Ernst introduces legislation to protect children by eliminating visa loopholes

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) on March 12 joined Republican colleagues as an original cosponsor of legislation that would update the nation’s immigration laws to set a minimum age for child marriages. 

“I’m fighting to protect young girls and women, in Iowa and across our nation, from human trafficking by cracking down on child marriages,” Sen. Ernst wrote Monday afternoon on Facebook. “Along with Sen. Ron Johnsonand Senator Tom Cotton, I’ve introduced a bill that would tackle this problem by requiring both parties to be at least 18 years of age in order to receive spousal immigration benefits.” 

The Protecting Children Through Eliminating Visa Loopholes Act, S. 742, introduced on March 12 by the three senators, would stipulate that while “major loopholes in federal law have allowed thousands of minors to be subjected to child marriages,” the United States and the U.S. State Department “aim to prevent and reduce the risks of child marriages, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse occurring throughout the world,” according to the text of the bill.

Additionally, according to S. 742, the United States would acknowledge that although the federal government is limited in its ability to address child marriage within individual states, the bill would establish a minimum age of 18 years for marriage-based and fiance´-based immigrant visa petitions as an “immediate and viable solution for preventing them through exploitation of the United States immigration system.” 

“Child marriage is a serious problem which puts young girls, in particular, at risk,” Sen. Ernst said. “With more than 8,600 such marriages granted over a 10 year period, we must address this massive loophole in our immigration system with common sense solutions.”

S. 742, she said, does exactly that by requiring “both parties be 18 years old in order to obtain spousal immigration benefits.”

The bill introduction follows the release of a January report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about how the U.S. immigration system encourages child marriages.

Sen. Johnson (R-WI) said that getting a visa to enter the United States is a privilege. “This straightforward reform will help close a loophole that can lead to the abuse and exploitation of children,” he said.

Sen. Cotton (R-AR) pointed out that child marriage most often happens between a male adult and a female minor. Such a situation, he added, “can rob young girls of their education, personal development and physical and mental health.”

“Unfortunately, U.S. law currently grants immigration benefits to individuals seeking adult-minor unions,” said Sen. Cotton. “Our immigration laws shouldn’t be used to encourage child marriage, and our bill would put an end to this exploitative practice.”

S. 742 has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.