On November 30, President Obama signed the International Adoption Simplification Act (S. 1376), which makes a number of amendments to federal immigration law to restore immunization and sibling age exemptions for children adopted under the Hague Adoption Convention.
Implementing Legislation for Child Support Convention
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S.3848 on September 28, 2010. The bill, which was co-sponsored by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), would enact various amendments to the federal child support program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, including changes needed to implement the Hague Child Support Convention. If enacted, S.3848 would require all states to enact the 2008 version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act by January 1, 2013,
Senate Approves Child Support Convention
In the late hours last night before adjourning for its pre-election break, the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention. Responding to an objection by Senator Jim DeMint, the resolution of ratification was amended to incorporate an additional understanding, which reads: “The United States is not a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and understands that a mention of the Convention in the preamble of this Treaty does not create any obligations and does not affect or enhance the status of the Convention as a matter of the
House Resolution Calls on Japan to Address Child Abduction Cases
Before adjourning yesterday (until after the November elections), the House of Representatives approved House Resolution 1326, “Calling on the Government of Japan to address the urgent problem of abduction to and retention of United States citizen children in Japan, to work closely with the Government of the United States to return these children to their custodial parent or to the original jurisdiction for a custody determination in the United States, to provi
Congress Watch: Pending Legislation
As the U.S.
Child Abduction and Japan: House Resolution Introduced
Six members of Congress have introduced HR 1326, calling on the government of Japan to address the problem of abduction to and retention of U.S. citizen children in Japan and to adopt the Hague Abduction Convention. The resolution was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Hague Family Maintenance Convention Sent to the Senate
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has transmitted the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance to the Senate with its recommendation that the Senate give advice and consent to ratification, subject to several reservations and declarations that are permitted by the treaty. Details are included in Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Executive Report 111-2 (January 22, 2010). The Convention would not be self-executing, and the Repo
Child Migrants as College Students
Children who arrived in the United States as undocumented immigrants would have a special path to permanent residence status under the “Dream Act” sponsored in the Senate by Richard Durbin (S.729) and in the House by Representative Howard Berman (H.R. 1751). The bills would “permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and . . .
Hearings on International Child Abduction
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. Congress will hold hearings on Wednesday, December 2 on International Child Abduction and Parental Access with a list of witnesses that includes left-behind parents in several high-profile U.S.