For Immediate Release
April 14, 2015
Contact: Emily Kessel, eakessel@nakasec.org
Halt Korean American Adoptee Adam Crasper’s Pending Deportation
WASHINGTON, DC— The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates are calling for immediate action to halt the pending deportation of Adam Crapser, a Korean American adoptee.
Adam was born in South Korea and adopted by American citizens when he was three years old. As a child, he faced unspeakable physical and emotional abuse from his first adoptive family, was separated from his biological sister, and later “rehomed” into another appallingly abusive placement. On top of all these crimes committed against him as a child, neither of Adam’s adoptive families completed the process for him to receive United States citizenship. Adam is now 40 years old and facing deportation for past convictions for which he had already served his time. More information about Adam’s story can be found in a recent New York Times article.
Like many young people who are enduring poverty, racism, physical and emotional abuse and no familial support, Adam had to survive on his own. Despite the many hardships he has faced, he has built a family of his own that includes three young children and a baby due in May. In January 2015, Adam’s past criminal record and immigration status as a lawful permanent resident caused him to receive notification from Homeland Security to appear for a deportation hearing in April of 2015 and now faces a second court appearance in front of an immigration judge in June.
Lori Walls, Attorney representing Adam Crapser, shared the following quote: “Mr. Crapser’s deportation proceedings are based on offenses that were committed 18 and 20 years ago, and he has served his time. Punishing him further with deportation would be a terrible injustice. It would separate him from the only family he has ever known. It would devastate not only him but his wife and children.”
Over 300,000 transnational adoptees currently live in the United States; approximately one-third of these are of Korean descent. It is currently unknown how many adult Asian American adoptees are living without finalized naturalization paperwork; however, it is understood to be in the thousands. Since its inception, NAKASEC and its affiliates have been fighting to change the unjust immigration system in the United States and have repeatedly called to stop the inhumane deportations and separation of families. We again uplift this demand in the name of Korean American Adam Crapser and his family and other intercountry adoptees in his situation.
Policy changes that can begin to addresses these challenges include an amendment to the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) of 2000, which established automatic citizenship for all children under the age of 18 born or legally adopted outside of the United States beginning in 2001. Currently, CCA does not apply to older adoptees such as Adam or intercountry adoptees whose adoptions were never finalized, have expired green cards, may have emancipated themselves from abusive adoptive families, or have criminal backgrounds. The amendment to CCA, introduced in 2013 would expand coverage to include ALL intercountry adoptees, including Adam Crapser, regardless of their age, immigration status, whether their adoptions were finalized or criminal backgrounds.
NAKASEC also demands that the United States and South Korea stop the placement of children into abusive households.
NAKASEC and its affiliates recognizes that the story of Adam Crapser and other intercountry adult adoptees brings to light the complex intersection of adoptee rights and immigrant rights and is co-sponsoring a Needs Survey for adult adoptees who have fallen into intersecting status areas between adoption finalization, immigration and citizenship. The survey results will help inform efforts to identify and coordinate immediate post-adoption resources and services. It will assist adoptees like Adam who need help navigating adoption finalization as adults, who are going further underground because of expired green card statuses, and who may be in criminal and immigration court proceedings, and require support now.
To schedule an interview with Adam Crapser and for more information about this issue, contact:
Kevin Vollmers
Executive Director
Gazillion Strong
khv@wearegazillionstrong.org
612.382.8568
To become involved in supporting the Needs Survey and/or legislative change for international adoptees, please contact Emily Kessel at eakessel@nakasec.org.
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The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) was founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans on major social justice issues. NAKASEC maintains offices in Annandale, Virginia and Los Angeles, California. NAKASEC has affiliates in Chicago (Korean American Resource & Cultural Center) and Los Angeles and Orange County (Korean Resource Center).
