New Frontiers in UFLPA Enforcement: A Fireside Chat with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) went into effect two years ago and has been called "a game changer for forced labor compliance." Building on Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the UFLPA aims to prevent goods made by the forced labor of Uyghurs from Xinjiang province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from entering the United States marketplace. The Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to prevent goods that are presumed to be made with Uyghur forced labor from entering the United States is one of the most robust efforts in any country to combat these human rights abuses.  To date, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stopped a total of 8,465 shipments of goods (worth $3.32 billion) subjected to UFLPA reviews or enforcement actions.

While many of the forced labor cases were happening in Xinjiang, reports indicate that Uyghurs have also been transported to other provinces, increasing the number of goods produced using forced labor. To address this problem, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), chaired by the Department of Homeland Security will consider designating new high priority sectors for enforcement under the UFLPA Strategy.  The FLETF recently added entities in the aluminum, footwear, seafood and textile sectors to the UFLPA Entity List, illustrating the wide range of products whose supply chains may be tainted with forced labor.  Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas vowed that CBP would “continue to investigate companies that use or facilitate forced labor and will hold those entities responsible” and encouraged private sector and civil society stakeholders to work with DHS “to eliminate the scourge of forced labor.”

On July 9, the CSIS Human Rights Initiative will host Secretary Mayorkas for a fireside chat, where he will discuss the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to strengthen enforcement and support compliance of the UFLPA, including the Department's newest initiatives to implement the UFLPA Strategy and how the United States is working with like-minded nations to get goods produced by forced labor out of global economy. 

Secretary Mayorkas has led a distinguished 30-year career as a law enforcement official and a nationally recognized lawyer in the private sector. Mayorkas served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2016, and as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013. Mayorkas began his government service in the Department of Justice, where he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, specializing in the prosecution of white collar crime. After nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor, he became the youngest United States Attorney in the nation, overseeing prosecutions of national significance, including the investigation and prosecution of financial fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, public corruption, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking, environmental crime, international narcotics money laundering, and securities fraud.

In-person attendance for this event is by invitation only. Organizations currently undertaking or planning work on the topics listed above who wish to participate should contact Michelle Strucke, Khosravi Chair in Principled Internationalism and Director of the Human Rights Initiative, at mstrucke@csis.org. The event will be livestreamed for public viewing and the virtual audience may submit questions via this webpage.

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.