Fearful of ICE?

It’s not absurd that an international adoptee would be fearful of ICE. It’s absurd that anyone should suggest that they be fearful. And that’s exactly what some so-called adoption professionals and news outlets are doing as of late.

It’s ridiculous. It’s war-mongering and it needs to stop.

I have adopted intentionally. I have been the lead attorney at a firm that focuses on adoption for 15 years. I’ve been the Senior Counsel at a top three adoption agency. I have helped adoptive families from I don’t know how many countries.

ICE Doesn’t Want Internationally Adopted Children

ICE does not want to deport internationally adopted children. When internationally adopted children come through the normal Hague process, they come into the country one of two ways. One of our oldest and most popular articles explains in detail that children either come into the country with a green card or a certificate of citizenship.

If the child comes with the green card path, state law will vary on their pathway to citizenship, but it likely requires some form of “re-adoption.” In either case, seeking a passport is the best way to prove the child’s citizenship.

And that often is the crux of the issue when parents or the adoptee are concerned about deportation. How can you prove citizenship?

Now, let’s talk exceptions without letting exceptions drive the analysis. Are there cases where kids came into the country before the 2001 federal auto-legislation? Yes. Can that be a problem? Yes. But, those very few cases should have been resolved by now. Those adoptees are at youngest probably 30 years old.

And let’s put our personal responsibility hat on … those adoptees are not children any more – they should have already handled their business a long time ago. And if they haven’t, we can help with that.

Now, what if children come into the country through the illegal actions of their parents? And what if their parents’ continued lifestyle choices leads the children into the care of the State through the child protection system? And what if their natural parents’ rights are terminated by the state to free up the child for adoption (as sadly happens to many 1,000’s of children)?

Pathway to Permanency

How does all of that affect the child’s pathway to permanency?

As far as adoption goes, each state has a different system and I couldn’t opine on every single state. But, from the States that my experience has touched, I can confidently say that adoption is a state law matter, while immigration is a federal law matter.

In keeping with the doctrine of the separation of state and federal powers, the federal government has no more to say about adoption than the state government has to say about immigration. The net result of that is that, I cannot think of a time where a child’s citizenship status was a significant factor in whether a state court granted adoption.

Citizenship Affects Adoption?

On the contrary, I have seen state courts grant adoption many times where the child was not a citizen.

After the acquisition of the final decree of adoption, the adoptive parents should apply for a new birth certificate which lists their names as parents. Some states might call this a “certificate of foreign birth.”

After this has been acquired, you should consult competent legal counsel. But, generally speaking, you are ready either to apply for the passport, or the certificate of foreign birth. In almost all situation, the passport path is preferable. If all things are equal between those two options, the cost alone (certificate of citizenship is about $1,300 more) lends to the same conclusion of passport pathway.

For more detailed counsel on this topic, we welcome you to give us a call today. 334-546-2009