Parent Power Works in Washington

What You Need to Know About Advocacy

On February 15, 2002, 42 ordinary U.S. citizens with children marooned in Cambodia were hosted in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

Earlier that day, James Ziglar, Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) came out to talk with them when they demonstrated at INS headquarters. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), adoptive parent of two children and one of four Co-Chairs of the nonpartisan, bicameral Congressional Coalition on Adoption, rushed in between votes to thank and encourage the group. Staff aides to Landrieu and Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK) spent 90 minutes talking about what Congress is doing to address the parents' concerns. Sen. Landrieu returned after voting, talking informally with individual parents for 30 minutes.

At least 130 U.S. families who are in the process of adopting children from Cambodia are getting results. Citizens in other countries may well ask, "how does this 'parent power' work?"

"Parent power" is what groups like International Social Service dismiss as "politics," but it works when citizens politely and legally insist that their elected representatives listen to them. Besides writing letters, emailing or calling, parents gathered in Washington, D.C. and created a 4 X 6 foot poster showing the pictures of the children they have already adopted in Cambodia, or the children who have been referred to them. Some wore T-shirts with photographs of "their children" on the front.

News of the Cambodia adoption "moratorium" has been widely reported in the adoption media and U.S. government sites, but not until Feb. 15 did details of a letter, signed by 40 Members of Congress, to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General (INS is part of the U.S. Department of Justice) become public.

Congress will have a report from INS before March 1. Like the children "stuck" in Vietnam, whose parents also mounted an organized appeal to Congress, probably most of the 130 children - barring proof of fraud or coercion - will go to their new American families.

International Social Service

International Social Service (ISS) is a Geneva, Switzerland-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that takes a stand on international adoption that some interpret as being in conflict with the best interests of children in need of permanent families. ISS operates a clearinghouse called the "International Resource Centre for the Protection of Children in Adoption" (IRC) which publishes news bulletins. Here's what ISS/IRC said in its January 2002 bulletin number 43:

"Is there no risk of infringing the rules laid down and the established ethics if politics intervene? Let us remember the objective of 'settling' half the 1400 French cases pending in Vietnam by the summer of 2001."
ISS/IRC is no less harsh in respect to another European Union country:
"In Belgium, pressure from prospective adoption families has gained support from certain political factions favouring the claim of families for 'the right to adopt'. The recent draft legislation thereon is worrying for the protection of children."
Even the Netherlands, home of The Hague and the Convention on Intercountry Adoption, comes in for criticism from ISS/IRC:
"In the Netherlands, family associations manifested against the suspension of adoptions from Guatemala when two damming [sic] reports raised serious issues concerning the reliability of adoptions in that country."

The Letter

The letter from Congress begins by thanking officials from State and INS for meeting with Congressional staff members but then moves quickly to say "we remain extremely troubled over the lack of a decision on how to treat the 'pipeline' cases that have been caught up in this U.S. imposed moratorium." The letter criticizes the current system, noting that some families with adoption decrees dating back to October were denied visas to bring their children home while others, with decrees dated in November and December, were processed and are home with their children. At the Feb. 15 meeting, parents were told that a task force has been sent to Cambodia to understand the stages of the process, and to categorize the families, by status, to see where they are in the process. Meanwhile, the letter recommends that these five steps be taken.

"Define the universe of the 'pipeline' cases at a minimum to include all families who have an adoption decree or have had a child referred to them."

"Process the 'pipeline' cases on a case-by-case basis."

"Process these cases in order beginning with those with the earliest dates on their adoption decrees and cases with extraordinary circumstances (i.e., child has a medical condition in need of immediate treatment)."

"Immediately provide INS letters of approval to families who have referrals so they may proceed with the adoption process in Cambodia."

"Consider adjudicating the cases with adoption decrees prior to a family actually traveling to pick up their child if the adoptive family so requests."
Sen. Landrieu made it clear that Congress is focused on improving the situation. She told the parents "we're going to try to get the maximum number through and, if not, then we'll file a bill to correct things. But we would like to fix the system administratively."

© 2002