Joy Alessi, Director of the Adoptee Rights Campaign (ARC), who is also an impacted Korean adoptee, is speaking at the NAAE launch event
Estimates hold that 25,000 to 49,000 people who were adopted from overseas to the U.S. between 1945 and 1998 lack citizenship, and live a life in jeopardy of deportation. According to the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Health, 112,000 people were adopted from Korea to the U.S. between 1955 and 2015—it is unclear whether the naturalization process was completed for 20,000 of these people.
The naturalization part of the intercountry adoption process has been complex and lengthy, and many adoptive parent(s) did not finish the naturalization process, due to ignorance, negligence, or abuse. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (enacted by President Clinton in 2001) retroactively and automatically grants citizenship to the impacted population. However, at the last minute, an age limit was introduced to limit eligibility to those under the age of 18 at the time of enactment. This led to this large group of those who fell through the loophole, who are now at least 36 years old.
The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 (H.R.2731 / S.1554) provides a permanent, legislative solution to the intercountry adoptees suffering from the inequality in citizenship. It seeks to automatically and retroactively grant U.S. citizenship to those who reached adulthood at the time of the Child Citizenship Act’s enactment but would have otherwise been eligible.
House Bill (H.R.2731)
- Introduced by Rep. Adam Smith (D, WA-9) and co-sponsored by Rep. Rob Woodall (R, GA-7) on May 14, 2019
- Secured 95 co-sponsors (31 Republicans & 64 Democrats) as of November 5, 2020, with a bipartisan and wide political spectrum support, including Rep. Andy Biggs (R, AZ-5), Chairman of Freedom Caucus and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-7), member of Progressive Caucus
- Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary on May 14, 2019, and referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship on June 26, 2019.
Senate Bill (S.1554)
- Introduced by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and co-sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on May 21, 2019
- Secured 8 co-sponsors (2 Republicans & 6 Democrats) as of June 2, 2020
- Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on May 21, 2019
Since 2018, KAGC has included the rights to citizenship for intercountry adoptee in its annual Korean American Policy Priorities and partnered with the Adoptee Rights Campaign (ARC), the only advocacy organization that represents the voice of the impacted adoptees. In order to further amplify the effort and more effectively organize on the national level, in November 2019, together with ARC and Holt International, KAGC launched the National Alliance for Adoptee Equality, consisting of 20 community organizations, faith-based groups, and advocates across the United States.
KAGC Legislative Summary: Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019
Press Release: Rep. Adam Smith on the introduction of the Adoptee Citizenship Act
Press Release: Rep. Rob Woodall on the introduction of the Adoptee Citizenship Act