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Pub. L.
Notes

Title III — Prevention of International Child Abduction

113th Congress · Approved Aug 8, 2014 · 128 Stat. 1807

TITLE III Prevention of International Child Abduction

SEC. 301. Preventing Children from Leaving the United States in Violation of a Court Order.

(a)
In General.— Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“SEC. 433. PREVENTION OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION.

“(a) Program Established.—The Secretary, through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (referred to in this section as ‘CBP’), in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall establish a program that—

“(1) seeks to prevent a child (as defined in section 1204(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code) from departing from the territory of the United States if a parent or legal guardian of such child presents a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction prohibiting the removal of such child from the United States to a CBP Officer in sufficient time to prevent such departure for the duration of such court order; and

“(2) leverages other existing authorities and processes to address the wrongful removal and return of a child.

“(b) Interagency Coordination.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary of State shall convene and chair an interagency working group to prevent international parental child abduction. The group shall be composed of presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed officials from—

“(A) the Department of State;

“(B) the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and

“(C) the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“(2) Department of defense.—The Secretary of Defense shall designate an official within the Department of Defense—

“(A) to coordinate with the Department of State on international child abduction issues; and

“(B) to oversee activities designed to prevent or resolve international child abduction cases relating to active duty military service members.”

(b)
Clerical Amendment.— The table of contents of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 note) is amended by adding after the item relating to section 432 the following:

“Sec. 433. Prevention of international child abduction.”.

SEC. 302. Authorization for Judicial Training on International Parental Child Abduction.

(a)
In General.— The Secretary of State, subject to the availability of appropriations, shall seek to provide training, directly or through another government agency or nongovernmental organizations, on the effective handling of parental abduction cases to the judicial and administrative authorities in countries—
(1)
in which a significant number of unresolved abduction cases are pending; or
(2)
that have been designated as having a pattern of noncompliance under section 202(b).
(b)
Strategy Requirement.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities described in subsection (a) to—
(1)
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(2)
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
(3)
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(4)
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(c)
Authorization of Appropriations.—
(1)
In general.— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to carry out subsection (a).
(2)
Use of funds.— Amounts appropriated for the activities set forth in subsection (a) shall be used pursuant to the authorization and requirements under this section.