Resources to Combat Human Trafficking

Author - Ashleigh Pelto

Criminal Record Relief for Trafficking Survivors: A Michigan Case Study

April 24, 2020

by Ashleigh Pelto

Ashleigh Pelto

Ashleigh is a third-year law student at the University of Michigan Law School. While in law school, she worked for Michigan's Human Trafficking Law Clinic, assisting clients with various legal needs related to their trafficking experiences such as immigration and criminal record relief. She served as Chair of the law student organization Human Rights Advocates, as an Article Editor on the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law and worked on the pro bono Syrian Accountability Project. She interned over her law school summers for both the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan and the Boston Federal Defender Office.

Ashleigh went to undergrad at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) where she graduated with a degree in secondary English education. While at GVSU, Ashleigh served as the secretary of her campus' International Justice Mission chapter. She also volunteered with The Manasseh Project, a safe house for teenage victims of sex trafficking.

Ashleigh hopes to work on human trafficking litigation and policy reform to curb demand, bring about prevention, and facilitate awareness in the public of the realities of this crime