HJ0024 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0024 LRB101 08578 MST 53657 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 aimed to provide equal treatment under United States law for adopted and biological children by granting citizenship to internationally-born adoptees; however, when the act became law, it did not apply to internationally-born adoptees who were already over the age of 18; and

WHEREAS, As a result, an estimated tens of thousands of adult legal adoptees who were born before February 27, 1982 and raised in the United States remain without citizenship and are therefore potentially subject to deportation; these adoptees' parents did not complete necessary processes to provide their adopted children with citizenship or, in many cases, even a green card; and

WHEREAS, Several deportations of individuals who were legally adopted from foreign countries have already taken place, breaking up families and returning the deported individuals to places where they were born but do not speak the birth county's language, understand the culture, or have any connections; and

WHEREAS, Adoptees who do not have citizenship have come from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Guatemala, El Salvador, India, Ireland, Haiti, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam; there are an estimated 19,000 Korean American adoptees alone who do not have American citizenship despite having been adopted; and

WHEREAS, Two bills which would have granted citizenship to all adult adoptees were introduced with bipartisan support in the l14th Congress, the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2015 (S.2275) and the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2016 (H.R.5454); neither bill was referred out of committee for a Congressional vote; and

WHEREAS, Both bills sought to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant automatic citizenship to all qualifying children adopted by a U.S. citizen parent, regardless of the date on which the adoption was finalized; citizenship would be granted to any individual who was adopted by a U.S. citizen before age 18, was physically present in the United States in the citizen parent's legal custody pursuant to a lawful admission before the individual reached age 18, never previously acquired U.S. citizenship, and was lawfully residing in the United States; the bills also would have given adult adoptees who had already been deported the opportunity to return to the United States; and

WHEREAS, When the biological children of U.S. citizen parents commit a crime, they are not subject to deportation; it is discrimination for the adopted child of U.S. citizen parents to then be subject to deportation; and

WHEREAS, S.2275 and H.R. 5454 stipulated that a visa may not be issued to an adoptee unless the individual was subjected to a criminal background check and the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State coordinated with law enforcement agencies to ensure that appropriate action is taken regarding any resolved criminal activity; in the cases in which criminal activity has been properly resolved, the individuals would be eligible for U.S. citizenship; and

WHEREAS, Legislation is expected to be introduced into the 116th Congress that would grant U.S. citizenship to all adoptees, including those who have been inhumanely deported; and

WHEREAS, Naturalization of adult adoptees who immigrated to the United States under the promise of finding a permanent home is necessary to ensure that they are not forcibly removed from what has become their home country; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we support, as a civil right, automatic citizenship to all qualifying children adopted by a U.S. citizen parent, regardless of the date on which the adoption was finalized, we condemn the deportation of individuals who were adopted into American homes and should have every expectation that their citizenship matches that of their adoptive parents, and we welcome legislation that will provide citizenship for all adult adoptees whose adoptive parents did not complete the naturalization process while they were children; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Congress of the United States and the President of the United States to enact legislation securing the citizenship of all internationally adopted children who are now adults; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.