18 U.S.C. section 1201 (a) (1) sets forth the elements to the federal kidnapping act, including abducting a child from the custody of the child’s parents and transporting the child across state lines while confining the child to a controlled space. The complementary federal conspiracy statute charges anyone who conspires in any capacity to violate the kidnapping statute.
That sounds eerily familiar to what has happened on our southern border, where infants have been essentially abducted from parents seeking asylum and who at the point of abduction have not yet been given a fair hearing to determine the specific circumstances that may validate their dire need for American immigrant protection under U.S. law.
These abductions could end up being permanent. For example, how could an infant too young to talk be capable of providing the identifying information required to ever reunite with their parents? For these parents who have traveled thousands of perilous miles to protect their children from serious harm, this form of kidnapping could very well result in a lifelong disaster of horrible proportions. Those most responsible for this reprehensible political strategy might reasonably be held to criminally account.
Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful