How Are Children Internationally Abducted Via Cruise Ships?
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Loopholes:
Sea Travel Closed-Loop Voyages
An excerpt taken from THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN written by Peter Thomas Senese & Carolyn Vlk
Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative policy, a minor 16 years old or younger traveling by land or by sea abroad is not required to present a valid passport to travel. All that is required is a photocopy of a citizenship document, such as a photocopy of a birth certificate. This policy has created a significant loophole for would-be abductors intent to abduct or traffic a child abroad.
We are also very concerned that the documentation
requirements for a “closed loop” cruise ship or other water vessel’s voyage or
itinerary to contiguous countries or adjacent islands allows travelers to be
exempt from the documentary requirements necessary for other types of travel.
The CBP defines “closed loop” as occurring when “a vessel departs from a
U.S. port or place and returns to the same U.S. port upon completion of the
voyage. U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United
States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S.
port on the same ship may present a government issued photo identification,
along with proof of citizenship (an original or copy of his or her birth
certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of
Naturalization). A U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present
either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report
of Birth Abroad issued by DOS, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”
Travel requirements for children traveling at sea are quite alarming. The
porous documentation controls in place due to the WHTI facilitate child
abduction opportunity at sea in unthinkable ways. For example, there are
certain cruise ships that have ports of call in other countries that cater
specifically to children. These cruise ships hold over 5,000 passengers and
typically have weekly departures. With thousands of children boarding one of
these cruise ships; we acknowledge it is clear there is substantial opportunity
for a parental or non-parental child abduction to occur.
In a likely scenario for cruise ship related international
parental child abduction or child trafficking, an individual could presumably
board a cruise ship with a targeted child with limited or fraudulent
documentation for the child, travel to WHTI designated foreign ports, disembark
with the child at a port of call and simply choose not to re-board the ship,
effectively circumventing the necessity of a passport which is required
for other types of travel.
The potential to illegally remove a child across
international borders via cruise ship travel is substantially
magnified because currently there are no systematic data base controls and other
security measures that would prevent a child's illegal departure from the
United States. Exemplifying this grave concern are direct statements made
from the security departments of two of the world's largest cruise lines
operators. In
statements made by both companies, neither have a security database that
would enable a parent nor a court of law to place a child's name on a 'no
embarkment' list due to specified court order. So even if a court order is
issued that either directly names the cruise ship company as part of the action
or if the court order references the cruise ship company to prohibit a
child's departure but does not list the cruise ship as part of the legal
action, the cruise ship companies have nothing in place that would enable them
to comply with the court order.
When representatives in the security departments of both
cruise ship companies were asked what could be done with a court order
prohibiting a child's departure, each spokesperson suggested that if the
targeted parent knew what cruise ship and departure date their child
was scheduled to travel on, then it would be up to the parent to contact
local law enforcement.
Obviously, the ability for
a single parent trying to protect their child's abduction to run from cruise ship
port to cruise ship port hoping to determine if their child is traveling on one
of the ships is more than daunting and unrealistic, particularly since the vast
majority of international child abductions are well planned, and cleverly
orchestrated.
In a time of increased international security concerns, it
is inconceivable that the only type of data bases most cruise ship operators
have in place is a data base that flags previous passengers from traveling on
their fleet due to past conduct on board one of their ships.
Remarkably, there is no systematic check to determine if a
child’s name has been placed on any law enforcement or government travel alert
lists. However, if a U.S. passport was required and the U.S. passport was
scanned, then a border patrol agent would have immediate access to potentially
critical information regarding the safety of the child. We call upon the
cruise ships to act responsibly by establishing security procedures including a
'no-embarkment' database that would assist in the prevention of international
parental child abduction and human trafficking.
When we consider there are approximately 760 cruises
scheduled to depart from the U.S. and travel in a ‘closed loop’ to the
Caribbean during fiscal year 2011, this becomes very concerning. Our worry
increases after we consider there are 47 "closed loop" cruises
scheduled to depart the U.S. to Canada during the same period. And finally, our
concern surges when we realize that there are 379 cruises scheduled to depart
the U.S. and travel in a "closed loop" to Mexico.
As previously discussed in this report, Mexico is a hotbed
for ‘reported’ and ‘unreported’ incoming and outgoing international parental
child abduction cases. A substantial number of U.S. parents have
filed a Hague application due to the criminal international abduction of
their child or children. Unfortunately, very few abducted children
return to the U.S. despite court orders demanding the child’s
return. These opinions are substantially backed by the U.S. Department of
State, as Mexico has repeatedly been reported to Congress as a non-compliant
member of the Hague Convention. In addition, Mexico’s record as a country known
for its criminal activity of human trafficking is substantial.
We express our grave concern that cruise ships may be utilized
to transport children illegally to and from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada as
well island nations of the Caribbean.
It is inconceivable that U.S. children are still permitted
to travel to specific foreign countries in accordance with the WHTI without
a passport. Today, nearly 30% of all U.S. citizens possess a
passport. As that number continues to grow substantially each year it is
unthinkable not to require a passport for a child to travel
abroad. In 2011 cruise ships are scheduled to originate from the U.S
and travel to 63 ports of call in Mexico, 48 ports in the Caribbean, and from
20 ports of call in Canada. We contend that a failure to require children to
present a passport for all international travel is an act of misguided
negligence.
Closed-Loop
Foreign Destination Number of
Cruises Number of Ports
Caribbean 760
63
Canada 43 20
Mexico 379 48
The CBP does state that a U.S. Citizen “may” be required to
present a U.S. passport if disembarking at a foreign port but that this
requirement is up to the individual ports-of-entry. We must also consider that
smaller personal watercrafts traveling to foreign ports under a “closed-loop”
journey offer
distinct opportunity for child abductors and human traffickers to circumvent
our nation’s laws or court orders. The lack of formidable travel documentation
for cruise ship or other water vessel excursions originating from and returning
to the United States is a black hole for would-be child abductors or
traffickers.
The fact that cruise ships are being utilized in human
trafficking is not unrecognized within the U.S. or in other countries. The
following statements come directly from a human rights watchdog organization in
Belize.
The Belize Organization
for Responsible Tourism (ORT) issues this appeal to cruise lines bringing
passengers to Belize, a superhighway for human trafficking. “We are asking for your help in stopping
human trafficking in Belize. In particular, we appeal to Norwegian Cruise Line
and Carnival Cruise Lines, which bring a combined 700, 000 tourists to Belize
annually.
Cruise lines have a moral responsibility
to help stop human trafficking in Belize. Each year thousands of human
trafficking victims are transited through Belize via its porous and corrupt
borders. Many are exported to other countries and never seen again by their
families. Many endure lives of forced prostitution in Belize ficha bars.”
As these serious challenges come to light, we need to
create a comprehensive short-term and long-term strategy that will prevent
child abduction and human trafficking from occurring due to limited WHTI
child travel documentation requirements for land and sea travel. There remains
a significant amount of work necessary to enhance border security so that
current weaknesses will no longer be available to be exploited. Our children
must become a priority and the risk of abduction and human trafficking be
lessened through mandating legitimate and uniform travel documentation.
The issues of child abduction and child slavery have
received relatively limited public exposure. There has been limited government reaction
directed toward changing public policy, government agency operations and
protocol, and reform of laws that may facilitate or enable international
abduction. It is important to recognize that over the past two years there have
been over 1,000 ‘reported’ cases of U.S. child citizens being criminally
abducted to Mexico and untold numbers of unreported cases. Imagine how our
nation would act if:
1. 25 school buses containing 40
defenseless 5th grader American students disappeared in Mexico; or,
2. 4 Boeing 757 passenger jets
containing 250 middle school children each was hijacked; or,
3. A cruise ship with 1,000 high school
students on a spring break trip was pirated off of Mexico’s borders; or,
4. A train traveling with 1,000
students and their teachers was hijacked.
Undoubtedly, there would be public outcry and reform at
every level. However, our public and government concern has not reached levels
that it should. The many voices of this unthinkable crime tend to be diluted
due to the singular reporting methodology. It is imperative that immediate
revisions in law and government policy be initiated including reform of the
WHTI land and sea travel requirements for minors.