According to press reports, the Administration’s executive order has left more than 100 refugee children who were already matched to waiting American foster families stranded overseas; The executive order currently prevents refugees who lack a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States from entering the country

In a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, Klobuchar calls on the agencies to consider issuing guidance so that the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors program can resume placement of these children with loving foster homes in the United States 

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, has urged the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to resume placement of orphaned and other vulnerable refugee children with families in the United States. According to press reports, the Administration’s executive order has left more than 100 refugee children who were already matched to waiting American foster families stranded overseas. The executive order currently prevents refugees who lack a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States from entering the country. In a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and HHS Secretary Tom Price, Klobuchar calls on the agencies to consider issuing guidance so that the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program can resume placement of these children with loving foster homes in the United States.

“As co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I am concerned about recent reports that the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors program has been halted, resulting in orphaned children remaining in precarious living situations and American foster families left uncertain about whether they will ever be able to welcome these children into their homes,” Klobuchar wrote. “According to press reports, the Administration’s executive order has left more than 100 refugee children who were already matched to waiting American foster families stranded overseas. It is my understanding that this is because the executive order currently prevents refugees who lack a ‘bona fide relationship’ with a person or entity in the United States from entering the country.” 

Klobuchar continued, “In light of these troubling reports, I urge you to consider issuing guidance that these children have a ‘bona fide relationship’ with either their future foster parents or the agencies that have facilitated these connections, so that the URM program can resume placement of orphaned refugee children with loving foster families in the United States.”

Klobuchar is a strong advocate for adoptive families and children. In May, Klobuchar and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced the bipartisan Vulnerable Children and Families Act to help more children living without families or in institutional care find permanent homes by enhancing U.S. diplomatic efforts to countries abroad, improving their domestic adoption programs, and promoting intercountry adoption. The senators previously introduced the Supporting Adoptive Families Act to help provide pre- and post-adoption support services, including mental health treatment, to help adoptive families stay strong. The Klobuchar-authored International Adoption Simplification Act to help siblings stay together during an international adoption and protect adoptees from unsafe immunizations in foreign countries was signed into law on November 30, 2010. She introduced the Accuracy for Adoptees Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in early 2014. This law cuts red tape for adoptive families and ensures that corrections made to adoptees’ birth certificates by state courts would be recognized by the federal government.

Klobuchar has also worked closely with adoptive Minnesota families to help them bring their children home from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Russia.

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Secretary Tillerson and Secretary Price:

As co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I am concerned about recent reports that the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program has been halted, resulting in orphaned children remaining in precarious living situations and American foster families left uncertain about whether they will ever be able to welcome these children into their homes.

Since its inception in the 1980s, the URM program has helped more than 6,000 children enter our country, including 203 children last year. In addition to providing refuge for these vulnerable children, the program also offers foster care services including medical care, mental health services, educational support, and career counseling. These unaccompanied children must undergo a rigorous process to enter the program, including security screenings, before they are matched with an American foster family or group home.

According to press reports, the Administration’s executive order has left more than 100 refugee children who were already matched to waiting American foster families stranded overseas. It is my understanding that this is because the executive order currently prevents refugees who lack a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States from entering the country. 

I know that many Americans have opened their hearts and their homes in the hopes of fostering children through the URM program. In light of these troubling reports, I urge you to consider issuing guidance that these children have a “bona fide relationship” with either their future foster parents or the agencies that have facilitated these connections, so that the URM program can resume placement of orphaned refugee children with loving foster families in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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