ICYMI: Rep. Smith Leads Letter to Department of Homeland Security Calling for New Prosecutorial Discretion Policy
Rep. Smith and colleagues urge DHS to implement prosecutorial discretion policy on international adoptees who were brought to the U.S. as children but never granted citizenship.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) led a letter with Senator Mazie Hirono (D- Hawaii) and 31 members of Congress to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement a policy to address the gap in citizenship facing intercountry adoptees who did not acquire citizenship when they were adopted.
The members called on DHS to implement a prosecutorial discretion policy that takes into consideration the unique circumstances of intercountry adoptees who were brought to the U.S. as children, did not acquire citizenship upon adoption, and have been deported or face removal proceedings.
“There are unfortunately an estimated tens of thousands of individuals who were brought to the United States as children for the purposes of adoption by U.S. citizens but never received citizenship through no fault of their own. These individuals were raised in the U.S. and built their lives here, and for many, the U.S. is the only place they have called home,” the members wrote.
The members continued, “Adoptees who did not acquire citizenship who have interactions with the criminal legal system are vulnerable to removal proceedings, immigration detention, and deportation. The deportation of this population of individuals can be especially concerning given the unique circumstances that these individuals initially came to the U.S. under. Since they were adopted to the U.S. as children, they often have zero or extremely limited ties to the country they were born in. Without family, friends, or an understanding of the language or culture, deportation back to their country of birth can be especially harmful and make economic and social survival extremely difficult.”
The members added, “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should establish a policy or directive on the use of prosecutorial discretion to assist already deported intercountry adoptees or those facing removal orders that considers the specific, unique, and extenuating circumstances presented in these cases.”
“Deportation in such cases is a particularly cruel outcome that should be avoided whenever possible, and steps should be taken to incorporate this same consideration for already deported individuals who are seeking motions to reopen or other relief that would grant them admissibility to the U.S.,” wrote the members.
Read the full letter here.
Rep. Smith has long worked on this issue and previously introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act to provide U.S. citizenship to intercountry adoptees who were brought to the U.S. as children but never granted citizenship through no fault of their own. The legislation would close a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act which did not apply to adoptees who had already turned 18 at the time that the law took effect. The Adoptee Citizenship Act – which has broad bipartisan support – would provide much needed certainty to affected adoptees, ensuring that these individuals have full access to their rights as American citizens.
You can learn more about the Adoptee Citizenship Act here.
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