The American adoptees who fear deportation to a country they can't remember

October 31, 2025

Thousands of international adoptees who were brought to the United States as infants and toddlers have discovered they lack American citizenship due to incomplete paperwork and legislative gaps. While the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 granted automatic citizenship to future adoptees and those born after 1983, it excluded earlier arrivals, leaving an estimated 18,000 to 75,000 people in legal limbo despite living their entire lives as Americans. Some adoptees have been deported to their birth countries, and the crisis has intensified under the Trump administration's aggressive deportation policies, causing many adoptees to live in fear.

Who is affected

An estimated 18,000 to 75,000 international adoptees who lack US citizenship
Shirley Chung, 61, adopted from South Korea in 1966
An anonymous woman adopted from Iran in 1973
Debbie Principe and her two adopted children from Romania with special needs
Dozens of adoptees who have been deported to their birth countries in recent years
A South Korean-born adoptee who was deported and took his own life in 2017
Adoptive parents who failed to secure proper documentation for their children
The Adoptee Rights Law Center and attorney Greg Luce (receiving 275+ requests for help)
Adoptee rights groups flooded with requests since Trump's return

What action is being taken

Adoptees are going into hiding and avoiding certain areas to prevent detention
The anonymous Iranian adoptee is sharing a location app with friends in case she is "swept up"
Adoptee rights groups are responding to floods of requests for help
The Trump administration is conducting aggressive deportation operations (claiming two million departures in less than 250 days)
US officials are detaining individuals suspected of immigration violations

Why it matters

This issue reveals a fundamental breach of promise made to vulnerable children who were legally brought to America through government-approved adoption processes. These individuals have lived their entire lives as Americans—attending school, working, paying taxes, raising families—only to discover they lack the citizenship that was implicitly promised to them. The situation highlights systemic failures across multiple institutions (adoptive parents, schools, government agencies) and exposes how bureaucratic oversights can render people effectively stateless despite having no ties to their birth countries. With heightened deportation enforcement, these adoptees face the terrifying prospect of being removed to countries they've never known, separating them from their families and the only home they've ever had, despite having committed no wrongdoing themselves.

What's next

Advocates continue pushing for Congress to remove the age cut-off from the Child Citizenship Act, though previous bills have failed to pass the House. Debbie Principe must appeal a recent citizenship rejection for her daughter within 30 days or face turning her over to Homeland Security.

Read full article from source: BBC