from detection.
(2) (a) Upon conviction for a violation of this section for unlawfully smuggling persons over eighteen (18) years of age, a person shall be guilty of a felony, committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than two (2) years nor more than ten (10) years, fined not less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) nor more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), or both.
(b) Upon conviction for a violation of this section for smuggling persons under eighteen (18) years of age, a person shall be guilty of a felony, committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than four (4) years nor more than twenty (20) years, by a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) nor more than Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00), or both.
SECTION 3. Section 97-3-54.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.1. (1) (a) A person who coerces, recruits, entices, harbors, hides, smuggles, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to coerce, recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, another person, intending or knowing that the person will be subjected to forced labor or services, or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the crime of human trafficking.
(b) A person who knowingly purchases the forced labor or services of a trafficked person or who otherwise knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, another person to forced labor or services or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the crime of procuring involuntary servitude.
(c) A person who knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, or who recruits, entices, harbors, hides, smuggles, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, a minor, knowing that the minor will engage in commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or causes or attempts to cause a minor to engage in commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, shall be guilty of procuring sexual servitude of a minor and shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than twenty (20) years nor more than life in prison, or by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. It is not a defense in a prosecution under this section that a minor consented to engage in the commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or that the defendant reasonably believed that the minor was eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(2) If the victim is not a minor, a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years, or by a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or both. If the victim of the offense is a minor, a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than twenty (20) years nor more than life in prison, or by a fine of not less than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or both.
(3) An enterprise may be prosecuted for an offense under this chapter if:
(a) An agent of the enterprise knowingly engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter while acting within the scope of employment and for the benefit of the entity.
(b) An employee of the enterprise engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter and the commission of the offense was part of a pattern of illegal activity for the benefit of the enterprise, which an agent of the enterprise either knew was occurring or recklessly disregarded, and the agent failed to take effective action to stop the illegal activity.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution of an enterprise that the enterprise had in place adequate procedures, including an effective complaint procedure, designed to prevent persons associated with the enterprise from engaging in the unlawful conduct and to promptly correct any violations of this chapter.
(d) The court may consider the severity of the enterprise's offense and order penalties, including: (i) a fine of not more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); (ii) disgorgement of profit; and (iii) debarment from government contracts. Additionally, the court may order any of the relief provided in Section 97-3-54.7.
(4) In addition to the mandatory reporting provisions contained in Sections 43-21-353 and 97-5-51, any person who has reasonable cause to suspect that a minor under the age of eighteen (18) is a trafficked person shall immediately make a report of the suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Child Protection Services and to the Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator. The Department of Child Protection Services or the Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator, whichever is applicable, shall then immediately notify the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the suspected child abuse, neglect or trafficking occurred as required in Section 43-21-353, and the department that received the report shall also commence an initial investigation into the suspected abuse or neglect as required in Section 43-21-353. The department that received such report shall provide an annual report to the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that includes the number of reports received, the number of cases screened in or out, the number of cases in which care and services were provided as a result of the report, and the type of care and services that were provided. A minor who has been identified as a victim of trafficking shall not be liable for criminal activity in violation of this section.
(5) It is an affirmative defense in a prosecution under this act that the defendant:
(a) Is a victim; and
(b) Committed the offense under a reasonable apprehension created by a person that, if the defendant did not commit the act, the person would inflict serious harm on the defendant, a member of the defendant's family, or a close associate.
SECTION 4. Section 97-3-54.4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-54.4. For the purposes of the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Act" or "this act" means the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act.
(b) "Actor" means a person who violates any of the provisions of Sections 97-3-54 through 97-3-54.4.
(c) "Blackmail" means obtaining property or things of value of another by threatening to (i) inflict bodily injury on anyone; or (ii) commit any other criminal offense.
(d) "Coerce" or "coercion" means:
(i) Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to any person, physically restraining or confining any person, or threatening to physically restrain or confine any person;
(ii) Exposing or threatening to expose any fact or information or disseminating or threatening to disseminate any fact or information that would tend to subject a person to criminal or immigration proceedings, hatred, contempt or ridicule;
(iii) Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document of any person;
(iv) Providing a controlled substance to a person for the purpose of compelling the person to engage in labor or sexual servitude against the person's will;
(v) Causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any person or using financial control over any person;
(vi) Abusing or threatening to abuse a position of power, the law, or legal process;
(vii) Using blackmail;
(viii) Using an individual's personal services as payment or satisfaction of a real or purported debt when: 1. the reasonable value of the services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt; 2. the length of the services is not limited and the nature of the services is not defined; 3. the principal amount of the debt does not reasonably reflect the value of the items or services for which the debt is incurred; or 4. the individual is prevented from acquiring accurate and timely information about the disposition of the debt; or
(ix) Using any scheme, plan or pattern of conduct intended to cause any person to believe that, if the person did not perform the labor or services, that the person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint.
(x) Promises of delivery to the United States without proper legal authorization to enter or remain in the United States as determined by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the United States Department Of Homeland Security.
(e) "Commercial sexual activity" means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by any person.
(f) "Enterprise" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, union or other legal entity, or any association or group of individuals associated in fact regardless of whether a legal entity has been formed pursuant to any state, federal or territorial law. It includes illicit as well as licit enterprises and governmental as well as other entities.
(g) "Financial
harm" includes, but is not limited to, extortion as defined by Section 97-3-82,
Mississippi Code of 1972, or violation of the usury law as defined by Chapter
17, Title 75, * * * Mississippi Code of 1972.
(h) "Forced labor or services" means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained or maintained through coercion.
(i) "Labor" means work of economic or financial value.
(j) "Maintain" means, in relation to labor or services, to secure continued performance thereof, regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the trafficked person to perform such labor or service.
(k) "Minor" means a person under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(l) "Obtain" means, in relation to labor or services, to secure performance thereof.
(m) "Pecuniary damages" means any of the following:
(i) The greater of the gross income or value to the defendant of the victim's labor or services, including sexual services, not reduced by the expense the defendant incurred as a result of maintaining the victim, or the value of the victim's labor or services calculated under the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USCS Section 201 et seq., whichever is higher;
(ii) If it is not possible or in the best interest of the victim to compute a value under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (m), the equivalent of the value of the victim's labor or services if the victim had provided labor or services that were subject to the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USCS 201 et seq.;
(iii) Costs and expenses incurred by the victim as a result of the offense for:
1. Medical services;
2. Therapy or psychological counseling;
3. Temporary housing;
4. Transportation;
5. Childcare;
6. Physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation;
7. Funeral, interment, and burial services;
reasonable attorney's fees and other legal costs; and
8. Other expenses incurred by the victim.
(n) "Serious harm" means harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, economic or reputational, to an individual that would compel a reasonable person in similar circumstances as the individual to perform or continue to perform labor or services to avoid incurring the harm.
(o) "Services" means an ongoing relationship between a person and the actor in which the person performs activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the actor or a third party and includes, without limitation, commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performances, or the production of sexually explicit materials.
(p) "Sexually explicit performance" means a live or public act or show intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons.
(q) "Trafficked person" means a person subjected to the practices prohibited by this act regardless of whether a perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted, and is a term used interchangeably with the terms "victim," "victim of trafficking" and "trafficking victim."
(r) "Venture" means any group of two (2) or more individuals associated in fact, whether or not a legal entity.
(s) "Sexually oriented material" shall have the meaning ascribed in Section 97-5-27, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 5. Section 97-3-54.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
97-3-54.2. Anyone who knowingly destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates or possesses, or attempts to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document of any person to prevent or restrict, or attempt to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the person's liberty to move or travel in order to maintain the labor or services of that person, when the person is or has been a victim of a violation set out in Section 97-3-54.1, shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not more than five (5) years.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
