The United States government, under the administration of Donald Trump, plans to tighten the enforcement of a federal law that allows the revocation of U.S. passports for parents who owe child support. The measure would affect those who have overdue child support payments, limiting their ability to travel abroad until they regularize their situation.
According to federal officials cited by The Associated Press, the State Department will begin proactively revoking passports, without the need for the holder to request renewal or consular procedures, as has been the case until now.
Sigue nuestras cuentas en Facebook e Instagram para mantenerte informado con las noticias más relevantes.
What law allows passports to be revoked for child support?
The current legislation dates back to 1996, when the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was passed. This regulation authorizes the federal government to deny or revoke passports for individuals who accumulate child support debts exceeding 2,500.
Until now, the enforcement of this law depended on the debtor initiating a process with the Department of State. However, the new approach will allow action to be taken based on the information provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Who will be affected first by the measure?
According to the authorities, the implementation will be gradual. In the first stage, it will focus on people with child support debts exceeding 100,000, a group that would include fewer than 500 people.
These holders will receive prior notification and will be able to avoid passport revocation if they establish a payment plan with HHS. However, officials warned that if the threshold is lowered, the number of affected individuals could increase significantly, potentially impacting thousands of people across the country.
Read more: Bridge between the U.S. and Canada in danger: Trump demands involvement in infrastructure
Objective: ensure the payment of child support
In an official response, the State Department noted that mechanisms are being evaluated to reinforce compliance with a long-standing law, so that delinquent parents fulfilll their legal and moral obligations.
“It’s simple: parents who owe child support must pay what they owe”, the agency stated.
Since its inception, the Passport Denial Program has recovered nearly $621 million in overdue child support payments, according to the HHS Child Support Enforcement Office, with some individual cases exceeding $300,000 collected.
