AHA Foundation

Between 2007 and 2017, the U.S. government approved thousands of marriage-based visa petitions where one party was a minor. There is still no minimum age to sponsor or receive a spousal or fiancé visa.

That is not a typo.

Our Director of Policy and Women's Programs, Michele Hanash, breaks down exactly how this loophole works and who it harms. A child in the U.S. can be married to an adult abroad, giving that adult a "child bride" and a pathway to legal immigration status. A foreign child can be trafficked here through a marriage visa and become trapped with no legal recourse.

Between 2000 and 2021, nearly 315,000 children were married in the U.S. Some were as young as 10. Child marriage is still legal in 33 states. This loophole makes it worse.

Read the full conversation: https://www.restoringthewest.com/p/a-conversation-with-michele-hanash

OHIO UPDATE: SB341 just passed out of committee unanimously. Every vote: yes. A child marriage ban in Ohio is within reach. Stay tuned.

Effort to ban child marriage in Ohio moves forward following pressure, protests A recently stalled effort to ban minors from getting married in Ohio is moving again.

SB341/HB670: Tell OH legislators to ban child marriage Did you know current Ohio law allows courts to enter 17-year-olds into marriage? Marriage before age 18 is a human rights abuse with devastating, lifelong impacts on a girl's life. Tell your legislators to support / , the bill to in Ohio, .

Our advocacy is working.

After sustained pressure from advocates and survivors across the country, Ohio's child marriage ban legislation has been scheduled for a Senate Judiciary Committee vote this Wednesday, a major step toward protecting minors from child marriage.

Last week, we joined Unchained At Last, fellow advocates and survivors at the Ohio Capitol, where our Director of Policy demanded "Today we are asking Ohio lawmakers to do something simple. No loopholes. No exceptions. No excuses. Pass SB 341 and set the marriage age at 18, period." Lawmakers listened.

We'll keep fighting until every child is protected.

Effort to ban child marriage in Ohio moves forward following pressure, protests A recently stalled effort to ban minors from getting married in Ohio is moving again.

We are proud that our Director of Policy and Women’s Programs joined Unchained At Last, survivors, and advocates at the chain-in protest to in Ohio.

Ohio Republican Party and Ohio Democratic Party, if no one opposes this bill why won’t you vote on it? Ohio girls have waited long enough. Pass SB 341.

We're 25% of the way to unlocking $25,000 in matching funds — and we need your help to get there.

Every dollar donated right now brings us closer to triggering a full $25,000 in additional funding for our work fighting antisemitism, ending FGM and child marriage in the United States, and defending Western freedoms.

This match won't last forever. Will you help us reach the finish line?

AHA Foundation - Founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali The AHA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes in liberty for all. That means liberty from female ge***al mutilation, honor violence and forced marriages.