The Ethiopian government’s decision to suspend international adoptions on April 21, 2017, has left more than 200 U.S. families, and as many Ethiopian children, in a difficult and heartbreaking position
In a letter to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Klobuchar, Young, and a bipartisan group of 45 senators and 73 representatives ask the Ethiopian government to help families with cases already underway prior to the ban to move forward with their adoptions
WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the Senate co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and Todd Young (R-IN) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter urging Ethiopia to reconsider its decision to suspend international adoption. The Ethiopian government’s decision to suspend international adoptions on April 21, 2017, has left more than 200 U.S. families, and as many Ethiopian children, in a difficult and heartbreaking position. In a letter to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Klobuchar, Young, and a bipartisan group of 45 senators and 73 representatives ask the Ethiopian government to help children with cases already underway on April 21 to join their adoptive parents by allowing their adoption cases to continue moving forward.
“We write to express concern regarding your recent decision to suspend all intercountry adoptions from Ethiopia. We would like to work with you to ensure that orphans in Ethiopia have the opportunity to find safe, loving, and permanent homes. The United States' relationship with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is founded upon economic growth, development, regional peace, and security,” the members of Congress wrote. “In this spirit of cooperation, we request that you reconsider your April 21 decision to immediately halt all adoption processing, including cases in which the adoption was completed in the Federal First Instance Court. Your government's decision to suspend international adoptions on April 21, 2017, has left more than 200 U.S. families, and as many Ethiopian children, in a difficult and heartbreaking position.”
The members of Congress continued, “We ask you and your government to work with us and the U.S. Department of State to resolve this situation without delay. We look forward to working with the Ethiopian Government to unite American families with the children they have legally adopted.”
In addition to Klobuchar and Young, the letter was signed by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), David Perdue (R-GA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Boozman (R-AR), Al Franken (D-MN), Luther Strange (R-AL), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Rand Paul (R-KY), Gary Peters (D-MI), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Steve Daines (R-MT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Patty Murray (D-WA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Scott (R-SC), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rob Portman (R-OH), Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Pat Roberts (R-KS).
The letter was also signed by Representatives Trent Franks (R-AZ), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Ed Royce (R-CA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Michal McCaul (R-TX), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tom Rice (R-SC), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Robert Pittenger (R-NC), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ron Kind (D-WI), Greg Walden (R-OR), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Dan Donovan (R-NY), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Mark Meadows (R-NC), John Garamendi (D-CA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Sean Maloney (D-NY), Robert Latta (R-OH), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Jim Banks (R-IN), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Walter Jones (D-NC), John Yarmuth (D-KY), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Mike Rogers (R-MI), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Trent Kelly (R-MS), David Kustoff (R-TN), Mark Walker (R-NC), Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Jim Cooper (D-TN), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Tom Rooney (R-FL), Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), David Roe (R-TN), David Price (D-NC), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Billy Long (R-MO), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Andre Carson (D-IN), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Doug Collins (R-GA), Susan Brooks (R-IN), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), French Hill (R-AR), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Fred Upton (R-MI), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Kevin Yoder (R-KS), Justin Amash (R-MI), Jody Hice (R-GA), Luke Messer (R-IN), James Comer (R-KY), Steve Womack (R-AR), Anthony Brown (D-MD), and Ryan Costello (R-PA).
The full text of the letter is below:
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn,
We write to express concern regarding your recent decision to suspend all intercountry adoptions from Ethiopia. We would like to work with you to ensure that orphans in Ethiopia have the opportunity to find safe, loving, and permanent homes. The United States' relationship with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is founded upon economic growth, development, regional peace, and security. The United States and Ethiopia work together to enhance food security, improve health services, strengthen education, promote trade, and expand development. We have welcomed Ethiopia's commitment to security in the region, including through peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan.
In this spirit of cooperation, we request that you reconsider your April 21 decision to immediately halt all adoption processing, including cases in which the adoption was completed in the Federal First Instance Court. Your government's decision to suspend international adoptions on April 21, 2017, has left more than 200 U.S. families, and as many Ethiopian children, in a difficult and heartbreaking position. While we respect your government's decisions regarding future adoption policy in Ethiopia, we ask for your help in resolving expeditiously cases that were already underway on April 21. We are concerned that a failure to work with us to help these children join their adoptive families could have a negative impact on the relationship between our two governments.
The cases of approximately 30 children and their families stand out as particularly troubling. These children's adoptions were completed in the Federal First Instance Court, and the adoptive parents are legally responsible for the children's well-being under your country's laws. However, they have been unable to obtain the necessary paperwork so that the children can travel home to the United States to join their families. We do not believe the adoptive parents have received from your government legal justification for these delays, which have detrimental effects on the children, many of whom have had to return to orphanages.
We share your government's concern for the security and welfare of all children, and that is why we ask for your help in resolving this situation without delay. In many cases, children and families have already initiated the emotional bonding and attachment process. We fear breaking these attachments by delaying these adoptions may be detrimental to the children and adoptive families involved. Our constituents want to provide loving, safe families to those in need and simply wish to bring their adopted children home in a timely fashion and in accordance with the law.
For these reasons, we ask you and your government to work with us and the U.S. Department of State to resolve this situation without delay. Once again, we respect your government's right to make decisions regarding future policy on international adoptions. However, for cases already underway on April 21, we ask your government to help these children join their adoptive parents by allowing their adoption cases to continue moving forward.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this important matter. We look forward to working with the Ethiopian Government to unite American families with the children they have legally adopted.
Sincerely,
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