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Locating Abducted Children and Their Abductors in the United States
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National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues
INTERPOL–USNCB
Federal Inspection Service: INS and Customs
NCIC
FBI
U.S. Postal Service
Defense Department Legal Assistance Offices and Worldwide Military Locator Services
Federal Parent Locator Service
Criminal Arrest and Extradition
Locating Abducted Children and Their Abductors in the United States
Many of the resources available to find children and their abductors in outgoing cases are also available to find abducted children and their abductors in this country. In addition, non-U.S. citizens seeking return of their children from the United States should contact their embassy in the United States for assistance.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Child Abducted From a Hague Convention Country
NCMEC handles incoming Hague cases on behalf of the Office of Children’s Issues under a tri-party agreement with the Department of State, as U.S. Central Authority, and OJJDP. In this capacity NCMEC assists in discovering the whereabouts of wrongfully removed and retained children in the United States. NCMEC receives Hague Convention applications for incoming cases and helps locate children abducted from Hague countries. NCMEC, handling incoming cases for the U.S. Central Authority, may also be requested by the foreign central authority or left-behind parent to report on the abducted child’s condition. NCMEC coordinates with its State contacts to carry out such requests.
Child Abducted From a Non-Hague Convention Country
NCMEC also provides location assistance in non-Hague cases. NCMEC’s considerable locating capabilities include broadcasting fax posters of abducted children to more than 9,000 law enforcement agencies, FBI field offices, missing children clearinghouses, and border offices. It provides informational materials to any parent or law enforcement officer searching for a child missing in the United States from another country.
Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues
The Department of State plays no role in locating a child abducted to this country from a non-Hague Convention country. The foreign government would call upon its own consular officers in the United States to locate, visit, and report on the condition of the child.
Foreign police usually send messages through INTERPOL to alert U.S. authorities about an abduction if they believe that the abductor may travel or is traveling to the United States. As part of its humanitarian mission, INTERPOL–USNCB forwards to U.S. authorities, as appropriate, incoming foreign messages concerning children abducted to or retained in the United States and relays all U.S. responses. USNCB may coordinate with NCMEC (which has a mandate to locate missing children) and/or with appropriate Federal, State, or local authorities to locate a child abducted to the United States from a Hague Convention country or a non-Hague country.
If the abduction is in progress, INTERPOL–USNCB forwards any foreign investigative request to appropriate State and U.S. port-of-entry liaisons. They notify USNCB if the abductor and/or the child attempt to enter the United States.
Federal Inspection Service: INS and Customs
Abducted children and their abductors may be identified at U.S. borders and international airports by FIS personnel as a result of their observations or of IBIS queries in connection with border inspections.
U.S. law enforcement in any capacity (e.g., State, local, FBI, and FIS personnel) and anywhere (e.g., at ports of entry or elsewhere in the country) may query NCIC directly or through IBIS to cross-check information before them against NCIC files. When an NCIC record matches the inquiry, the record will be confirmed and appropriate action taken.
At the request of a foreign police agency, the FBI may attempt to locate a child abducted to the United States in violation of the criminal laws of the requesting country. The FBI Legal Attache assigned to the country from which the child was abducted transmits the request to the appropriate FBI field office. If the child is located by U.S. law enforcement, the FBI notifies the requesting foreign police agency.
Local, State, or Federal law enforcement officers investigating an incoming child abduction case may request change-of-address information through the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Postal Service also has a photo distribution program to fax flyers of abducted children to post offices nationwide for display and for dissemination by mail carriers.
Defense Department Legal Assistance Offices and Worldwide Military Locator Services
When a child residing abroad is wrongfully taken to or retained in the United States by a member of the armed services or other family member accompanying the service member, the Legal Assistance Office for the particular branch of the service can help find the child by providing information on the service member’s most recent duty assignment and location. This information can also be obtained by family members and by Federal and State agencies from the Military Worldwide Locator Services for the specific branch of the service in which the abductor (or family member) serves.
Federal Parent Locator Service
Address information on abductors and abducted children may be available from FPLS. The directory of new hires may be the most useful source of address information in incoming abduction cases, particularly if the abductor has no previous employment history in the United States. However, a Social Security number is needed to do a search.
Civil Remedies for Child Recovery
The Hague Convention can be used to seek return of a child who has been wrongfully taken to or kept in this country from another Hague Convention country. A left-behind parent in another country may file an application for return with the foreign central authority or with the U.S. Central Authority, but is not required to do so. Instead, a return proceeding may be filed directly in court.
At present, NCMEC handles incoming applications for return under the Hague Convention on behalf of OCI. NCMEC receives applications for assistance pursuant to the Hague Convention, corresponds with foreign central authorities, assists in locating abducted children, coordinates with State missing children clearinghouses, provides legal referrals and parental support, and acts as liaison to law enforcement. Once a child is located, NCMEC facilitates negotiations between family members and the initiation of legal proceedings for return of the child under the Hague Convention.
Legal Proceedings Under the Convention
A left-behind parent abroad may bring legal proceedings in the United States for return or access under the Convention. Procedures for using the Convention in this country are set forth in the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11601 et seq.). Implementation of the Convention is further clarified in the Code of Federal Regulations (Chapter 22, Part 94). As with outgoing cases, neither NCMEC nor the U.S. Central Authority is a party to the return proceeding. OCI as the U.S. Central Authority may send an informational letter about the Convention to the court and the parties. The U.S. Central Authority is also authorized by the Convention to request a status report on the case from the court if a ruling is not made within 6 weeks.
The Hague Convention is not the exclusive remedy in international child abduction cases. A left-behind parent may use any means available under State law to seek return of abducted children or to exercise visitation rights. He or she need not notify the U.S. Central Authority or NCMEC to invoke the Convention or to bring any other lawsuit concerning the child.
Lawsuits to Enforce Foreign Custody and Visitation Orders
In the United States, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act gives parents in other countries a civil remedy to recover a child who has been wrongfully taken to or kept in this country in violation of a foreign custody or visitation order. UCCJA, as adopted in nearly every State, requires State courts to recognize and enforce foreign custody orders if reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard were given to all affected persons.
An even more explicit requirement for enforcement of foreign custody determinations is contained in the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which was promulgated in 1997 as a replacement for UCCJA. As a uniform State law, UCCJEA is available for adoption nationwide; to date, two States have enacted it. UCCJEA requires State courts to enforce foreign custody determinations as if they were made by sister States. UCCJEA also empowers State law enforcement and prosecutors to assist in the location and civil recovery of children abducted from other States and countries, including Hague countries.
Through a private attorney, a left-behind parent may file a petition in State court pursuant to UCCJA (or UCCJEA, as States adopt that statute) to enforce the custody and/or visitation provisions of a custody order. The Federal Government plays no role in these proceedings.
In States that adopt UCCJEA, the designated State public official (who is likely to be the local prosecutor) would assist in locating internationally abducted children; securing compliance with the Hague Convention; and, subject to conditions set forth in the statute, enforcing foreign custody orders. The public official acts on behalf of the court and does not represent any party.
Practical problem: UCCJEA is a uniform State law. For UCCJEA to have the greatest impact, all 50 States and the District of Columbia must enact it. Federal support for the statute might accelerate its consideration by the States. In that UCCJEA may facilitate incoming Hague and non-Hague cases, relevant Federal agencies should review it and consider promoting its adoption. See Issues for Further Study, 2.1.
International Child Abduction Attorney Network. The International Child Abduction Attorney Network (ICAAN) is a network of attorneys willing to represent parents in incoming Hague cases on a pro bono or reduced-fee basis. NCMEC now maintains and endeavors to expand ICAAN, which was originally established by the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law under an OJJDP grant.
NCMEC, under its agreement with the Department of State to handle incoming cases, makes every effort, using ICAAN, to find lawyers for parents. The need for ICAAN arose because the United States, when it ratified the Hague Convention, took a reservation to Article 26, pursuant to which this country is not obligated to provide free lawyers to foreign applicants who seek return of or access to their children under the Convention except to the extent provided by our legal aid system. Also with OJJDP funding, the American Bar Association developed materials for practitioners and judges about the Hague Convention. NCMEC provides attorneys participating in ICAAN with these and other educational materials.
California’s public prosecutors. California has a statewide network of prosecutors who handle incoming Hague matters involving children abducted to that State. NCMEC refers incoming Hague cases to the California State Attorney General’s Office, which refers the matter to the district attorney for the county in which the child is located. Although the State prosecutors do not represent any party, their efforts may obviate the need for the left-behind parent to hire his or her own lawyer, particularly if the return proceeding is uncontested.
Defense Department legal assistance. Members of the armed services may be able to secure legal help from the Legal Assistance Office for their respective branch of the service.
Non-Hague cases. In non-Hague cases (and in Hague cases in which the applicant does not obtain a lawyer via ICAAN or from the U.S. legal aid system), OCI refers parents to nongovernmental sources of lawyer referrals (e.g., the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the American Bar Association Section on Family Law, and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers). California district attorneys (and other States’ authorities if empowered by UCCJEA or otherwise) may provide assistance with respect to children abducted to that State. As is true in Hague cases, legal assistance may be available to military personnel through the Legal Assistance Office for their specific branch of service.
Intercepting a child at U.S. ports of entry. See Intercepting Incoming Abductions in Progress, below.
Criminal Arrest and Extradition
Many foreign governments send INTERPOL messages to alert U.S. authorities about an abductor who may enter or already may have entered the United States and whom the requesting country may wish to extradite.
Provisional Arrest and Extradition
Persons charged with violating foreign criminal statutes who are located in the United States may be subject to provisional arrest and extradition at the request of a foreign government if the United States has an extradition treaty in place that covers parental child abduction. When a foreign arrest warrant is outstanding and the foreign government seeks provisional arrest in the manner provided by the applicable treaty, the Department of State and/or OIA reviews the request and, as appropriate, forwards it for action. Provided the fugitive is arrested, the requesting country must submit a formal extradition request and supporting documents pursuant to the applicable treaty. OIA generally attempts to cross-check incoming extradition requests against pending incoming Hague matters.
A fugitive arrested for purposes of extradition is entitled to a full hearing, appellate review, and a final determination by the Secretary of State regarding his or her surrender to the country requesting extradition. As in outgoing cases, separate and coordinated efforts must be made to secure the recovery of the child when the extradition of the fugitive is pursued.
Intercepting Incoming Abductions in Progress
Incoming abduction cases may be stopped at U.S. ports of entry by border authorities. The best chance of interception is when a flight arrives at an airport in this country, assuming foreign authorities have notified U.S. authorities. The full panoply of border lookouts, international police-to-police communication, and quick responses by those concerned bears on the success of stopping an incoming abduction in progress. Additional tools for alien exclusion and deportation are also available under U.S. law, which may serve in the recovery of a child, as discussed elsewhere.
FIS personnel, who are cross-designated to carry out their respective duties at land borders, are usually the first U.S. officials encountered by travelers who seek to enter the United States. If an FIS inspector discovers and confirms a lookout for an abductor or a child (e.g., an IBIS or NCIC record), that inspector may detain the person who is the subject of the lookout. The agency originating the NCIC record generally provides further instructions and information as to the disposition of the subject. Any person is subject to arrest at the border if there is probable cause to arrest or if a U.S. criminal warrant is outstanding as to him or her. Further, under immigration authority FIS personnel can deny admission to the United States of certain aliens. If deemed inadmissible, FIS personnel can direct that the alien return to the country from which he or she came.
If NCIC has an entry for a fugitive from foreign justice for whom there is an INTERPOL red notice, INS ordinarily detains the subject briefly. Foreign fugitives cannot be arrested based solely upon an NCIC record regarding a foreign warrant. The foreign government must seek provisional arrest with a view toward extradition. If the abductor is the subject of a red notice, OIA is notified without delay so that, if possible, provisional arrest and extradition can be coordinated with the State Department and the foreign government.
If the abductor is arrested, INS coordinates with local law enforcement and State welfare authorities to secure temporary care for the child if age and circumstances warrant. Information on the child and abductor’s whereabouts is transmitted to the foreign NCB.
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