For decades, the United States has facilitated the adoption of hundreds of thousands of children from abroad, welcoming them into American families. However, through a longstanding bureaucratic oversight, many of these adoptees have been left without U.S. citizenship. This loophole, well-known to the government, has gone unaddressed, leaving some adoptees to live in the shadows, fearful of alerting authorities and facing deportation back to countries they were ostensibly rescued from. Some have already been deported.
A bill aimed at rectifying this situation has been introduced in Congress repeatedly over the last decade, garnering bipartisan support from liberal immigration advocates to the Southern Baptist Convention. Nevertheless, the bill has yet to pass, with advocates attributing the delay to partisan gridlock over immigration that has hindered efforts to extend citizenship—even to adoptees legally recognized as the children of American parents. Many adoptees worry about the potential consequences if former President Donald Trump, who has pledged extensive immigration crackdowns, returns to office.
Key Findings from the AP Report
How did this oversight occur?
The current system of intercountry adoption developed after the Korean War, during a time when American families faced a shortage of adoptable babies due to societal changes and restricted access to birth control. Eager to address their adoption needs, agencies hastily facilitated the process without ensuring that proper legal and citizenship protections were in place.
At the time, international adoptions were folded into a framework intended for domestic adoptions. State courts issued new birth certificates to adopted children, listing their adoptive parents’ names and granting them the appearance of biological children’s rights. However, these state courts had no jurisdiction over immigration matters. Adoptive parents were responsible for naturalizing their children—a costly, lengthy process—yet some never completed it.
Has the U.S. government attempted a solution?
In 2000, Congress acknowledged this issue by passing the Child Citizenship Act, which granted automatic citizenship to adopted children. However, the law only applied to those under 18 at the time of enactment, leaving individuals born before February 27, 1983, excluded. Estimates suggest between 15,000 and 75,000 adoptees remain without citizenship. Despite numerous legislative efforts, this loophole remains unresolved.
“This is a classic example of the frustration with the system,” said Hannah Daniel, Director of Public Policy for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the lobbying arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, which views foreign adoption as a biblical calling. “In today’s Congress, if inaction is an option, that’s often the outcome.”
How do adoptees discover their lack of citizenship?
There is no official system to notify adoptees of their citizenship status. Many only discover their status accidentally, such as when applying for a passport or government benefits. In one case, an adoptee discovered her lack of citizenship in her senior years when denied Social Security benefits she’d paid into her entire life. Inquiries to the government can risk exposing their undocumented status.
While some adoptees can eventually naturalize, the process is costly and complex. It involves years of waiting, high fees, and a demanding process often punctuated by rejections due to minor errors. In certain cases, adoptees are told that naturalization isn’t possible. This is often due to technicalities with their initial entry visas. For instance, some were brought in on tourist or medical visas, particularly among military families who adopted children while stationed overseas.
Without citizenship, adoptees may be ineligible for jobs, driver’s licenses, and government benefits, such as financial aid and Social Security. Those with criminal histories, even minor charges, have been deported to the countries from which they were adopted.
The Real Impact on Adoptees
Several adoptees have shared the profound challenges of living without U.S. citizenship:
- A woman from Iran, adopted by her Air Force veteran father in 1972, has lived her life as a successful healthcare professional and homeowner. Now in her 50s, she is unsure if she will qualify for Social Security or other benefits and lives in fear of government action against her.
- Joy Alessi, adopted from Korea at 7 months old in 1967, learned only in adulthood that her parents hadn’t naturalized her. Living in hiding for years, she finally obtained citizenship in 2019 at 52. She notes that, as a result, she was denied the same opportunities—such as educational loans—that are often taken for granted by American citizens.
- Mike Davis was adopted from Ethiopia in the 1970s by an American soldier. After facing drug issues as a young man, he eventually turned his life around, only to later be deported. His family, now destitute and struggling without him, lives in cars and motels, while he remains in Ethiopia in dire conditions.
- Leah Elmquist served a decade in the U.S. Navy despite her lack of citizenship. Adopted from South Korea in 1983, she was just six months too old to qualify for citizenship under the 2000 law. Following a lengthy naturalization process, she was eventually granted citizenship but describes it as a daunting, emotionally taxing experience.
- Debbie and Paul, a California couple, adopted two special-needs children from Romania in the 1990s. Debbie lives in constant worry, fearing her children would not survive in a detention camp should they face deportation. Their daughter, a Special Olympian, is barred from international competitions because she cannot obtain a passport.
Conclusion
The struggle of adoptees left without U.S. citizenship is a deeply troubling consequence of bureaucratic neglect. For thousands, their uncertain legal status continues to impact nearly every facet of life, from their ability to work and access social services to the fundamental sense of security. With legislative solutions stalled, they remain in limbo, fighting for rights many assumed would be automatic. Advocates argue that addressing this issue should transcend political divides, given that these adoptees were legally adopted into American families and have been part of American society for decades.