
“Every year, approximately 1,000 American children are unlawfully removed from their homes by one of their parents and taken across international borders. Less than half of these children ever come home,” said Chairman Chris Smith, who traveled repeatedly to bring back Sean Goldman, then 9, back to the U.S. in 2009 after a five-year abduction to Brazil, and author of the bill. “Most of the left-behind parents in the audience today have not seen their children in years and know all too well the financial, legal, cultural, and linguistic obstacles to bringing their children home from a foreign country.” Click here to read the congressman’s remarks.