Thousands hope US Congress adopts Adoptee Citizen Act

World Today

The United States adopts more children from abroad than any other country in the world. But adoption procedures have at times been flawed.

The Washington Post estimates tens of thousands of international adoptees are not U.S. citizens – despite having lived in this country almost all their lives.

CCTV’s Andrea Arenas has this story.

In 2000, the U.S. Congress approved the Child Citizenship Act that granted citizenship to adoptees retroactively.

Advocates estimate over 100,000 international adoptees in the U.S. under the age of 18 gained citizenship but not everyone was covered.

These adoptees are visiting Congress to convince lawmakers to pass the Adoptee Citizen Act. California Democratic Representative Judy Chu supports it.

The proposed legislation would grant retroactive citizenship to all internationally adopted individuals, regardless of age and allow those who have been deported to return to the country.

Without citizenship adoptees who are convicted of a crime even if it is a minor offense are at risk of being deported. Legislation supporters hope Congress will pass the Adoptee Citizen Act so adoptees can technically become U.S. citizens.