III
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. RES. 150
Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘Countering International Parental Child
Abduction Month’’ and expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress
should raise awareness of the harm caused by international parental
child abduction.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL1 (legislative day, MARCH31), 2025
Mr. T
ILLIS(for himself and Mr. MURPHY) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘Countering International
Parental Child Abduction Month’’ and expressing the
sense of the Senate that Congress should raise awareness
of the harm caused by international parental child abduc-
tion.
Whereas thousands of children have been abducted from the
United States by parents, separating those children from
their parents who remain in the United States;
Whereas it is illegal under section 1204 of title 18, United
States Code, to remove, or attempt to remove, a child
from the United States or to retain a child (who has been
in the United States) outside of the United States with
the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental
rights;
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Whereas 9,816 children were reported abducted from the
United States between 2010 and 2020;
Whereas, during 2023, 1 or more cases of international pa-
rental child abduction involving children who are citizens
of the United States were identified in 105 countries
around the world;
Whereas the United States is a party to the Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done
at The Hague, October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (referred
to in this preamble as the ‘‘Hague Convention on Abduc-
tion’’), which—
(1) supports the prompt return of wrongly removed
or retained children; and
(2) calls for all participating parties to respect pa-
rental custody rights;
Whereas the majority of children who were abducted from the
United States have yet to be reunited with their custodial
parents;
Whereas, in 2023, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Ecua-
dor, Egypt, Honduras, India, Jordan, the Republic of
Korea, Montenegro, Peru, Poland, Romania, the Russian
Federation, and the United Arab Emirates were identi-
fied pursuant to the Sean and David Goldman Inter-
national Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of
2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) as engaging in a pattern
of noncompliance (as defined in section 3 of that Act (22
U.S.C. 9101));
Whereas, between 2015 and 2023, a total of 19 countries
were previously identified as engaging in a pattern of
noncompliance (as so defined), including Austria, the Ba-
hamas, the People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Costa
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Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Japan, Leb-
anon, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Panama,
Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tuni-
sia, showing the importance of continued enforcement of
United States law by the executive branch to ensure the
return of abducted children;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has recog-
nized that family abduction—
(1) is a form of child abuse with potentially ‘‘dev-
astating consequences for a child’’, which may include
negative impacts on the physical and mental well-being of
the child; and
(2) may cause a child to ‘‘experience a loss of com-
munity and stability, leading to loneliness, anger, and
fear of abandonment’’;
Whereas, according to the 2010 Report on Compliance with
the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter-
national Child Abduction by the Department of State, an
abducted child is at risk of significant short- and long-
term problems, including ‘‘anxiety, eating problems,
nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, and aggres-
sive behavior’’;
Whereas international parental child abduction has dev-
astating emotional consequences for the child and for the
parent from whom the child is separated;
Whereas the United States has a history of promoting child
welfare through institutions, including—
(1) the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for
Children and Families of the Department of Health and
Human Services; and
(2) the Office of Children’s Issues of the Bureau of
Consular Affairs of the Department of State;
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Whereas the Coalition to End International Parental Child
Abduction, through dedicated advocacy and regular testi-
mony, has highlighted the importance of this issue to
Congress and called on successive administrations to take
concerted action to stop international parental child ab-
duction and repatriate kidnapped United States children;
Whereas Bring Abducted Children Home, Bring Our Kids
Home, iStand Parent Network, and the Coalition to End
International Parental Child Abduction have been recog-
nized by the Department of Justice as nonprofit organi-
zations specializing in international parental child abduc-
tion;
Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending
international parental child abduction by enacting—
(1) the International Child Abduction Remedies Act
(22 U.S.C. 9001 et seq.);
(2) the International Parental Kidnapping Crime
Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–173; 107 Stat. 1998),
which enacted section 1204 of title 18, United States
Code; and
(3) the Sean and David Goldman International
Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22
U.S.C. 9101 et seq.);
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543 (112th
Congress), agreed to December 4, 2012, condemning the
international abduction of children;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431 (115th
Congress), agreed to April 19, 2018, to raise awareness
of, and opposition to, international parental child abduc-
tion;
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Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 23 (116th
Congress), agreed to April 11, 2019, to raise awareness
of the harm caused by international parental child abduc-
tion;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 568 (117th
Congress), agreed to July 21, 2022, to raise awareness
of the harm caused by international parental child abduc-
tion;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 115 (118th
Congress), agreed to May, 10 2023, to raise awareness
of the harm caused by international parental child abduc-
tion;
Whereas Congress calls on the Department of State to fully
use the tools available under the Sean and David Gold-
man International Child Abduction Prevention and Re-
turn Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) to negotiate,
and make publicly available, bilateral agreements or
memorandums of understanding—
(1) with countries not parties to the Hague Conven-
tion on Abduction to resolve abduction and access cases;
and
(2) regarding open abduction and access cases pre-
dating the Hague Convention on Abduction with coun-
tries that have thereafter become parties to the Hague
Convention on Abduction;
Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have en-
acted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping;
Whereas, in 2023, the Prevention Branch of the Office of
Children’s Issues of the Department of State—
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(1) fielded more than 4,600 inquiries from the gen-
eral public relating to preventing a child from being re-
moved from the United States; and
(2) enrolled more than 3,700 children in the Chil-
dren’s Passport Issuance Alert Program, which—
(A) is 1 of the most important tools of the De-
partment of State for preventing international pa-
rental child abduction;
(B) allows the Office of Children’s Issues to
contact the enrolling parent or legal guardian to
verify whether the parental consent requirement has
been met when a passport application has been sub-
mitted for an enrolled child; and
(C) has enrolled a total of over 66,600 children
in the program since its inception;
Whereas the Department of State cannot track the ultimate
destination of a child through the use of the passport
issued by the Department of State if the child is trans-
ported to a third country after departing from the United
States;
Whereas a child who is a citizen of the United States may
have another nationality and may travel using a passport
issued by another country, which—
(1) increases the difficulty of determining the where-
abouts of the child; and
(2) makes efforts to prevent abduction more critical;
Whereas, during 2023, 205 children were returned to the
United States, and an additional 119 abduction cases, in-
volving 147 children, were resolved without the children
being returned to the United States; and
Whereas, in 2023, the Department of Homeland Security, in
coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of
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Children’s Issues of the Department of State, enrolled
341 children in the Prevent Abduction Program, which is
aimed at preventing international parental child abduc-
tion through coordination with U.S. Customs and Border
Patrol officers at the airport, seaport, or land border
ports of entry by intercepting the child before departure:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate— 1
(1) recognizes and observes ‘‘Countering Inter-2
national Parental Child Abduction Month’’ during 3
the period beginning on April 1, 2025, and ending 4
on April 30, 2025, to raise awareness of, and opposi-5
tion to, international parental child abduction; and 6
(2) urges the United States to continue playing 7
a leadership role in raising awareness about the dev-8
astating impacts of international parental child ab-9
duction by educating the public about the negative 10
emotional, psychological, and physical consequences 11
to children and parents victimized by international 12
parental child abduction. 13
Æ
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