Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have requested Attorney General Jeff Sessions detail steps the Justice Department is taking to adhere to the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act and return U.S. citizen children to their parents. The letter follows a Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue.
The senators wrote, “Unfortunately, our review of public records suggests individuals are rarely—if ever—prosecuted under this statute. Worse still, our conversations with victims of international parental child abduction and their advocates suggests that many federal prosecutors are either unaware of the statute’s existence or do not understand the vital role the threat of prosecution can play in securing the return of abducted children. It is clear that the Department can do more with respect to IPKCA.”
The senators wrote, “Unfortunately, our review of public records suggests individuals are rarely—if ever—prosecuted under this statute. Worse still, our conversations with victims of international parental child abduction and their advocates suggests that many federal prosecutors are either unaware of the statute’s existence or do not understand the vital role the threat of prosecution can play in securing the return of abducted children. It is clear that the Department can do more with respect to IPKCA.”
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