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Signed Peter

Peter Senese and Carolyn Vlk's Report on The Prevent Departure Program: A Child Abduction Prevention Tool

The Prevent Departure Program: An Extremely Useful Tool To Prevent International Parental Child Abduction

 

Since 2003, United States citizens have had available a very effective international child abduction prevention tool called The Prevent Departure Program. Unfortunately, the vast majority of parents at risk of having their child internationally abducted are not aware that this incredibly useful tool administered by The Department of Homeland Security is available to them. Undeniably, if it is used properly, it will reduce significantly the number of child abductions from occurring each year in our country.

 

The reality of America's landscape is that our nation's children are disappearing – victims of international parental child abduction - in large, and terrifying numbers.

 

The number of cruel and dangerous crimes against our defenseless and innocent children known as International Parental Child Abduction presently sweeping through the United States is increasing at a hysterical rate of over twenty-percent annually. Between officially reported and non-reported international abductions, it is believed there were over 10,000 illegal cross-border parental child abductions in 2009.  If things continue at this rate (according to the United States Department of State's blog, their had been a 40% rate increase in international abductions from 2007 to 2008), it is estimated there will be well over 80,000 United States children-citizens internationally abducted in the year 2020. This is absurd. However, as the world becomes one of global-citizenship, there will be an increase in the number of criminal parental child abductions that occur each year.

 

The reality is that the anticipated increases in international parental child abductions is in all likelihood going to be much higher than anticipated.

 

Consider the fact, as reported by The Washington Post and numerous government agencies that the number of children born in the United States to illegal immigrants rose from 2.7 million in 2003 to 4 million in 2008. In addition, the children of illegal immigrants (these children are U.S. citizens) now account for about 1 in 15 elementary and secondary school students nationwide.  In 2008, 19% of all children in the United States were native children with at least one foreign-born parent and 3% were foreign born with at least one foreign born parent. The percent of all children living in the United States with at least one foreign-born parent was 22%, in 2008, up from 15% in 1994.

 

For those of you who are fortunate enough to not be aware of the horrible epidemic of International Parental Child Abduction that causes great pain and suffering to nearly all who cross its path, you should know that too many of our criminally abducted, abused, and victimized children do not come home. They can't. Some are gone forever.

 

There is one other thing you should know: the majority of targeted parents who are dealt with the fate of having their child or children internationally abducted never saw it coming – they were clueless.  Just like you might be.

 

Much has been said about the need for our states to write or adopt child abduction preventive laws that would establish risk factors associated with a potential international parental child abduction while also allowing for courts in an at-risk child's jurisdiction and their judges to order preventive remedies that will prevent a child's abduction from happening.

 

Tragically, only a handful of states have signed the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA).  Other states including Florida are in the process of modifying their own state's obsolete and inadequate laws to reflect the reality of the world we now live in – a world where global parental child abduction has increased dramatically. The truth is there are no accurate statistics showing the total number of global abductions (the last NISMART study was with stats from 1999 released in 2002), particularly when considering parental child abductions that occur between countries that participate in international treaties such as The Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Parental Child Abduction, or countries that do not participate in any international treaty that addresses the illegal removal and wrongful retention of a child taken across borders in accordance to the jurisdictional laws located in the child's habitual residence.

 

Unquestionably, prevention laws, and expanded education and training amongst the judiciary are critical keys that will reduce the number of child abductions from occurring. However, the reality is there are so many loopholes that exist today for a would-be parental abductor to carry out their planned criminal abduction.

 

One of the primary loopholes that exist today is for a non-national parent who has intent to abduct their child to simply obtain a foreign passport for their United States born citizen from the embassy of the nation they are a citizen of. And there is nothing that a United States court can do to prevent this from happening. Even if a United States court orders a foreign embassy to not issue a passport in the child's name, they have no jurisdiction over that nation and their ability to issue a passport to a child possessing dual citizenship. Tragically, the instances of foreign passports issued despite concerns of abduction are substantial, and the tragedies endless.

 

But there is in fact something that United States citizens can do if they believe that the child's other parent, who must not be a United States citizen, is intending to abduct their child across international borders.

 

In the aftermath of 911, the Department of Homeland Security's Prevent Departure Program was created to stop non-U.S. citizens from departing the country. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) oversees this program and it is monitored 24 hours a day.

 

The Prevent Departure Program was created to ensure that no alien will depart the United States if his or her departure would not be to the national interest of the United States.

 

What the Prevent Departure Program does is provide immediate information to the transportation industry, including all air, land, and sea channels a single point of contact at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and provides a comprehensive database of individuals the United States believes may immediately depart to a foreign country. It is believed that information placed in the Prevent Departure Program is also included in databases for points of entry at all land entry/exit points.

 

The program only applies to aliens, and is not available to stop U.S. citizens or dual U.S./foreign citizens from leaving the country. Under Section 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1185) and it's implementing regulations (8 CFR Part 215 and 22 CFR Part 46), it authorizes departure-control officers to prevent an alien's departure from the United States if the alien's departure would be prejudicial to the interests of the United States. These regulations include would-be abductions of U.S. citizens in accordance to court orders originating from the child's court of habitual residency.

 

If the abductor and child are identified, they will be denied boarding. In order to detain them after boarding is denied, there must be a court order prohibiting the child's removal or providing for the child's pick-up, or a warrant for the abductor.

 

In order for an at risk parent to participate in the program, all of the following must be demonstrated:

 

1. Subject may NOT be a US citizen; and,

 

1. The nomination must include a law enforcement agency contact with 24/7 coverage; and,

 

1. There must be a court order showing which parent has been awarded custody or shows that the subject is restrained from removing his/her minor child from certain counties, the state or the U.S.; and,

 

1. The Subject must be in the US; and,

 

1. There must be some likelihood that the Subject will attempt to depart in the immediate future.

 

With respect to the establish guidelines listed above, note that in order to request the listing of the other parent, that person must be an alien of the United States.

 

Additionally, it is mandatory that the request must include support by a law enforcement agency or from the Department of State's Office of Children's Issues, which has the authority of requesting for the Department of Homeland Security to list a suspected child abductor on the Prevent Departure Program.

 

The third criteria: possessing a custodial order, is essential. Regardless if the other parent has joint custody or rights of visitation, critically, you must make sure that there are restraining orders in place prohibiting the child from being removed from the jurisdiction of habitual residency. Unfortunately, many international parental child abductions are well planned out in advance of the actual abduction, and the targeted parent has no idea that an abduction is in progress until it is to late. This is why it is essential for parents in partnership with non-nationals to be fully aware of the warning signs associated with a potential international child abduction. For a detailed list of warning signs and other information on international parental child abduction please visit http://chasingthecyclone.com/Prevention__Eyes_Open.html

 

The forth criteria states the obvious: in order to prevent an alien-parent suspected of abducting a child on U.S. soil, that parent must be in the country.

 

The fifth criteria requests that the applying parent demonstrate that the alien-parent has demonstrated the likelihood of abducting the child across international borders in the immediate future. Warning signs listed above are all factors that demonstrate a potential immediate intent to abduct. Remember – you need to document and record as much evidence as possible.

 

In a statement made by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute made before the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Homeland Security on January, 27th, 2010, Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute addressed various systems the U.S. government has in place to prevent terrorist threats from happening in our nation in the aftermath of the December 25th airline attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who has an explosive PETN on his person. Some of these very same ‘systems' that she refers to are part of the databases believed to be utilized by the Prevent Depart Program. According to the Deputy Secretary, "Department of Homeland Security oversees several programs to prevent individuals with terrorist ties from boarding flights that are headed to, within, or traveling over the United States or, in appropriate cases, to identify them for additional screening. Specifically, DHS uses information held in the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), a resource managed by the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), as well as other information … As an additional lawyer of security, DHS also uses the Passenger Name Record (PNR), the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), and the Immigration Advisory Program (IAP) to assess a passenger's level of risk and, when necessary, flag them for further inspection. PNR data, obtained from the airline reservations systems, contains various elements, which may include optional information on itinerary, co-travelers, changes to the reservation, and payment information. PNR data is evaluated against "targeting rules" that are based on law enforcement data, intelligence and past case experience. APIS data, which carriers are required to provide to DHS at least 30 minutes before a flight, contains important identifying information that may not be included in PNR data, including verified identity and travel document information such as a traveler's date of birth, citizenship, and travel document number. APIS information on international flights to or from the United States against the TSDB, as well as against criminal history information, records, of lost or stolen passports, and prior immigration or customs violations. APIS is also connected to Interpol's lost and stolen passport database for routine queries on all international travelers."

 

For many parents who face the risk of having their child abducted and removed across international borders, the nightmare that both targeted parent and victimized child face is unbearable. Unfortunately, one of the primary methods that a parent is able to use in order to remove a child outside of this country, despite local court orders, is to have the nation that they are a citizen of issue a passport in the name of the U.S. citizen-child who has a right to dual citizenship.

 

And there is nothing that our courts or nation can do to prevent another nation from issuing a passport on behalf of a child possessing dual citizenship. Granted, most passports for children require both parents signatures, but that is not a preventive measure. Forgery is commonplace. And there are no safeguards in place such as requiring both parents to apply for a child's non-U.S. passport in person at the embassy.

 

In order for an alien to be listed on the Prevent Departure Program, law enforcement officers or the State Department's Office of Children's Issues' abduction officers can request an alert for an alien abductor and/or alien's child by contacting the Department of Homeland Security's National Targeting Center. It may take up to two days for a name to be added to the list, although urgent cases may be handled faster. The National Targeting Center's phone number is 703.391.1733.

 

For more information on the Prevent Departure Program, please visit the U.S. Department of State's website at www.travel.state.gov/childabduciton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Peter Thomas Senese is a child abduction prevention advocate and a successful chasing parent in accordance to the rules of international parental child abduction law established under the Hague Convention. Peter advocated for the passage of the State of Florida's ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act' (CAPA) that will be enacted on January 1st, 2011. In addition, he contributed to raising public awareness on the previously widely underutilized federal child abduction prevention program; specifically, the ‘Prevent Departure Program' (PDP) that is now more commonly implemented in aiding targeted parents and their child from abduction in certain case scenarios. Peter is the creator/writer/producer of the educational documentary film series ‘Chasing Parents: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child Abduction', a best-selling author whose upcoming world-wide book release that focuses on international child abduction titled ‘Chasing The Cyclone' has been critically acclaimed as a call-to-arms against child abduction. Peter is the writer of an extensive number of influential articles and essays pertaining to IPCA. He has created and oversees a comprehensive website dedicated to child abduction prevention and good parenting (www.chasingthecyclone.com) where numerous essays and may be found, including the eye-opening report ‘Crisis In America: International Parental Child Abduction Today' Peter co-authored with Ms. Carolyn Vlk. Dedicated to bringing about new child abduction prevention laws while creating dialogue that may reform certain government programs and protocols so that they may better serve targeted children and their parents, Peter Senese is a strong supporter of The Hague Convention and The Department of State's Office Of Children's Issues. Paramount to all things, Peter is a loving father deeply dedicated to raising his young son. To contact Peter Thomas Senese, please e-mail him at peter@petersenese.com.

 

Carolyn Ann Vlk is a child abduction prevention advocate who drafted the landmark State of Florida's ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act' that will be enacted on January 1st, 2011. Ms. Vlk was highly influential in raising the public's awareness on the little-known, highly effective child abduction prevention federal program titled the ‘Prevent Departure Program'. Carolyn is also a writer/producer of the highly educational documentary film series titled ‘Chasing Parents: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child Abduction', and, is the author of numerous essays and studies on parental child abduction, including the groundbreaking report titled ‘Crisis in America: International Parental Child Abduction Today' (2010). Carolyn is dedicated to assisting parents and their children who are targets of international child abduction, and is committed to bringing about positive reform and change in law and government protocol that has been established to aid at-risk children. Ms. Vlk is a supporter of The Hague Convention, The Department of State's Office Of Children's Issues, and the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA). Carolyn is a loving and dedicated mother to her children, and fought rigorously to protect her own child who was a target for potential abduction that she went so far as to draft legislation that has now become new law in her home state of Florida.

 

 

 

What zodiac signs would Peter Pan and Wendy Darling represent?

The two star crossed lovers... Wendy being emotional, caring, and caustious. Peter being careless, free, and youthful. Tell which signs they'd be and if they'd in real life get along? Weird question, I know... Thanks! (:

I look at Peter Pan as a Sag, of course, and Wendy as a Gemini. She's really two people, the intelligent one that knows how to sew the shadow back on and fix up broken Lost Boys, and she doesn't mind traveling for a little while with Peter, but only for short trips (Gemini) and she's always coming back home. She basically has two homes (Gemini ) while Peter is only visiting her. They are always arguing, too, so that's pretty typical of Gemini/Sagittarius relationship.

Peter Frampton-"Signed Sealed Delivered"