US passports will now identify child sex offenders

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U.S. passports file photo. The Associated Press.
US passports will now identify child sex offenders
By Matthew Lee, The Associated Press
November 2, 2017 - 9:53 am
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/us-passports-will-now-identify-child-sex-offenders/

  "WASHINGTON — 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 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. 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 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.

   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.

   State Department officials said they weren't aware of any other group
   of felons who'll be identified as offenders in their passports. "