Michael Stewart/WireImageSo how is Kelly Rutherford coping after a judge ruled that her European ex doesn't have to send their kids back to the U.S. to be with their American mom if he doesn't want to?
A source close to the situation tells E! News that the Gossip Girl star has been "amazingly positive" lately—but that seems to be because Rutherford is now on a mission.
"The federal judge will not compel the children back to the U.S. Period," the insider says. "Although the parents share joint custody, [dad Daniel Giercsh] has no visa, so she will have to go to them. The case is closed. This is now a political issue and it is entirely without precedent."
Rutherford previously told ABC News that, as far as she knows, no other court in the United States has ever stopped American children from returning to America to be with a capable American parent.
"The children have not been deported; they retain their United States citizenship and, once they reach the age of majority, they will be free to choose where to reside," read the federal court ruling, per ABC News. "Under such circumstances...it would plainly be improper for the federal courts to assume jurisdiction over the case."
A California court had previously ordered Giercsh to keep applying for visas so that he can return to the U.S. with the kids. He was denied re-entry back into the country several years ago, his visa no longer valid. He and Rutherford split up in 2009 and their divorce was finalized the following year. They had been sharing custody until a judge ruled in 2012 that Giercsh was allowed to relocate with son Hermés and daughter Helena to Monaco.
"Kelly found out the news last week," our source tells E! News about the latest, and final, development in the case. "She had just recently spent 10 days visiting with her children in Paris. The kids are growing up and it was a wonderful trip.
"However, Daniel will not let the children come back to the U.S., so Kelly will have to go to Paris this summer to see them. No matter where her children are, Kelly remains a fiercely devoted mother committed to nothing but their well-being."
So, now the actress is looking at the bigger picture.
"Kelly has been amazingly positive since the news came down," the source says. "She is focused and views this as a political issue. This could happen to any American children with a foreign parent that gets deported. There are no rules in place to protect the children's right to grow up in their native country, as U.S. citizens. Kelly is now not only fighting for her own children's rights, but the rights of all children who could end up in this situation."
Giercsh's attorney said in a statement responding to the court's decision: "Daniel Giersch continues to protect the children from any negativity and therefore will continue to not engage in any of these unfortunate and false media fabrications which only served one person, but clearly not the children."