America’s
registered child sex offenders will now have to use passports identifying them
for their past crimes when traveling overseas.
The State
Department said it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex
offenders and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a “unique
identifier” of their status. Those applying for a passport for the first time
will not be issued one without the identifier, which will be a notice printed
inside the back cover of the passport book that reads: “The bearer was
convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender
pursuant to (U.S. law).”
The
department said in a statement posted to its travel.state.gov website
that registered child sex offenders will no longer be issued smaller travel
documents known as passport cards because they do not have enough room to fit
the notice.
The State Department said
Wednesday it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex offenders
and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a “unique identifier”
of their status.
The
changes come in response to last year’s “International Megan’s Law,” which aims
to curb child exploitation and child sex tourism, but also has been criticized
by civil libertarians for being overly broad and targeting only one category of
convicted felon.
The law
is named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old girl murdered by a convicted child sex
offender in New Jersey in 1994. The case drew widespread attention and led to
the creation of several state sex offender registries. Government agencies
notified Congress on Wednesday the passport requirement of the law had taken
effect.
The State
Department, which issues U.S. passports, said it will start notifying those
affected as soon as it receives their names from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. That agency is charged with
identifying child sex offenders and is the sole agency that can add or remove
someone from the list.
Affected
passport holders will be able to travel abroad on their current passports until
the revocations are formalized, the department said, and it wasn’t immediately
clear when immigration and homeland security officials would provide that list.
A
spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency was
“exercising additional vetting procedures” to produce those names and that it
is a “priority,” but could not say when they would be sent to the State
Department.
State Department
officials said they weren’t aware of any other group of felons who’ll be
identified as offenders in their passports.
Critics
say the passport requirement will limit the ability of those affected to
lawfully travel abroad.
The State
Department said the language in the passports “will not prevent covered sex
offenders from departing the United States, nor will it affect the validity of
their passports.”
However,
it also noted that American citizens, like those of other nations, are subject
to the entry laws, rules and requirements of countries they wish to visit. Many
countries prohibit or place strict restrictions on the travel of convicted
felons.
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