International Megan's Law

The International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking is a bill that would require the notification of foreign governments when an American registered as a sex offender of children is going to be traveling to their country.

The bill passed the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. Its sponsor, Chris Smith, has introduced versions of this bill multiple times over the past few years, including in 2010 when it passed the House, but it has never made it through the Senate. Chrysanthi Leon, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice and women and gender studies at the University of Delaware, writes:

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The law focuses on people listed in sex offender registries (or Megan’s law databases). The core problem with this approach is that empirical research has established that people on the registry are not the ones who will commit new sex crimes. The U.S. Department of Justice’s own 2002 study shows this: New sex offenses are much more likely to be committed by people not already caught or registered as sex offenders. When the concern is sex trafficking, this is even more misguided, since no connection has ever been made between the two groups. Despite our fears of sex offenders, there is no empirical reason to expect registered sex offenders to be the ones exploiting children abroad. Beyond this basic mistake in the target of the bill, it would create more unneeded bureaucracy: The U.S. Marshals Service already notifies receiving countries of registered sex offender travel. Finally, in addition to not helping children, my own research shows how restrictions like these actually harm them. The family members of people on the registry experience many of the same restrictions. Just this week I spoke with someone who was not be able to have her brother walk her down the aisle, because he is registered for “sexting” six years ago. Even though his local and state law enforcement offices had approved his travel, when he changed planes in California he was prevented from leaving the country. On top of missing the wedding, he lost the $2,000 ticket. Rather than add to the stigmas and other burdens that affect the families of sex offenders (who are also often the victims, since much sexual violence occurs within families).

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Amended version

H.R. 515, the International Megan's Law, passed the U.S. House on 26 January 2015. This bill had already passed the House in several previous years but gone nowhere in the Senate. This year may be different.

On 17 November 2015 Bob Corker, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the bill with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Now it goes to the full Senate for approval, and if passed then in order for the bill to progress further, either the U.S. House would need to accept the amendment; or a conference committee would need to resolve the differences in the House and Senate bills, so that the amended version could then be passed.

As The Angry Offender notes, the International Megan's Law "will prevent sex offenders from leaving the United States. That means that if a sex offender wants to remove themselves from the country, they will now be blocked from doing so. This is bad for everyone in the country. Sex offenders who are being persecuted by ever-tightening United States laws can't leave the country to make a new life elsewhere, and families that fear sex offenders living in their neighborhood now have a guarantee that said sex offenders will be motivated to stay in said neighborhood because they will now have no hope of getting out of the country."

The amended version says that sex offenders are required to provide "Information relating to intended travel of the sex offender outside the United States, including any anticipated dates and places of departure, arrival, or return, carrier and flight numbers for air travel, destination country and address or other contact information therein, means and purpose of travel, and any other itinerary or other travel-related information required by the Attorney General." If the sex offender knowingly fails to provide information required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act relating to intended travel in foreign commerce, and engages or attempts to engage in the intended travel in foreign commerce, then he "shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both."

Also, "the Secretary of State shall not issue a passport to a covered sex offender unless the passport contains a unique identifier, and may revoke a passport previously issued without such an identifier of a covered sex offender." The term "unique identifier" means any visual designation affixed to a conspicuous location on the passport indicating that the individual is a covered sex offender.

See also

• The thin wedge to immobilize citizens
• “HOMELAND SECURITY'S” ASSAULT ON TRAVEL