I believe Convicted Felon Donald Chump is at work on his
next book HOW TO MAKE ENEMIES AND INFLUENCE NO ONE BUT THE CRAZIES. I
came to that conclusion after reading this report from TAG 24:
Colombia's
President Gustavo Petro addressed the UN General Assembly Tuesday to
call for a "criminal process" to be opened against Donald Trump over the
deadly US strikes on boats in the Caribbean.
Petro
said unarmed "poor young people" died in the strikes that the US said
were part of an anti-drug operation off the coast of Venezuela, whose
president the Trump administration accuses of running a cartel.
Over
a dozen people have been killed in strikes on at least three boats in
attacks UN experts have described as extrajudicial executions.
Poor Mr. Chump. Turns out, he is not the War Criminal anyone was waiting for.
Nunna Ubidness
57 minutes ago
Since
when is a US president allowed to murder citizens based on a 'feeling'
they might be transporting drugs? Even if he actually had facts to back
up his assumptions, capturing them would be the right way to go, and
letting the court system deal with it. He's appointed himself judge,
jury, and executioner and that's a recipe for disaster. Good for
Colombia, it's about time someone has the balls to hold this felon
accountable for his crimes.
user-g7bs9gq0mg
1 hour ago
International
Courts should also prosecute orange clown for war and hate crimes, not
only the U.S. Supreme Court that has dealt with a series of cases
involving challenges to his actions and his administration since he
returned to office in January. These cases have involved the U.S.
Federal Reserve, tariffs, immigration policy, birthright citizenship,
transgender rights, firings of federal workers and agency officials,
dismantling the Education Department, cuts to teacher training and
medical research grants, foreign aid and other matters.
Angelo Clasca
1 hour ago
Angelo Clasca
Comments
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5
Well, Trump is not new to criminal prosecution, after all he is a convicted felon.
g p
1 hour ago
Agreed!
Drug
dealing/running isn't even a capital offense in the US, so TRAITOR
Donnie is guilty of capital murder, and there is no proof they had drugs
on the boats.
On
a dusty, warm day last October, nearly a month after Hurricane Helene
tore across the southeastern United States, Donald Trump stood behind a
podium in Swannanoa, North Carolina, to pledge funding and support to
survivors of the disaster.
“In the wake of this
horrible storm, many Americans in this region felt helpless and
abandoned, and left behind by their government,” Trump, still a
presidential candidate at the time, said. “And yet in North Carolina’s
hour of desperation, the American people answer the call much more so
than your federal government.”
Trump was present
to, among other things, deliver an update on a GoFundMe set up by his
presidential campaign for those impacted by Helene. In three short
weeks, the drive had raised $7.7 million from the pockets of ordinary
Americans, prominent Republican political operatives, and some of the
country’s most influential and wealthiest families.
“My
prayers and encouragement goes out to all the victims,” one donor
commented on the fundraiser’s public wall roughly a year ago. “I hope
you know that we all love you.”
It wasn’t
until a few days after money had begun to come in that the crowdfunding
effort announced where the contributions were going: Mtn2Sea Ministries,
Water Mission, Samaritan’s Purse, and the Clinch Foundation. On October
21, an additional recipient, Sweetwater Mission, was added. Four of the
five organizations are faith-based Christian charities. Most of them
have close ties to Trump or to prominent supporters of his.
[. . .]
A
year after Helene, what exactly Trump’s GoFundMe campaign paid for
remains unclear. Grist reached out to the recipient organizations asking
how much they received, and how it was spent. Several responded to an
initial email and offered vague explanations, but none except Mtn2Sea
Ministries responded to follow-ups for a more specific breakdown of
related expenditures.
Another
grift from Mr. Chump? I am sorry for those in need. For those who
donated? You were kind and caring; however, never donate to a con
artist. Your money will go to line his pockets and not to help others.
Remember that it wasn't just Republicans that put Mr. Chump back in the White House. It was also DSA people -- Democratic Socialists of America. Any DSA member who worked against Vice President Kamala Harris to put Mr. Chump back in the White House will never, ever have my support unless/until they acknowledge the harm they did and their responsibility for dooming this country. See Stan's "Rachel Maddow and Kamala Harris."
Also be sure to check out the community group humor post:
Wednesday, September 24, 2025. The Epstein Files scandal takes the
duchess, a statue of Chump and Epstein goes up to celebrate the sicko
bros, Donald explodes at the UN, The Tom Homan Files scandal joins The
Epstein Files scandal in demonstrating just how corrupt Chump is, leave
it to Chump to allow two lovers to work together in the same office and
conduct their affair far from the prying eyes of their spouses, ICE
continues to hide their actions because their actions are illegal, and
much more.
President
Donald Trump has addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New
York City at a contentious moment for international relations after
France joined the U.K., Canada, Australia and Portugal in moving to
recognize a Palestinian state in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Trump,
accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is back at the U.N. for the
first time since the beginning of his second term in January.
His
speech was among the most anticipated as America’s allies and
adversaries wait to see what the president will say about ongoing
efforts to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
And
guess what he told them? He lied and told them grocery prices were
down in the US -- no, they are higher than they were this time last
year. And he told them that "your countries are going to hell."
Did
anyone connect it with Tuesday being The Day of Trumpets and all the
crazies in the US -- Chump supporters, most of them -- had taken to the
internet in the last week to explain that yesterday all the goodly would
be raised from the earth to heaven?
Yes,
there were fools around the world convinced they were 'ascending'
yesterday but, in the US, it was mainly the same fools who support Chump
-- the easily conned, the marks, the fools.
You
know two Fridays ago when SUBWAY couldn't fulfill orders placed at
their website because it kept going down and getting things wrong and
even "Sammy" (their AI bot) couldn't get things right, I thought someone
might report on that, some outlet. No one did. Or back in August that
morning where a professional golfer was golfing live on THE GOLF
CHANNEL and swore "F**K!" -- without any bleeping, it was live -- I
thought some legacy news outlet might have covered that. Or how THE GOLF CHANNEL keeps
promoting Chump because it's so stupid -- the hosts refer to NEWSDAY as
New York city's NEWSDAY. It's not. There is THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE
NEW YORK POST and THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. NEWSDAY, however, is out of
Long Island -- hence their motto "NEWSDAY, your eye on LI" (LI being
Long Island.)
I guess it's going to fall to Mira Fox at THE FORWARD and Theo Burman (NEWSWEEK)
to be the only ones in legacy/traditional/mass media to cover the nut jobs (well, as Kamala
Harris rightly pointed out to Rachel Maddow Monday night, NYC media
thinks they are the center of the world). But those nut jobs -- many of
them Chump supporters -- have been all over YOUTUBE and TIKTOK in the
last two weeks explaining how they will be leaving all the sinners
behind and how they know this is true because they had dreams --
prophetic dreams.
Now I
believe in dreams and use them all the time. I'll go to bed thinking of
a problem or something that I can't remember and I can zoom in on that
in my dreams. However, that's not being psychic or receiving messages
from the dead. (After Michael Ratner died, he did haunt me in my dreams
-- that wasn't him -- that was our conversations regarding Julian
Assange and my knowing he was no longer able to advocate for Julian so
my guilty conscience was telling me to do it for Michael. Again, I
wasn't seriously being messaged from the great beyond by Michael
Ratner.)
But I wouldn't
have a dream that I was me, an adult, and I was in classroom with
children and teenagers and the teacher told us all to go to the board
and write your ages on it and the teacher stepped out and some people
were laughing about what age I would write and then I wrote my age and
then say that this was proof that the rapture was a week out. I wouldn't
do that. But one man did and shared it online and he was joined by
many, many others.
Credit to TABITHAS SPEAKS POLITICS, Coach D and other YOUTUBE outlets (new media) that did cover the crazies.
But maybe, convinced that the end was nigh, Chump saw himself needing to tell other countries that they were going to hell?
Where's Chump going?
I
ask that mainly to recommend that you read Elaine's "Work for Chump and he'll pay you to cheat on your spouse too" and grasp that
the party of family values and the Christians and 'Christians'
supporting Chump aren't at all bothered that he's letting a couple work
together -- a couple rumored to be sleeping together (that's been
reported since 2023) despite the fact that they are both married to
other people.
How do the
Christians and 'Christians' reconcile themselves to this daily sin, this
violation of the 7th Commandment? Chump and other loons want The 10
Commandments posted in schools despite the separation between Church and
State but maybe the country would be better off it we just posted them
in Kristi Noem's office?
Elaine notes this affair's been reported on forever:
Married
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has engaged in a years-long
affair with longtime Donald Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, multiple
sources told The Post Friday.
Though no images
of the two getting frisky are known to exist, the pair have been less
than discreet about their relationship, with one source recalling them
making out at a hotel bar during the 2021 Conservative Political Action
Conference in Orlando, Fla.
“I remember it was
so absurdly blatant and public,” said the person, who recalled Noem and
Lewandowski getting “handsy” at the bar of the Hyatt Regency Orlando
with between 100 and 200 others around.
“It
wasn’t like 2 a.m.,” the source said. “It isn’t like we caught them at
some dive bar miles away. It’s a lobby bar where everyone is staying and
so there’s a bajillion political operatives and journalists and
electeds around. I remember I saw it with my own eyes and a couple other
people saw it and the blatantness was absurd.”
“This has been a known, open thing and we’ve all been waiting for it to blow up at some point,” the person added.
The
liaison emerged one week after Noem, a 51-year-old mom of three,
formally endorsed Trump, 77, for the 2024 Republican presidential
nomination, raising the pitch of speculation that the 45th president
would pick her as his running mate.
“He’s 100% banging her,” said a second person familiar with the relationship between Noem and Lewandowski, first reported by DailyMail.com.
The
source added that they personally witnessed Noem “sitting on his
[Lewandowski’s] lap” and “playing grab-ass” during an event at Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago resort in December 2020.
Elaine observes, "Well
Chump didn't run as a fiscal conservative. He also didn't run as a
family values Republican. So I guess the ongoing infidelity of two
workers is no big deal -- even if they're allowed to work together. I
hope all of the Christians and 'Christians' who worship Chump are okay
with two married people on the government payroll being paid to cheat on
their spouses with each other."
In her article, Mira Fox notes:
Most
of the people expecting a rapture seem to have a clear vision of what
it will look like: people rising into the sky, as though they are being
beamed up into an alien ship. (It seems likely that most of these ideas
are based on popular media such as The Leftovers, an HBO show about
those who remained after a rapture event.) Those left behind would then
endure seven years of tribulations, after which Jesus would return to
establish heaven on earth.
The idea of the
rapture is a relatively new one in Christianity. While various lines in
the New Testament refer to some sort of second coming of Jesus, also a
raising of the dead, the idea that a rapture would come to save true
Christians from the seven years of tribulations was only popularized by a
British minister in the 1830s, John Nelson Darby. In the early 1900s,
an American edition of the Bible called the Scofield Reference Bible
further spread the idea of a rapture through its margin notes.
Pastors
and historians online are desperately trying to calm those who are
concerned about the rapture via videos discussing the recent history of
the idea.
But for those readying themselves and
their homes for the rapture, the details are irrelevant. The main thing
to remember is not to look down.
Again, I believe she and THE FORWARD and NEWSWEEK were the only ones in legacy media covering it. Talk about avoidance.
This morning at MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Ben's covered Chump's trip to the UN and all the threats Chump and his minions made.
The
12-foot statue — a combination of foam, resin, wood and wire — shows
Trump and Epstein standing on pedestals, holding hands and smiling at
one another as they appear about to frolic through the park toward the
Washington Monument in Washington, DC.
Below the statue, there are three plaques, two of which contain excerpts from the bawdy birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote Epstein for his 50th birthday.
The
whole world's talking as Chump, yet again, cannot escape his close and
personal ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein or, for that matter,
Ghislaine Maxwell. NDTV notes, "The artwork, titled 'Best Friends Forever,' was created by an anonymous
group called The Secret Handshake and will remain on display until the
evening of September 28 under a permit granted by the National Park
Service."
Sarah Ferguson can't escape her ties to Epstein either. Monday in "Sarah Ferguson is a con-artist and a fake ass snake,"
Ann covered how Andrew's ex-wife said one thing publicly -- she wasn't
against pedophiles -- but e-mailed Epstein to tell him that was just
talk for public, she and Jeffery were tight and would remain tight.
The revelations have not worked out well for Sarah -- nor should they have.
Meanwhile
there are a million questions that Chump and his administration
flunkies refuse to answer but that need to be answered as MTN points
out.
On Epstein, let's note this from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's office:
Latest episode of Making the Case available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking
Member of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, released the fourth
episode of season two of his podcast, Making the Case. In the new
episode, Whitehouse is joined by Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), who
leads a bipartisan discharge petition in the House of Representatives
calling on the Trump administration to release the full Jeffrey
Epsteinfiles, with redactions to protect survivors.
“Trump and his MAGA underlings at the Department of Justice
and FBI are brazenly breaking promises and doing everything in their
power to cover up what’s hidden in the Epstein files. If not for the
bipartisan work of the determined Rep. Khanna, the American people would
still be in the dark on key documents from Epstein’s estate and other
closely held secrets,” said Whitehouse. “Rep. Khanna
is a champion for justice and transparency in Washington, and I’m
thrilled to have him on this next episode of Makingthe Case to break
down the latest developments in the Epstein Files saga.”
The fourth episode of season two of Making the Case is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and other podcast platforms.
Whitehouse has long been the Senate’s leading voice for improving
transparency and accountability in politics and in Washington,
delivering a series of speeches on the Senate floor about the special
interest scheme to capture the judicial branch. In August, Whitehouse wrote a
letter to the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons demanding more
information on the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell to a minimum-security
prison camp in Texas. Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey
Epstein associate, was transferred without explanation to the cushy
prison camp after an unusual visit by Deputy Attorney General Todd
Blanche.
Whitehouse and Khanna have previously teamed up to investigate corruption in the fossil fuel industry, and introduced legislation to crack down on profiteering by Big Oil and return the industry’s excessive gains to working people.
Of course, Lawrence O'Donnell
pointed out on MSNBC last night, Chump has The Epstein Files scandal to
deal with but he also now has the Tom Homan scandal to deal with.
Note the clip of Homan O'Donnell plays from Homan's
chat with mannish Laura Ingraham. How dare anyone question him! He has
sacrificed for 34 years!
I'm so sorry, Tom, which years did you serve in the armed service?
None, right?
But he wants to maintain working for the US government has been a sacrifice -- and a sacrifice for multiple decades.
Anyone
familiar with criminal law is aware that those kind of
self-aggrandizing statements are the justifications that criminals make
for taking bribes or stealing money.
So file it under "How To Confess Wihtout Dirctly Saying I'm Guilty."
Yesterday
on MSNBC's THE WEEKNIGHT, US House Rep Jasmine Crockett provided the
walk through on what Homan is accused of and how to pursue it.
Again, it is The Homan Files scandal and it's further corruption on display.
Over
the weekend, it came out that Tom Homan, one of the senior architects
of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, allegedly took $50K
from undercover FBI agents posing as business executives hoping to bribe
their way into government contracts if Trump won. He’s said to have
accepted the funds — which the FBI reportedly captured on video — in a Cava bag.
If the fast food chain doesn’t immediately capitalize on this with some
sort of marketing campaign, then I’ve lost all faith in them.
Homan,
interestingly enough, put himself front-and-center of the move to drop
the Eric Adams bribery case. Homan never came across as the proper
spokesperson for the administration’s decision, highlighted when he seemed to confirm a quid pro quo for
dropping the Adams case, but in retrospect, he might have had a vested
interest in putting out the message that bribery isn’t anything to be
ashamed of.
Since
late December, J. Dale Shoemaker, a reporter for the Investigative
Post, a nonprofit newsroom based in Buffalo, has filed seventeen Freedom
of Information Act requests with the US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection to guide his deep dives
into federal law enforcement activity, deportation actions, and ICE
detention centers in upstate New York. In return, he says, he has gotten
only documents that were redacted beyond comprehension, or nothing at
all. “I have not received a satisfactory response to a single one of
them,” Shoemaker said.
Ryanne
Mena, of the Los Angeles Daily News, sent ICE a FOIA request on January
24 for all grievance forms filed by detainees at facilities in Adelanto,
California, between 2016 and early 2025. Nearly eight months later, she
said, she’s received nothing: ICE “has failed to provide me with an
estimated date of production despite repeated requests.”
Monica
Eng, a reporter for Axios, filed a FOIA request with ICE in February,
seeking data she hoped would inform stories about where and why agents
were apprehending people in Illinois. At first, she said, ICE officials
appeared willing to cooperate. But by March, ICE had denied Eng’s
request in full, citing “ongoing law enforcement investigations.” Axios
filed an administrative appeal with ICE, but hasn’t received a response.
“I have filed a lot of FOIAs, and my requests to the Trump Department
of Homeland Security have been some of the least successful and least
transparent,” Eng said.
ICE and
CBP have become centerpieces of President Donald Trump’s quest to deport
millions of undocumented immigrants from US soil through aggressive law
enforcement tactics and billions of dollars in new federal funding. But
CJR spoke to nearly two dozen reporters, editors, and other people at
news organizations and open-records watchdog groups across the country
who have filed FOIA requests with the agencies, and who say that ICE and
CBP officials routinely deny or ignore those requests. The agencies
have never been particularly open with the press, but many reporters
believe that their experience is part of an enhanced effort by the Trump
administration to conceal immigration agency operations, even in
possible violation of federal law. Some also described the agencies’
press offices as functionally useless, with media officials providing
few, if any, answers to even their most basic of inquiries.
Chioma
Chukwu, the executive director of American Oversight, a nonprofit
organization that advocates for public access to government records,
said ICE and Border Protection have an “abysmal” track record of
transparency. Of 137 requests her group has filed with ICE and CBP over
the course of 2025, there has been a “substantive response” to just
one—“and that took almost seven months,” Chukwu said. “ICE and CBP
remain among the slowest and least transparent agencies we deal with,
routinely flouting FOIA’s requirements and denying the public timely
access to information about their operations.”
This
stonewalling comes at a time when ICE—and its parent organization, the
Department of Homeland Security—has repeatedly cracked down on
journalism about its operations. The department has described the video
recording of ICE agents as “violence,” with a department spokesperson
promising to prosecute those who “illegally harass ICE agents to the
fullest extent of the law.” Multiple reporters have been arrested or
injured while covering protests or anti-ICE rallies, including
Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevaram, who was detained while covering a
rally in Georgia in June, and Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi, who was
shot in the leg with a rubber bullet as she reported on an anti-ICE
protest in Los Angeles. In early September, a federal judge issued a
preliminary injunction ordering DHS to stop using “nonlethal” weapons
against journalists. “Under the guise of protecting the public, federal
agents have endangered large numbers of peaceful protesters, legal
observers, and journalists—as well as the public that relies on them to
hold their government accountable,” the judge wrote. “The First
Amendment demands better.”
Some news
outlets told CJR they believe that, in ICE’s and CBP’s handling of their
FOIA requests, the agencies are themselves violating federal law by
ignoring statutory deadlines or failing to respond altogether. By law,
government agencies must determine within twenty business days whether
to fulfill or deny a FOIA request and “immediately notify” the requester
of their decision. Agencies may also extend this deadline because of
“unusual circumstances.” If fulfilling a FOIA request requires
significant time, agencies are required by law to offer requesters an
“opportunity to arrange with the agency an alternative time frame for
processing the request or a modified request.” Requesters have the right
to appeal agencies’ FOIA determinations, and if all else fails, they
may sue the government in federal court.
Federal
agents caught and detained a 5-year-old girl to lure her immigrant
father outside the family's home following a brief traffic pursuit,
according to a report.
Video of
the incident Tuesday in Leominster, Massachusetts, captures the family's
anguished screams as Immigration and Customs Enforcement held the
5-year-old girl outside after chasing her father, Edward Hip, a
Guatemalan man who has lived in the U.S. for 22 years, reported WBTS-CD.
"Is that your daughter? Come here so I can see those IDs," one of the agents said, according to the video.
The
girl's mother tells the agents her daughter is on the autism spectrum
and begs for her return, saying agents had grabbed the girl as she
followed her father inside.
U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a man inside the
Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland following a pre-trial hearing on
Sept. 15, according to a statement issued by Alameda County public
defender Brendon Woods on Monday.
Two
ICE agents in plain clothes allegedly detained the man in a courthouse
hallway and took him out of the building to waiting, unmarked vehicles.
Agents took him to an ICE detention facility, where he remains in
federal custody, according to Woods.
“ICE raids at our
courthouses must stop immediately,” Woods said in a statement. “People
who follow a judge’s orders to attend court should not have to fear
federal agents kidnapping them and dragging them away to detention
centers. Our democracy cannot function if this continues.”
The
ICE arrest was the first made in an Alameda County courthouse under the
authority of President Donald Trump, according to Woods.
“Everyone
-- our clients, victims, witnesses, staff, lawyers -- deserves to
participate without fear,” Woods said. “Our justice system loses
legitimacy when people do not feel safe entering a courthouse. We cannot
allow a racist, authoritarian regime to interfere with our local courts
like this. It’s time to pick a side. Either you allow this to happen to
members of our community or you take action to prevent it.”
U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are holding a man
living in New York who has lawful permanent residence status and has
been caring for his wife with cancer.
The
arrest of Duwayne Baugh took place last month but was only reported on
Monday by The City, a New York-based news publication.
His
wife, Kaiisha Baugh, wrote in a statement to Newsweek, “My husband has
been a lawful permanent resident for years. A routine check-in should
not lead to this kind of torture and separation. It’s becoming
unbearable and I just hope the Judge sees the cruelty and unfairness
here and allows him to come home.”
His attorney confirmed to Newsweek that he has lawful permanent residence status.
They're
destroying lives. And we're not going to let them forget it. This
will not be swept aside like the internments during WWII. We, as a
people and as a country will not spend the future pretending this was
okay or alright. Donald Chump's not the only one who is going to take
the historical fall on this. Crooks like Tom Homan and Kristis
cheaty-cheaty bang-bang Noem and ICE agents and so many more. We see
you.
ICE has so much to hide -- most crooks do.
During
the last Trump administration, California Democrats were so concerned
about ICE making arrests at superior court buildings and potentially
discouraging witnesses from testifying that they passed a law to forbid
that kind of enforcement.
Picking
people up at a courthouse can have a “potential chilling effect” on
witnesses, victims and even suspects who are afraid to show up for
court, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said
earlier this summer.
“Making
courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than
helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims
from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their
rights,” Guerrero said.
But
no one cares about 'state's rights' in what was once the Republican
Party. They don't care anymore. They don't care about the law because
The Crooked Court continues to break the law, to subvert the law and to
reward the criminal behavior of Donald Chump.
I
think we need serious Congressional oversight of the current Supreme
Court. I think they need to submit all financial records to the
Congress so that we can find out exactly who's being paid off -- it's
not just Thomas and Alito, it's much more than that. For more on the
failure that the Supreme Court has become, see Betty's "The Crooked Court" from last night.
But
let's ponder something. Chump's secret police? They're getting
bonuses. Of $50,000. How did they arrive at that figure? Did Homan,
acting director of ICE, brag in a meeting, "Hey, last fall I got a bonus
of $50,000 when I took that bribe. $50,000 all around!"?
Now we're winding down with this from Senator Mazie Hirono's office:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K.
Hirono (D-HI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and U.S. Representatives Adam
Smith (D-WA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the Protect Adoptees and American Families Act,
legislation that would grant U.S. citizenship to international adoptees
who were legally adopted in the U.S. as children but lack citizenship
status due to a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
“Thousands of American families and their
internationally-adopted children have been living in fear and
uncertainty due to an oversight in the Child Citizenship Act,
which is why I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation
that would provide a long overdue solution to address this issue,” said Senator Hirono. “The Protect Adoptees and American Families Act will help keep families together, and ensure that international adoptees are afforded the rights they deserve as U.S. citizens.”
Families who adopted children from abroad were previously required to
complete a lengthy, expensive naturalization process for their adopted
children, on top of the adoption process itself. In some cases, the
paperwork was not completed in full, leaving adoptees unaware they were
living in the U.S. without citizenship. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000
(CCA) streamlined this process by granting automatic citizenship to
foreign-born children under 18 adopted by U.S. citizens. However, the
law only applied to adoptees under age 18 at the time the CCA took
effect in February 2001. Adoptees who had already reached adulthood were
excluded, leaving tens of thousands of people without citizenship
despite being raised in American families.
The Protect Adoptees and American Families Act fixes this
oversight by confirming U.S. citizenship for internationally adopted
individuals, regardless of when they were adopted or their age.
Specifically, the bill:
Provides automatic citizenship to foreign-born children lawfully
adopted by U.S. families who turned 18 before February 27, 2001; and
Establishes a path to citizenship for adoptees living abroad who
meet eligibility requirements but currently reside outside the U.S. This
process includes background checks and the resolution of any
outstanding legal matters before citizenship is granted.
This legislation will provide long-overdue certainty for adoptees who
have faced barriers to higher education, employment, and financial
services, and who in some cases have even faced deportation to countries
where they have no family or community ties.
The bill has been endorsed by Adoptee Rights Campaign; Korean
American Grassroots Conference; National Council For Adoption; Ethics
and Religious Liberty Commission; NAKASEC; Niskanen Center; Center for
Adoption Policy; National Immigration Forum; National Asian Pacific
American Bar Association; Adoptees for Justice; Family Coalition for
Adoptee Citizenship; National Alliance for Adoptee Equality; and
Alliance for Adoptee Citizenship.
“As a national network in five states, the NAKASEC network
strongly urges the immediate passage of this legislation. Birth parents,
adoptive parents, and sending countries partnered with the United
States with the understanding that adoptees would be full members of
their families – with all the rights, protections, and opportunities
afforded to them. It’s important to note that citizenship for adoptees
is an issue only in the United States. No other receiving country failed
to confer citizenship for the children in their care. It’s time for the
United States to fulfill their promises and secure citizenship for all
intercountry adoptees,” said Becky Belcore, Co-Director of the National
Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC).
“We recognize the challenges faced by adoptees who, though
raised in American families and contributing fully to our communities,
continue to live without the protections of citizenship. We applaud the
leadership of Rep. Smith, Rep. Bacon, Sen. Hirono, and Sen. Collins in
introducing the Protect Adoptees and American Families Act, a bipartisan
measure that offers long-overdue relief and recognition to those who
are American in every way except on paper. With Korean American adoptees
among the most affected, KAGC is committed to working with partners to
ensure this vital legislation is enacted and justice is delivered to all
impacted,” said Wonseok Song, Executive Director of the Korean
American Grassroots Conference, the largest nationwide network of
Korean American voters.
“NCFA supports the Protect Adoptees and American Families
Act. Congress intended citizenship for children being internationally
adopted by American citizens, but a complicated and confusing
immigration and visa system resulted in some parents failing to complete
the citizenship process on behalf of their minor children. The Protect
Adoptees and American Families Act provides the citizenship that was
initially intended for these individuals,” said Ryan Hanlon, National Council For Adoption.
“The Protect Adoptees and American Families Act fixes a
25-year loophole that has prevented internationally adopted Americans,
raised by American families and fully integrated into American society,
from achieving full United States citizenship. There is no excuse. Now
is the time for Congress to get this commonsense bill over the finish
line and provide a long-awaited solution for these families and for the
betterment of our country,” said Kristie De Pena, Director of Immigration Policy at the Niskanen Center.
“We support this effort to strengthen American families by
easing the citizenship process for international adoptees. The Protect
Adoptees and American Families Act supports a core aspect of our
national values, and we are glad to see Republicans and Democrats come
together behind it. We look forward to seeing it passed and signed,” said the National Immigration Forum.
“Fundamental fairness demands that those children who were
lawfully adopted and raised in the United States enjoy the full
privileges and opportunities of American life.?
Yet for thousands of international adoptees, so many of whom arrived
from Asian countries and through no fault of their own, that basic
promise has been denied due to inadvertent missing paperwork.?
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) commends
the sponsors for introducing the Protect Adoptees and American Families
(PAAF) Act, a pivotal step to ensure that those impacted within the
Asian Pacific American community can finally enjoy stability and pursue a
livelihood without fear of removal,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA.
“Adoptees and their families across the country are living in
fear, shock, and with a sense of betrayal – often learning they are not
citizens when they are well into adulthood and after lifetimes as
Americans. More and more adoptees are reaching out when they are
approaching or in their senior years. Their stories underscore the
urgent need for immediate legislative repair. The introduction of this
bill shows that our country’s leaders recognize this profound injustice
and are committed to adoptees and American families,” said Rachel Koelzer, Co-Founder of Adoptees For Justice.
“We’re thrilled at the introduction of this bill that will
give aging adoptees the rights and protections that are rightfully
theirs. Reintroducing this bill is an important step toward ensuring
that no one is denied their rights or opportunities because of how they
came to be a part of their families. This is the tenth year the bill has
been introduced – let’s get it passed this session!” said Amanda Cho, Policy Manager with the Alliance for Adoptee Citizenship.
“To be adopted into a family is to be chosen, loved, and
embraced as one of their own. Adoption is a bond that transcends
borders, making you not just a citizen of a country, but a citizen of a
family, forever. Somehow, we as adoptees have been forgotten. We were
lost in the shuffle and are being held accountable for the
responsibilities of adults that were ignorant of the process. Our
adoptive parents were under the impression that we were citizens through
the adoption process. Many of us were born in the 60s and grew up
living as citizens because we were told we were. Why would we believe
any different when we grew up being told we were citizens? We were given
our social security numbers and our driver’s licenses with no questions
asked. Why didn’t the government inform us then? If they did, we would
have been able to right the wrong. Now years later, we are in limbo,
many of us deported. How is this fair or humane? How is it fair to send
someone to a country where they know no one, they don’t know the
language, and have no means to make a living? This bill needs to be law
for those innocent adoptees who are victims of a faulty system,” said H, an adoptee without citizenship.
The full text of the legislation is available here.
