This past February I took my 8-month old daughter down to Latin America for a week while my husband stayed at home.  In preparations for the trip I researched what documents I would need while traveling abroad with an infant and from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website I learned that the US does not require documentation from the non-accompanying parent/guardian granting permission to leave the country. 

The CBP website states “due to the increasing incidents of child abductions in disputed custody cases...Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that unless the child is accompanied by both parents, the adult have a note from the child's other parent.’ “ 

As a mother, what angered me was that not one person at the airport, leaving the US, asked me: Are you the mother?  Where is the father?  Do you have his permission to leave the country?  Where are your child's documents?  No one even checked to see if she matched her passport.  If I had been attempting to kidnap a child, I would have been successful.  

During 2012 there were 799 reported international parental child abduction cases filed with the United States Central Authority representing a total of 1,144 children.  The year before, in 2011, 941 cases representing 1,367 children were reported.

On average only 10% of children reported kidnapped are legally returned home.  Most children who are internationally abducted do not come home.

The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1993 making it a federal crime to remove a child from the United States or retain a child outside the United States with the intent to obstruct a parent’s custodial rights, or attempt to do so.  Unfortunately it does not have any guidelines as to how we can prevent this tragedy and neither do the CBP or TSA.

There are strict rules when applying for a child's passport.  However, once it is obtained our system makes it far too easy for a tragedy to happen.

We need stricter permissions in place to ensure that no more children get taken internationally without the proper parental/guardian consent.

Demand action from Congress and the Senate to honor the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act to require notarized Minor Consent to Travel forms for minors under the age of 14 traveling internationally.

Ask our lawmakers the following:

1.  Require the minor’s birth certificate if you are one of the parents and the other parent is not joining you on the trip. In addition, carry an authorization letter signed and dated by the absent parent giving you permission to leave the US with your child. The authorization must list the address and telephone number of the non-traveling parent. A copy of that person’s passport or national identification card must also be attached to the permission letter. 

2.  Prepare for the trip with a minor as outlined in step 1. Include a copy of the court-issued custody orders in the list of required travel documents if you are divorced from the child’s other parent. If said parent is deceased, carry the death certificate to explain why you cannot obtain a signed travel authorization.

3.  Travel with a copy of documents that prove you are the minor’s adoptive parent or legal guardian, as applicable. If the papers list another non-accompanying adult as able to make the same claim, obtain a signed permission letter and a copy of a national identification document from that person before taking the minor out of the US. 

4.  Secure an authorization letter signed by the minor’s parents or legal guardians before setting out with a child who is not your own or not under your guardianship. The permission has to state you are allowed to supervise the minor. It must also list addresses and phone numbers for each parent and legal guardian.