Temporary Protected Status Reinstated for Haitians: Implications for Adoptees?

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The United States has ended or is considering ending Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for people from many countries that our State Department says “have life-threatening risks,” countries to which the State Department advises U.S. citizens should not travel.

We are okay, though, with sending folks back to those countries, even as there are horrific conditions.

That changed today for Haiti. According to Reuters, “A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from revoking legal protections for more than 350,000 Haitians in the U.S., preventing their potential deportation to a country that has been ravaged by gang violence.”

What is Temporary Protected Status?

Currently, there are 15 countries, including Haiti, whose citizens have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services program: “TPS provides a temporary immigration status to eligible nationals of certain designated foreign states (or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated foreign state) who are physically present in the United States.”

It is considered a humanitarian status, according to USCIS: “protection to individuals unable to reside in their home countries; to individuals who must enter the U.S. under urgent circumstances; and to victims of certain crimes, including but not limited to human trafficking, domestic violence, abandonment, neglect, or abuse.”

Why Would TPS End?

TPS is by definition temporary. “After reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem” can decide to end TPS. She has set deadlines to do so for countries such as El Salvador, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, Burma, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan, and Syria. (The last eight are under active legal challenge for the termination of TPS.)

Of these countries, all except El Salvador (designated Level 1) are Level 4 countries according to U.S. State Department Travel Advisories.

Level 4 is “Do not travel. This is the highest advisory level due to life-threatening risks. Specific risks are described in the Travel Advisory. The U.S. government may have very limited or no ability to help, including during an emergency. We advise that U.S. citizens do not travel to the country, or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Of the eight TPS countries currently under active legal challenge, four are designated at Level 4: Burma, South Sudan, Syria, and Haiti.

The other four are designated at Level 3: “Reconsider your travel to the destination due to serious risks to safety and security. Specific risks are described in the Travel Advisory.” They include Ethiopia, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.

So the United States, having granted legal protective status to immigrants, is now sending or attempting to send them back to countries that are unsafe for U.S. citizens, due to gang violence, crime, terrorism, hostage-taking, kidnapping, lack of medical care, natural disasters, or other terrible situations.

Haitians under TPS in the U.S. have been temporarily allowed to retain their status. More litigation is likely, of course, as our U.S. government moves to decrease or eliminate TPS.

How does all this affect adoptees?

In terms of legal status, minimally if at all, TPS generally does not cover adoptees, who enter the U.S. on a visa, as opposed to a TPS designation. (Reminder: I am not a lawyer; always consult an attorney.)

That said, some in the adoption community from countries like Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Haiti–countries which have placed children for adoption in the U.S. in relatively significant numbers (a total of 37,000 from those 3 countries since 1999)–worry that they will get caught up in sweeps if their country no longer has TPS. I hope that their fears are not warranted.

Even adoptees with full proof of citizenship have had concerns, whether they are from countries with TPS or not. This may be especially true in Minnesota right now: “Minnesota has one of the highest concentrations of Korean adoptees in the United States. Here’s how they’re protecting each other during ICE raids.”

I would imagine also that some adoptees worry about their country, and about their family members and friends here in the U.S. and in-country. And perhaps others wonder how welcome they truly are in the U.S.

Some Resources:

Korean adoptee Kelsey Arnston writes on Facebook “Mostly, I’m heartbroken that this is the reality for myself and so many others right now, even as a legal US citizen. Please don’t tell us, “you’ll be fine, you’re a citizen” or “turn off your phone and stop watching the news.” This feels incredibly dismissive and invalidating. Even with all the right papers, identification, trackers, plans and all…we need to be ready for the “just in case.” There may be people you know that are struggling with these fears in silence. I’m fortunate to have a strong support system. However, many do not, and I worry about them falling through the cracks of our justice system.”

From Rewriting Adoption: Dealing With Immigration Policies Through the Lens of Many Adopted People.

Chinese Adoptee Alliance is holding a workshop tomorrow February 3: Immigration and ICE–You Have Your Documents. Now What?

Adoptees United: We Need to Talk, a monthly chat for adoptees about citizenship and other issues of concern

Adoptees for Justice: Advocating for citizenship for all international adoptees

Adoptive Grandparents and Grandchildren: A New Post on Substack

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Please read and subscribe to my Substack, Grandparents and Adoption.

My newest post is “What we adoptive grandparents can’t give our grandkids.”

I am a parent because of adoption; I am a grandparent because my adopted children had children. As is true with my children, I love my grandchildren deeply, and I have no biological connection to them.

A baby wearing a pink outfit and hat lies on a colorful quilt, reaching for their feet with a playful expression.
Screenshot

If you’re a grandparent with a connection to adoption (an adoptee yourself, an adoptive parent like me, a grandparent whose grandkids are adopted, or some other connection), I offer you a special invitation to read my posts.

You are also welcome to be a guest writer. Just let me know!

Anyone in the adoption community (and outside of it) is welcome to read my posts, and, I hope, to subscribe.

Thanks very much.

Good News, Bad News: Adoption-Immigration Updates

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Your response to this news depends on your perspective about adoption. Do you support adoption through the lifetime of adoptees, or only when the babies and children arrive?

Per my post How Does the Recent U.S. Freeze on Visas from 75 Countries Affect International Adoptees?, the Trump Administration recently announced that immigrant visas from 75 countries are being frozen.

The freeze thus affected international adoptees in the process of being adopted: they are considered immigrants seeking permanent U.S. citizenship.

While international adoption numbers have dropped significantly in recent years, some countries–such as Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Jamaica, Nigeria, Thailand, Cameroon, Haiti, and others–still send children to the U.S. for adoption. That was paused when the immigrant visa freeze was put into effect.

The State Department yesterday announced an adoption exception to the visa freeze:

“Effective January 21, 2026, the Department of State paused visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of 75 countries.

President Trump and his Administration support families and intercountry adoption.

In countries where the issuance of immigrant visas is currently limited or paused, children being adopted by Americans can qualify for an exception under the National Interest Exception. (Emphasis mine.)

These American families should continue the normal adoption process.  They should submit visa applications and attend consular interviews.  They do not need to take other additional steps to be considered for a case-by-case exception under the National Interest Exception.

For additional details, visit travel.state.gov here.”

Why is this good news/bad news?

It’s good news to the families whose adoptions were in process. I hope it’s good news for the children being adopted. I hope their adoptions have no fraud or coercion connected to them. I hope the children are well cared for here.

It’s good news for the National Council for Adoption, which lobbied for this exception, and for the adoption agencies who did so as well. It’s bad news for all the other potential immigrants from those 75 countries.

It’s a carve out, an exception, an opening of a door. I’ve no doubt there is an emotional factor here, especially for folks who see adoption as only wonderful.

I get why folks don’t want to acknowledge the struggles that adoption causes for some adoptees, or the role that fraud, money, and corruption have played in international adoption.

Those images of sweet babies being adopted into American homes are powerful.

Those sweet babies grow up. Even in the most loving of adoptive homes, adoptees may feel like outsiders. They may yearn to reconnect with their original family and heritage. They may deal with a lack of medical history that shows mental illness or other conditions. They may deal with ambiguous or other forms of grief. And, I know, they may roll through life just fine.

Some international adoptees, whether from loving or abusive adoptive homes, will be deported. Some have been, some have died, some will be deported in the days to come.

That State Department press release says “President Trump and his Administration support families and intercountry adoption.”

A sleeping infant in a pink onesie and hat secured in a car seat, with a soft focus on the baby's face and hands.

I’d guess most members of the U.S. Congress also support families and intercountry adoption.

Yet the Congress has not, for over 15 years, passed legislation to grant citizenship to all international adoptees.

Could a “National Interest Exception” for little child adoption visas extend possibly to adult adoptee citizenship?

Will the National Council for Adoption and adoption agencies mount a significant advocacy campaign for citizenship for all international adoptees, as they did for the little children to arrive here with their “forever families”? Will more adoptive parents, including those whose children are U.S. citizens, speak out and use their power to insist on citizenship for all international adoptees?

Will the Congress pass and the President sign the “Protect Adoptees and American Families” act? Please urge your members of Congress to sign on to the bill, especially Republicans,

Or will the news continue only to be bad for adult adoptees, now in their 40’s, 50’s and older, who did not acquire citizenship through no fault of theirs?

Mike is not the only adoptee who’s been deported, and I urge you to support the work of Adoptees for Justice to help all international adoptees obtain citizenship. Adoptees should have the same rights and privileges as other family members.

In the almost 4 years since we’ve been running this campaign, folks have donated over $5000, for which we are very grateful. Mike has used the funds for legal and medical expenses, as well as occasionally for living expenses, to survive alone at 63 years old of age. Please donate, as we are beginning to run low on funds. Even a small amount is deeply appreciated, and will be used responsibly. Many thanks.

Portrait of a middle-aged man with a serious expression, wearing a light-colored polo shirt, set against a plain background.

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Support Citizenship for All International Adoptees! Your Help is Needed Now More Than Ever.

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International adoptees to the United States didn’t get “automatic” citizenship until the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, and that was only for adoptees 18 and younger. Many international adoptees from many different countries are without citizenship–folks in their 30’s on through their 80’s and beyond, Some know they don’t have citizenship, and they are worried. Some assume they are citizens. Some have been deported because they did not, for whatever variety of reasons, obtain citizenship.

Please join Adoptees For Justice and KAAN for a community call on Wednesday, January 28th at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET.

“We’ll discuss ways to increase outreach for the Protect Adoptees and American Families (PAAF) Act and share updates about plans and programs for 2026. 

This event is free and open to adoptees, adoptive parents and family members, and allies.”

The link to register is here.

Graphic promoting a community call event by KAIN and Adoptees for Justice on January 28. The call discusses outreach for the Protect Adoptees and American Families Act and shares updates for 2026. Includes details of time and RSVP link.

The Protect Adoptees and American Families Act (PAAF) is the current incarnation of legislation designed to give citizenship to all international adoptees. Info on the PAAF is available here from Adoptees for Justice, and here from Adoptees United.

I hope that many adoptive parents will join this effort, including parents whose children are young, parents whose children are well into adulthood, and parents whose children (whatever age) have full proof of citizenship. We need your help in making sure all international adoptees have citizenship.

Additional Information:

From Associated Press: “Thousands of children adopted by Americans are without citizenship. Congress is unwilling to act.“

From KPBS: “Adoptees without US citizenship now risk deportation.”

From Asian American Life, a video: “For tens of thousands of international adoptees, U.S. #citizenship wasn’t guaranteed when they were adopted by their American families”

How Does the Recent U.S. Freeze on Visas from 75 Countries Affect International Adoptees?

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President Trump recently announced that immigrant visas from 75 countries are being frozen; “the freeze, which takes effect on 21 January, targets applicants officials deem likely to become a ‘public charge’ – people who they believe may rely on government benefits for basic needs.”

The freeze thus affects international adoptees in the process of being adopted: they are considered immigrants seeking permanent U.S. citizenship.

Temporary visas are not included in the freeze. That’s why visitors for the World Cup will be fine as well as other tourist, student, and business visas.

The freeze affects folks who are looking to be in the U.S. permanently, such as Permanent Residents (green card holders) who can work here, collect Social Security, travel internationally and return to the U.S., file taxes, and obey all laws. Green card holders over the age of 18 must carry their green cards at all times.

International adoptees typically travel with an IR-3 or IR-4 (Immediate Relative) visa or an IH-3/I-H 4 (Immediate Hague) visas.

Those adoptee visas are frozen now.

Of the 75 countries for which immigrant visas are currently frozen, about 20 are currently open to international adoption. The numbers of adoptions from those countries are for the most part small. Some of the countries have signed The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption; some have not. A list of Hague countries is here. Some have signed The Hague treaty and are not open to adoption now.

The bottom line is that the U.S. government has frozen adoption-related visas from countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Jamaica, Nigeria, Thailand, Cameroon, Haiti, and others. I have no idea how many children are currently designated for international adoption from any of those countries. It’s probably in the low hundreds, I’d guess.

In any case, their visas are frozen, since adoptees fall into that category of immigrant seeking to be in the U.S. permanently who could become “public charges,” meaning they might need long-term institutional care or care that is otherwise long-term for basic needs, like long-term Medicaid.

An Ethiopian little girl in a white dress walks along a road near green trees.
Personal photo by Maureen McCauley

Children with special needs, many of whom are adopted to the U.S., could fall into this category of potentially needing long-term care. “Special needs” is a phrase that covers correctable medical conditions (cleft palate, some heart ailments), or physical conditions which may not be correctable but are more easily managed in the U.S. than in countries of origin. These might include limb differences, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, blindness, for example. Special needs can also include emotional and developmental needs, some of which emerge over time. Trauma–such as separation from one’s mother, country, and culture; abuse and neglect; exposure to violence; natural disasters; housing of food insecurity– is often part of adoption. Obviously, not all people with special needs ever become “public charges” or need long-term care.

While international adoption numbers have declined in recent years, due to fraud, corruption, increased costs, trafficking, stricter regulations, more emphasis on in-country adoption, some countries still send children with special needs, often called waiting children (this could include sibling groups) for international adoption). I realize this is not always the case, but many of these children get far better care here than they otherwise would have.

The current visa freeze ends that possibility. There is no suggestion at this point that there will be an exception for adoptees.

What will be the outcry about this?

One reason I am curious is because of a parallel with the deportation of adoptees. International adoptees without U.S. citizenship have not been exempt from deportation.

Our country has shown virtually no interest or compassion about the notion that international adoptees, brought with the legal permission of the sending country and the U.S, to be here forever, should not be subject to deportation.

That we deport international adoptees is, to me, a shameful tragedy. It seems similarly tragic that we are now banning adoptions particularly of vulnerable children. Yet it is also consistent in terms of U.S. policy, supported by our federal government.

Info About Proving Citizenship for Adoptees and Adoptive Parents: Be Informed, Be in Community

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Many of us here in the US are worried about adoptees these days, those whom we love and those who are in the adoption community. The ICE raids, the sweeps at schools and courthouses, the characterization of Somali immigrants as “garbage,” the end of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians and others, the banning of travelers from 39 countries (most from Africa): it’s a lot to take in. Add to that the tragic death of Renee Good, the divisive rhetoric in our country, and the suspicion with which immigrants are treated, and you can understand why anxiety and fear are in the air.

International adoptees are immigrants, and many are concerned, as are their adoptive parents.

I heard today about an adoptive parent whose young adult child was held by ICE for about 45 minutes, The adoptee, fortunately, had a Certificate of Citizenship, and that ended the time with ICE. Even so, I’d bet it was a scary time for that young international adoptee. I know of a mom who worries about her daughter waiting at a bus stop. I know adopted adults who say they are looking over their shoulder on a regular basis. Those in Minnesota are particularly, understandably, anxious. I heard from an adoptive parent that she didn’t realize that the Enhanced Driver’s License (available in 5 states) provides both identity and proof of citizenship.

Most adoptees have citizenship, but not all, especially those who were over 18 when the Child Citizenship Act was passed, providing automatic citizenship to international adoptees. I highly recommend all international adoptees get their Certificate of Citizenship (CoC), the gold standard to prove they are U.S. citizens.

Even with the CoC, many adoptees and adoptive parents want to be sure they are doing all they can in the event they get in trouble with the law, or they are caught up in a sweep, or are otherwise challenged to prove their citizenship. Maybe they will not have any issues or challenges–that would be wonderful. And there’s nothing wrong with being prepared.

American flag

I’ve put together some info about government documents that prove citizenship and identity, about Temporary Protective Status which ends February 13 for Ethiopians, and about ideas for phone security and for carrying around government-issued documents. I hope folks will find it helpful. It has a disclaimer, as I am not an expert nor an attorney. I’ve had a lawyer look at it; any errors are mine. Let me know if it needs corrections–thank you.

We need information, and we need community. We need folks to know that they are not alone, and that includes deported international adoptees. I hope all international adoptees have accurate information, and are safe. I hope all adoptive parents will stay informed and supportive of their children, whether the children are in elementary school or are working, married, homeowners, adventurers, whatever the case may be. As an adoptive parent and as a grandmother, I know there is so much we don’t have control over once our children leave the house, whether to live across the country or to ride the bus to school.

Take good care, all.

Click to access Citizenship-Proof-and-Other-Adoption-Related-Issues.pdf

Lions Roaring Writer Leyla Angelidis Nominated for IBBY Award: Another Wonderful Book in Amharic and English!

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Huge congratulations to Leyla Angelidis, one of our Lions Roaring writers! As part of her amazing work with Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD), Leyla has written several books for early readers in Ethiopia. 

Recently, one of Leyla’s books, Beautiful Dreams, co-authored with her mother, Ellenore Angelidis, has been nominated for inclusion on the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)’s 2026 Honour List of outstanding books for young people globally.

Beautiful Dreams, in Amharic and English, was nominated for “Best Illustration,” and features artists from Ethiopia and elsewhere. It was illustrated by the wonderful Nahosenay Negussie, an incredibly talented Ethiopian artist whose work is on the cover of Lions Roaring Far From Home. 

“The book’s message is that little girls can dream about becoming anything they want to be—a dream that Leyla holds for children everywhere.”

Open Hearts Big Dreams is a Seattle-based, not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to increasing literacy, inclusion, innovation readiness, and leadership skills in Ethiopia and beyond. Ethiopia is Africa’s second-most populous country, but tens of millions of people there are without literacy skills, and there is a lack of sufficient quality, culturally relevant children’s bilingual books in the local languages, including Amharic, Tigrinya, Afaan Oromo, Somali, Anuak, and more, as well as English, French, Kiswahili, and more. Follow them on Facebook. 

Taken from OHBD Facebook site

They have won many other awards as well. Take a look here at the impressive awards. You can buy some books, from small booksellers as well as the big names. Spread the word about these books. Literacy changes lives—there is no doubt about that. Books are vitally important for all children, and I’d say especially those who rarely have them. This is a beautiful and effective way to support vulnerable children in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

Congratulations, Leyla! We are so proud of you.

You can read the full article from IBBY here

South Korea, Following U.N. Impetus, Plans to End International Adoption By 2029

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According to The Korea Herald, “The South Korean government is preparing to end overseas adoptions by 2029, shifting responsibility for adoption from private agencies to the state in a move officials say is aimed at strengthening child protection.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday it has approved a five-year child welfare blueprint, formally titled the Third Basic Plan for Child Policy, which prioritizes domestic adoption and charts a gradual end to overseas adoptions. The plan was endorsed by a government coordination committee chaired by the prime minister.

The scheme anchors the child welfare agenda of President Lee Jae Myung, who has described Korea’s history of overseas adoption as a national failure.”

Some 200,000 children have been adopted from South Korea since the mid-1950’s, to the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. The numbers of international adoptions generally have declined significantly in recent years; South Korea is no exception. In addition, South Korea has been under scrutiny for its historic adoption practices.

Per PBS, the U.N. played a role in this newest development: “United Nations investigators voiced ‘serious concern’ over what they described as Seoul’s failure to ensure truth-finding and reparations for widespread human rights violations tied to decades of mass overseas adoptions.

The announcement Friday came hours after the United Nations human rights office released South Korea’s response to investigators urging Seoul to spell out concrete plans to address the grievances of adoptees sent abroad with falsified records or abused by foreign parents.”

South Korea will phase out foreign adoptions over a five-year period, aiming to reach zero by 2029 at the latest as it tightens welfare policies for children in need of care,’ Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Seuran said during a briefing.

South Korea approved foreign adoptions of 24 children in 2025, down from around 2,000 in 2005 and an annual average of more than 6,000 during the 1980s.”

Per The Korea Herald, the Korean government has significant policies planned as adoptions end: “The plan also overhauls foster care, moving child placements under full state management and recognizing foster families as a formal family category with expanded legal authority.

Provincial governments will be required to regularly assess foster homes, adoptive families and child care facilities, while support for reunification with biological families will be expanded.

In response to repeated child abuse deaths, the government will establish a special review body to conduct in depth analyses of fatal cases and is considering a broader system to examine the causes of all child deaths.

Beyond adoption, the plan broadens social support. Child allowances will be gradually extended to children under 13 by 2030, with additional payments for nonmetropolitan and depopulating regions.

The government also plans to introduce short-term parental leave, expand overnight community child care and broaden vaccination coverage.”

Many countries (Guatemala, Ethiopia, Russia, China, Romania, more) have ended or drastically restricted international adoptions, sometimes with the urging of the United Nations. The reasons often involve fraud, corruption, and abuse of adoptees.

The restrictions or endings do not mean that there are no longer children in need of families, safety, education, and medical care. Given the numbers of Korean adoptees and adoptive families, the substantive advocacy of Korean adoptees, and the fact the United Nations has weighed in, I am hopeful that there will be oversight given to the new policies for vulnerable children in Korea, which include domestic adoption.

Adoptive parents can (and should) contribute to the needs of the children, even as programs close. In the case of South Korea, KUMFA (Korean Unwed Mothers and Families Association) might be of interest. There are many organizations doing hard work to help children, and they deserve support. Also, Adoptees for Justice have been promoting justice in adoptee, immigrant, racial, and social justice spaces for years, particularly around the deportation of Korean and other international adoptees.

Wishing Mike Davis a Very Happy Birthday–And Hoping for Good News

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Happy 63rd Birthday, Mike!

Today must be bittersweet at best.

Mike is an Ethiopian adoptee, raise by his U.S. Army adoptive dad on military bases. Mike settled in Georgia. He got married, had children, and ran various businesses.

Over 30 years ago, he got into trouble with the law. He served his time, and has had no trouble with the law since then.

As is true for too many adoptees today, Mike was unable to prove his citizenship, despite his dad’s efforts: documents had been lost, government agencies failed to respond, and his lawyers were unreliable and uniformed about adoption and immigration laws. Mike was deported back to Ethiopia in 2005, and been separated from his friends and family since then. He has yet to meet his grandchildren in person.

We started a GoFund Me for Mike in June 2023. Mike is deeply grateful to all who have donated.

Mike Davis is an older man, smiling, wearing a red tee shirt and black jacket.
Mike in Addis in 2023

A total of $5250 has been raised over the last two and half years. Mike has used about $5000 of it, so roughly $2500 each year, to cover rent, food, access to water, legal fees, and medical care. His other sources of income are minimal at this point.

While that $210 a month goes fairly far in Ethiopia, it’s not much. He lives a hard life. His efforts to attain citizenship have involved document fees, lawyer fees, and more, at U.S. prices. It’s been an uphill climb in many ways.

Many folks in the adoption community want to let Mike know he has not been forgotten. Mike has had a rough time in Ethiopia, though he does not complain. He had no friends, no money, and no work when he arrived 20 years ago. He’s done his best to survive alone. Safe housing, food, and medical care haven’t always been easy to find. He’s dealing with health issues now in his early 60’s.

Please help. Donations have slowed significantly, and inflation/expenses are rising these days in Ethiopia.

Please join me in wishing Mike a Happy Birthday, and donate to our GoFund Me. Please share the GoFundMe with others.

So many people support international adoption. Please support international adoptees as well, in this case a now-63 year old man who made a mistake over 30 years ago, and who believed (as many adoptees do) that he had citizenship (he paid taxes, he paid into Social Security). His wife, his sons, and his grandkids would love to have him back.

Mike is a good person. Adoptive families and adoptees have met up with him in Addis, which has brought him great joy.

As a community, I invite everyone to wish Mike a good birthday, and to send your prayers, blessings, and hopes that he might return to the U.S., which was supposed to be his forever home.

Many thanks. Amasegenallo (thank you in Amharic).

Please also support the valuable work of Adoptees for Justice, who have helped Mike and many other adoptees in positive, productive ways. They are a hard-working, amazing organization.

Adoptee Remembrance Day 2025

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Today is Adoptee Remembrance Day, designed to honor and remember adoptees who have died, who have been deported, who are survivors of the Troubled Teen Industry, who are incarcerated, who have been abandoned after being adopted, and those dealing with mental illness and/or substance abuse. We honor and remember all the forms of loss in the adoption community.

My post today is drawn essentially from my 2024 post about Adoptee Remembrance Day. The reasons for the day remain the same, and I am grateful for all those, especially adopted people, who promote awareness and the need for this day.

In the words of Pamela Karanova, the U.S. adoptee who founded Adoptee Remembrance Day, “While our primary goal is to uplift the legacy of those who are no longer with us, we also seek to share the truth of how adoption has impacted each of us. October 30th is our day of truth, transparency, and remembrance—a day for adoptees around the world to come together and be seen.”

What can you do to observe this day? There are many wonderful suggestions here. I’ve drawn some ideas below from the Adoptee Remembrance page. Please consider these actions, and share them with others.

  • Pause for a moment of silence for adoptees who have died.
  • Donate to help Mike Davis, who was adopted by a U.S. Army officer and was deported to Ethiopia in 2005. He has never met his grandchildren, and hasn’t been his wife and children for many years.

Twelve years ago yesterday, the parents of Ethiopian adoptee Hanna Williams were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for Hanna’s death. So many of keep Hanna in our hearts.

Adoptee Remembrance Day is “a beacon of awareness, remembrance, and solidarity.” Deep gratitude to those who work tirelessly to help and support adopted people around the globe.