Not so long ago, “protecting adoptees from ICE” would have likely meant warm clothes and good boots. But not any more, sadly. And in America today, protecting adoptees from ICE applies whether a child was adopted in the USA or internationally.
To avoid any hot button issues, let’s clarify: this blog is not intended to be a political statement of any kind. Rather, it’s about parent education and family safety, in a time in which many birthfamilies and adoptive families are facing unanticipated dangers.
Anyone in need of legal advice should contact an attorney, or the ACLU or for immigration information, contact RAICES. And remember, in case of emergency any parents (whether birthparents, adoptive parents or otherwise) should implement a Family Preparedness Plan, which you can download here for free.
If You Adopted Internationally
It may be hard to imagine that America, a country that benefited more than any other from the international adoption surge of a few years ago, may now be targeting those born out-of-country. Yet even international adoptees legally raised in America may not be safe from deportation these days, under certain circumstances, since the PAAF Act has yet to get passed.
Robin Whitely was born in Mexico and placed for adoption as a newborn in El Paso. His adoptive parents adopted him legally, and he grew up in Texas. However, in 2002, Whitely (then a father of four) got deported to Mexico after being arrested, when authorities found his adoptive parents had failed to secure his naturalization papers. (Hear Robin’s story, here… his wife lives in Texas, yet he’s still stuck in Mexico decades later.)
Attorney Greg Luce offers some preliminary advice for adoptive parents of adoptees born or adopted overseas: Dear Parents of Intercountry Adoptees… and although it’s not in-depth, here’s what the National Council For Adoption says about Addressing Adoptee Citizenship Concerns. (And don’t miss this Q&A on citizenship and immigration issues from Adoptees United.)
If You Adopted Domestically
We’d love to be able to assure those who adopted domestically (or who were adopted domestically) that they have no reason to fear protecting adoptees from ICE? But these days, it’s better to be safe than sorry, it seems.
The recent ICE abduction of two 17-year-old Hispanic employees at the Richmond, MN Target store (both US citizens), along with reported seizures of high school students around the country, reinforces the need to be ready for anything, because parents can’t always “be there” to intervene.
Abrazo has already been contacted by multiple adoptive families of American-born children who are concerned about how to safeguard adoptees, and we fully empathize with their fears. (Don’t assume that only children of minority ethnicities are at risk, by the way.) Some folks are already looking into securing dual citizenship for their families: that’s how seriously the threat is becoming. Be advised, however: many countries do require the entire adoption file, which is sealed by Texas courts at finalization, so hiring an attorney to ask a judge to unseal the adoption record does entail some cost.
Savvy parents who have completed domestic adoptions know that they need to have certified copies of their child’s adoption decree, birth certificate and social security card safely stored. Keeping the medical records from the hospital where your child was born may also be useful, as well as getting your adopted child a valid passport. If your child was born to a mother who was not an American citizenship, the birthright citizenship laws in America currently recognize your child as a citizen and the amended birth certificate Texas issues after finalization documents that the child was “born to you in the USA”, but if US laws change, you may need to consult an attorney if there’s any chance a new law could be made retroactive.
Safety Advice for All Parents
These days, all parents in America (however their children became theirs, and whatever their race) need to talk with their kids about ICE and immigration enforcement, just as they do any other “stranger danger.”
There’s a useful bilingual guide on talking points about ICE, or one California psychologist offers this advice on how to start that conversation. (You can also download a fact sheet here.)
- Know your rights with regards to ICE and share this info with your kids, friends and relatives. (One of the better resources we’ve found can be found here: If You’re Approached By ICE)
- Have your family attorney’s phone number stored in your phone, and also in your child’s phone, and maybe that of your congressional representative and senator, as well.
- Make sure your emergency contacts at your child’s daycare or school are all updated.
- You can store a photo of your passport and your child’s on cell phones rather than carrying them with you.
- Wear a costume or mask, hat and sunglasses if/when you participate in anti-ICE protests.
- Consider implementing Life 360 (or similar app) if you have a teen, so you know their location if missing.
- Bookmark the Homeland Security’s online detainee locator system, just in case.
- Teach your school-age child or teen to calmly say “I choose to remain silent; I want to speak with a lawyer” if they are ever approached by ICE– and practice with them how to say it respectfully and then not responding to questions nor provocation afterwards.
Clearly, protecting adoptees from ICE is nothing your adoption agency ever imagined having to prepare you for prior to placement. We’d love to think that all of Abrazo’s birthfamilies, adoptees and adoptive parents could be forever shielded from such trauma– and that goes for our staff members, too.
None of us know how long this will go on, nor how it will end. But what we can do is to pray for the safety of our adoption community nationwide, to advocate for change, and to support each other in the midst of this storm.
And although this surely goes without saying, we must each do everything in our power to keep protecting adoptees from ICE– all of them, and their birth siblings, as well.
