In order to help intercountry adoptees achieve citizenship, the Korean American Grassroots Conference (KAGC) has embarked on a number of initiatives lately, including co-leading the National Alliance for Adoptee Citizenship. One such initiative is to raise awareness of the disparity in citizenship among Republican members of the House of Representatives—key for the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 to advance—in collaboration with the Southern Baptist Convention.
While the National Alliance for Adoptee Citizenship started an online petition campaign in April 2020, KAGC and the Southern Baptist Convention organized a coalition letter to urge a timely passage of the Adoptee Citizenship Act. With a co-signature of 29 faith-based groups, think tanks, adoptee advocates, and community organizations, the letter was sent to the leadership of the Judiciary Committees in both the Senate and the House, as well as the party leaders in both chambers.
“Regardless of the official affiliation with NAAE, rarely do you see such a broad coalition of organizations come together from a diverse background, across the religious and political spectrum,” said Wonseok Song, executive director of KAGC. “Especially for the Adoptee Citizenship Act to be enacted, the key is to garner support of the Republican members. We are optimistic to work with the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest denomination in the United States who also has a deep understanding of Congress.”
The co-signatories of this letter include the following organizations:
- Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
- Korean American Grassroots Conference
- Adoptee Rights Campaign
- Holt International
- World Relief
- Family Coalition for Adoptee Citizenship
- Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
- Faith and Community Empowerment
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
- National Council for Adoption
- Korean War Veterans Association, Inc.
- Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation
- Niskanen Center
- Christian Alliance for Orphans
- Gladney Center for Adoption
- National Immigration Forum
- National Association of Evangelicals
- Bethany Christian Services
- Korean American Federation of Los Angeles
- Korean American Civic Empowerment for Community
- Korean American Civic Empowerment and Leadership
- Korean American Center / Korean Community Services
- Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC
- InterCountry Adoptee Voices
- San Diego Korean Pungmul Institute
- Korea Corner at Auburn University
- Korean Society of Dallas
- Adoptees for Justice
A sister organization of KAGC, the National Alliance for Adoptee Citizenship is a national consortium of adoptees, families, advocates, and community organizations who came together to help advance the Adoptee Citizenship Act to enactment, co-led by KAGC, Adoptee Rights Campaign, and Holt International. Click here to learn more about NAAE, whose online petition campaign is open to all those supporting equality in citizenship for intercountry adoptees.
KAGC Legislative Summary: Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019