Last week, I wrote about Adam Crapser, an adult Korean American adoptee who as a child survived years of incredible physical, sexual, and emotional abuse committed by two separate foster families. As a lasting part of their abuse, neither set of foster parents completed Adam’s naturalization paperwork or have been willing to give him his adoption papers.
Consequently, for his entire adult life, Adam Crapser — now married with three children — has been forced to live as an undocumented American. On April 2nd, he faces a deportation hearing with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE plans to deport Crapser — a Korean American adoptee — to Korea, the country of his birth but to which he has no ties.
My post on Adam’s story went amazingly viral last week and today, Adam’s plight was also covered by NBC News where advocate Kevin Vollmers says:
“It’s a travesty that the promise hasn’t been kept for individuals like Adam Crapser,” said Vollmers, “who in my mind is a victim of the inadequacies of the broken U.S. adoption system that doesn’t necessarily serve the individuals it says it cares about the most.”
Outraged, many readers have been asking what they can do to help Adam stay in America and receive documentation.
I’ve got great news: a social media campaign has now been launched to try and #KeepAdamHome.
In partnership with 18MillionRising, supporters of Adam Crapser are asking that we help draw attention to Adam’s story and urge ICE to stop his deportation proceedings. In addition to posting tweets to the hashtag #KeepAdamHome, supporters are urged to support an amendment that would expand the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 to include adult adoptees, and to sign this petition asking for the deportation proceedings against Adam be dropped.
From the petition text:
Even more, legislative efforts are underway to grant retroactive citizenship to all international adoptees whose naturalizations were not originally covered by the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) of 2000. An amendment to the CCA would allow Adam to stay home with his family and finally receive the citizenship that was promised to him – but this can only happen if he isn’t deported.
Adam’s children need him. His wife needs him. This country is his home, and he should not be deported because his abusive adoptive parents failed to complete his naturalization paperwork.
Demand that Raphael Sanchez #KeepAdamHome by enacting administrative closure on Adam Crapser’s deportation case.
Act Now! Please share this post and 18MR’s #KeepAdamHome petition to stop the deportation of Adam Crapser and countless other adult transnational adoptees!
