The Child Citizen Act of 2000 - HR-2883

Re-enactment

The woman gently touched Joao Herbert's forearm as he stepped off the crowded sidewalk and into an appliance store. "Aren't you the boy who just arrived here from America?" asked Maria Leonar Vieira de Moraes, 60. Herbert smiled and nodded yes. "Welcome to your home," she said. Then she reached up and hugged him. Hers was an oft-expressed sentiment during Herbert's first week here. But it masked the brutal, if sometimes poignant, complexities of the 22-year-old's arrival .........

Joao Herbert is one of several adult adoptees who have been deported or are facing deportation from the United States to their country of birth. The recent passage of HR 2883, The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 does not give citizenship to adoptees over the age of 18.

You can help today!

What you can do:

Immediately contact Lamar Smith via telephone or fax and let him know that you would like to see legislation this session to end the deportation of adult adoptees.

Then call or fax the other members of the Senate and House sub committees on Immigration. As a final step, contact your own congressman with your request that action be taken to stop the deportation of adult adoptees.

Step 1:

Mr. Lamar Smith (Texas) Congressman Lamar Smith
2231 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4321
phone: (202) 225-4236
fax: (202) 225-8628

Step 2: Senate Subcommittee on Immigration-House follows

Senator Spencer Abraham, Chairman
Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania
Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusettes
Ranking Minority Member
Charles E. Grassley, Iowa
Dianne Feinstein, California
Jon Kyl, Arizona
Charles Schumer, New York

SENIOR STAFF

Lee Otis, Chief Counsel & Staff Director
Melody Barnes, Minority Chief Counsel

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U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Immigration
Room SD-323, Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone (202) 224 - 6098
Fax (202) 228 - 4506

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House subcommittee on Immigration

SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND CLAIMS
B370B Rayburn HOB
Tel: (202) 225-5727

MR. SMITH, CHAIRMAN
Mr. Smith (Texas)
Mr. McCollum (Florida)
Ms. Jackson Lee (Texas)
Mr. Gallegly (California)
Mr. Berman (California)
Mr. Pease (Indiana)
Ms. Lofgren (California)
Mr. Cannon(Utah)
Mr. Frank (Massachusetts)
Mr. Canady (Florida)
Mr. Meehan (Massachusetts)
Mr. Goodlatte (Virginia)

Step 3:
Contact your congress person. You can locate them at the following websites.
www.senate.gov
or www.house.gov

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Sample Letter:

December 12, 2000

Honorable Congressman Lamar Smith
2231 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4321
phone: (202) 225-4236
fax: (202) 225-8628

Dear Congressman Smith:

We are very happy that the passage of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 will ensure that international adoptees who meet the qualifications will become automatic U.S. Citizens. As you know, under prior law, foreign-born adopted children could be subject to removal if they did not acquire U.S. citizenship after being brought to the United States -- even if they had lived their lives since infancy in the United States. Since the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 will not remedy past cases where adopted children were deported, action still needs to be taken to resolve this issue. Once an adoption is finalized and a child arrives in the US, that child is an American and should be treated as an American even if he is over the age of 18. Please take action during this session of congress to correct this terrible injustice to adoptive families.

Sincerely,

Your name
Street Address
City, State, Zip

Text: Ann Wilmer
Website Design: Beth Leve
Graphics by Natalie Rasmussen

© Green Ribbon Campaign for Open Records

Graphics for this page
were made by Natalie Rasmussen

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