Adoption Could Occur For Children Whose Parents Were Deported

Recent media reports have revealed that migrant children are being adopted by American families without the knowledge of their parents who were deported. There are various genuine court documents that prove these claims. These children who were once initially separated from their parents were now attached to other families after a legal process was undertaken.

Separation of Alexa from Her Mother

The recent report highlighted the case of Alexa Ramosa who fled from her birth country of El Salvador with her mother. Alexa and her mother Araceli were running away from the abusive father. Once they got to the border, the two were denied entry on basis that Araceli had a criminal record. The two were then separated with Alexa being placed in foster care and her mother in detention.

Araceli is Forced to Leave Alexa Behind Due to Lack of a Lawyer

Months later, Araceli was unable to get a lawyer to help her table her request to seek asylum in the US. Before she left, she says she was forced to sign a document that showed her agreement to leave her child behind. According to the law, if a parent leaves a child behind before they are deported; the child can be permanently adopted by another family. Sadly, this law affects even these children who do not know where their parents went.

 

The Court Overturns an Order to Return Alexa to Her Mother

However, with Alexa's case, various institutions knew of her mother and they asked the family in which she was placed to return her to her mother. The family is said to have ignored all these requests and instead went to court to overturn the order to return Alexa to her mother. They centered their argument on the claim that the girl would be abused if she returned back to her family in El Salvador. Their request went through and they were allowed to be the guardians of Alexa by a judge in Michigan.

The Push for Alexa's Return

However, social media and the government of Salvador pushed for Alexa's return which was done in February 2017. The judge was found to have gone against the federal law when he granted guardianship. This case revealed the problems that exist in immigration and how the federal law at times clashes with the state law.

To learn more about adoptions, contact our Adoptions From The Heart offices in:

Greensburg, PA (Pittsburgh)

1225 S. Main St #207

Greensburg, PA 15601

(724) 853-6533

Philadelphia, PA

30 Hampstead Cir 

Wynnewood, PA 19096  

(610) 642-7200

Allentown, PA    

2212 Union Blvd     

Allentown, PA 18109      

(610) 432-2384

Chesapeake, Virginia 

1407 Stephanie Way #H

Chesapeake, Virginia 23320

(757) 361-0008

Glastonbury, Connecticut 

703 Hebron Ave #1

Glastonbury, CT 06033

(860) 657-2626

Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA

1525 Oregon Pike 

Lancaster, PA 17601

(717) 399-7766

Cherry Hill, New Jersey

451 Woodland Ave

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

(856) 665-5655

Wilmington, Delaware 

18A Trolley Square

Wilmington, DE 19806

(302) 658-8883

Illinois Introduces Tax Credit For Illinois Families Looking To Adopt

Adoption can be a god-send for both adoptive parents and the child they choose to take in. Through adoption, couples who may not be able to conceive on their own can still be parents and children who are without loving homes can find them. Additionally, couples who would rather provide a stable and loving home for a child in need of one instead of conceiving their own children often decide to adopt.

However, adoption often has many financial hurdles. The average cost of an adoption is $30,000, and that figure grows even larger for international adoptions. Fortunately, in Illinois, the new state budget includes a tax credit for adoption expenses. This could make it easier for middle-class families to get through the adoption process and help benefit both prospective adoptive parents and the children looking for homes. How Much Is The Illinois Adoption Tax Credit? This new Illinois state tax credit for adoption is modeled after a federal one. Illinois residents are eligible for up to $5,000 in refunds for a child adopted in the state, and up to $2,000 for a child adopted outside of the state, beginning with 2018 tax filings.

This state tax credit is limited to the total amount of state tax owed each year - the credit can’t reduce your tax liability to less than zero. However, the credit may be carried over for up to five years following the finalization of the adoption until the credit accumulates to the full $2,000 or $5,000 amount.

How Does The Tax Credit Help Families?

Many people who are considering adoption for the first time don’t realize how expensive it is. Once they become aware of the costs, middle-class families often struggle to raise the funds necessary to adopt a child. This is unfortunate, because this means that individuals and couples who could have been great parents don’t get the opportunity, and the foster system remains full of kids with no true home.

Tax credits help solve this problem by offsetting some of the costs of adoptions, such as fees for lawyers and adoption agencies and medical or living expenses for expectant mothers.

To learn more about adoptions, contact our Adoptions From The Heart offices in:

Greensburg, PA (Pittsburgh)

1225 S. Main St #207

Greensburg, PA 15601

(724) 853-6533

Philadelphia, PA

30 Hampstead Cir 

Wynnewood, PA 19096  

(610) 642-7200

Allentown, PA    

2212 Union Blvd     

Allentown, PA 18109      

(610) 432-2384

Chesapeake, Virginia 

1407 Stephanie Way #H

Chesapeake, Virginia 23320

(757) 361-0008

Glastonbury, Connecticut 

703 Hebron Ave #1

Glastonbury, CT 06033

(860) 657-2626

Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA

1525 Oregon Pike 

Lancaster, PA 17601

(717) 399-7766

Cherry Hill, New Jersey

451 Woodland Ave

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

(856) 665-5655

Wilmington, Delaware 

18A Trolley Square

Wilmington, DE 19806

(302) 658-8883

Ireland Rocked With Adoption Scandal After Government Inquiry

Last month, shockwaves were sent through Ireland after a government inquiry revealed the systematic falsifying of birth certificates to make it appear as if adoptive parents were birth ones. This inquiry was only into one of the country’s adoption agencies, but revealed that at least 126 children were affected. These adoptions occurred between 1946 and 1969 - when the Roman Catholic Church wielded significant influence in Ireland. Those adopted children are now in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, and most of them have no idea that they were adopted.

Saint Patrick’s Guild Responsible For At Least 126 Falsified Birth Certificates

This particular inquiry was made into St. Patrick’s Guild, an adoption society run by the Sisters of Charity. St. Patrick’s Guild was one of at least seven adoption agencies in Ireland during the time period where the false birth certificates were written. This organization arranged roughly 13,500 adoptions between 1946 and 1969. In at least 126 of these adoptions, the child’s adoptive parents’ names were written on their birth certificates.

Why Were Birth Certificates Falsified?

As mentioned above, Ireland was once (and still is, but to a lesser extent) an extremely Catholic nation. During this time, unwed mothers were treated extremely unfairly, as there was a major cultural stigma associated with having a child out of wedlock. This meant that expectant mothers, their families, and even organizations like adoption groups went to great lengths to cover up the pregnancy.

Single and pregnant women in Ireland during this time period were strongly pressured to consider adoption. The birth certificates were most likely falsified out of a sense of shame and to discourage the adopted child from discovering the truth about their history.

Irish Government Apologizes

In May, the Irish government formally apologized to the mothers and children affected by this scandal. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar apologized in Parliament for the secret adoptions and pledged that the government would do everything in its power to contact all parties affected to tell them the truth about their birth.

To learn more about adoptions, contact our Adoptions From The Heart offices in:

Greensburg, PA (Pittsburgh)

1225 S. Main St #207

Greensburg, PA 15601

(724) 853-6533

Philadelphia, PA

30 Hampstead Cir 

Wynnewood, PA 19096  

(610) 642-7200

Allentown, PA    

2212 Union Blvd     

Allentown, PA 18109      

(610) 432-2384

Chesapeake, Virginia 

1407 Stephanie Way #H

Chesapeake, Virginia 23320

(757) 361-0008

Glastonbury, Connecticut 

703 Hebron Ave #1

Glastonbury, CT 06033

(860) 657-2626

Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA

1525 Oregon Pike 

Lancaster, PA 17601

(717) 399-7766

Cherry Hill, New Jersey

451 Woodland Ave

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

(856) 665-5655

Wilmington, Delaware 

18A Trolley Square

Wilmington, DE 19806

(302) 658-8883

Do Religiously Affiliated Adoption Agencies Have The Right To Deny Adoptions To LGBT Couples?

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional and that same-sex couples have the right to get married. You would think this means that these couples have the same rights as heterosexual ones, but this is unfortunately not the case in all 50 states. Several states have passed or proposed legislation which allows religiously affiliated adoption agencies to refuse to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. LGBT advocacy groups argue that these types of bills amount to discrimination.

What States Have Laws Against LGBT Adoptions?

In May, Oklahoma and Kansas became the latest states to pass a bill allowing private adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT couples for religious reasons when placing children. Colorado is currently considering passing similar legislation. The Oklahoma law allows agencies to choose not to place children in certain types of homes if doing so “would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.”

Seven other states have already passed similar legislation:

• Texas
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Virginia 
• Michigan
• Alabama
• Mississippi

Other Forms of Discriminatory Anti-LGBT Laws

In related news, the Supreme Court recently ruled that Christian bakers have the right to refuse to make wedding cakes for LGBT couples. This is a similar form of discrimination and the controversial decision has been harshly rebuked by constitutionalists and civil rights groups.

A majority of states also allow discrimination against LGBT couples seeking employment, housing, and public accommodations. Unfortunately, while the Supreme Court same-sex ruling was a major victory in the struggle for LGBT rights, we still need to work to dismantle statewide legislation which allows for legal discrimination of the LGBT community across the country.

These anti-LGBT adoption laws draw outrage, but fortunately, many states have been rejecting similar laws and protecting the rights of their LGBT constituents. Lawmakers throughout the country have derailed several efforts to discriminate against the LGBT community:

• South Dakota and Tennessee lawmakers successfully derailed efforts to restrict bathroom access to transgender youth.
• Indiana lawmakers defeated attempts to prohibit discussions of LGBT issues in Indiana schools.
• Georgia lawmakers struck down legislation to give adoption and foster care agencies the right to discriminate against LGBT parents.

Hopefully these rejections of anti-LGBT laws are a sign of times to come. If voters reject these proposals and make their voices heard at the polls, perhaps these laws can be repealed.

To learn more about adoptions, contact our Adoptions From The Heart offices in:

Greensburg, PA (Pittsburgh)

1225 S. Main St #207

Greensburg, PA 15601

(724) 853-6533

Philadelphia, PA

30 Hampstead Cir 

Wynnewood, PA 19096  

(610) 642-7200

Allentown, PA    

2212 Union Blvd     

Allentown, PA 18109      

(610) 432-2384

Chesapeake, Virginia 

1407 Stephanie Way #H

Chesapeake, Virginia 23320

(757) 361-0008

Glastonbury, Connecticut 

703 Hebron Ave #1

Glastonbury, CT 06033

(860) 657-2626

Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA

1525 Oregon Pike 

Lancaster, PA 17601

(717) 399-7766

Cherry Hill, New Jersey

451 Woodland Ave

Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

(856) 665-5655

Wilmington, Delaware 

18A Trolley Square

Wilmington, DE 19806

(302) 658-8883