Adult Adoptees: Documentation and Deportation

In all but SEVEN states, adoption files are sealed tight. Adoptees don't have rights to see their own documents. Adoptees like me are given a fake birth certificate that says adoptive parents are your real parents.

Where were you born, adoptees? This is the new burning question!

I am still wrapping my brain around this since so many First Nations children from Canada were brought to America through the Indian Adoption Programs and ARENA. These children did not choose to come here! Thousands were brought here and adopted here!

Now this -- Adult Adoptees may be deported if their adoptive parents forgot to file paperwork and get them citizenship? This is real, folks. It's already happened!

I used to think it was hard being raised by strangers, forced to pretend I was someone else, given a fake birth certificate to show as my identification. Now adoptees must prove they are American-born or face deportation. 

Could this get any crazier? You spend your childhood in American and then get shipped out?

Unsealing my sealed adoption required nothing less than a miracle in Wisconsin, a closed record state. Fortunately, after many years and many attempts, I found my first family... And yes, Helen and Earl were American-born citizens. Even though Helen and Earl are deceased, I am still denied my OBC- my Original Birth Certificate - from Minnesota (another closed record state)... Other adoptees have this same dilemma and disconnect from the truth and their identity.

What if you were born in Canada or South America and adopted in America? These children did not choose to be adopted or choose to come to America. How are we supposed to know where we were really born? What if your adopters didn't tell you the truth or file the papers? 

This topic will surely gather momentum here in the USA very soon, with immigration so busy deporting adult adoptees who were not born here.  

How many adoptees will be affected? It's unclear.

How did this happen? Unknowing adoptive parents who didn't file papers.

Will immigration help First Nations adoptees find their tribal families? I honestly don't know. But I plan to find out and investigate!

If you were deported, please leave a comment on this blog so I can contact you.

To read the Guide for Adopted Adults,  Click here.

Read Von's excellent blog: Guide for Adopted Adults... Click here....