U.S. Cracks Down on Child Support Delinquents by Expanding Passport Revocations for Non-Paying Parents

WASHINGTON – In a move to enhance enforcement of a long-standing law, the Trump administration is set to restrict international travel for parents with substantial child support debts. As per three U.S. officials, the administration plans to broaden the scope of a 30-year-old regulation enabling the federal government to confiscate American passports until the overdue child support is cleared.

Although a 1996 federal law has allowed for passport revocations for those owing over $2,500 in child support, the State Department typically enforced this only when individuals sought passport renewals or other consular services. Thus, action was contingent upon the debtor approaching the department.

In an upcoming shift, however, the State Department will independently initiate passport revocations, utilizing information from the Health and Human Services Department. These details were shared by U.S. officials who requested anonymity as the policy change is yet to be officially announced.

The precise number of individuals who might be impacted remains unknown, though estimates suggest it could be in the thousands. Given the vast number of passport holders with outstanding child support obligations, the State Department intends to implement these changes in phases, the officials noted.

The initial phase will target those who owe over $100,000 in unpaid child support, the officials revealed. According to one official, fewer than 500 individuals fall into this category, and they can prevent passport revocation by agreeing to a payment arrangement with HHS upon receiving notice of the impending action.

The official acknowledged, though, that if and when the threshold is lowered to a smaller past-due amount, the number of those affected will rise significantly. The official could not say when any further changes would take effect or estimate how many people might then lose their passports.

Since the Passport Denial Program began with the 1996 passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the initiative has taken in nearly $621 million in past-due child support payments, with nine collections of more than $300,000, according to the Office of Child Support Enforcement at the Department of Health and Human Services.

HHS did not respond to questions about how many people are in arrears, instead referring the AP to the State Department. The State Department did not immediately respond to a query about the move.

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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report.