Jeff Fortenberry: “Mr. Speaker, I would also like to add that, as we heard, more than 1,000 Haitian orphans who were already in the process…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would also like to add that, as we heard, more than 1,000 Haitian orphans who were already in the process of being adopted by American families prior to the earthquake that struck Haiti last January stand today in legal limbo; and, as mentioned by Chairwoman Lofgren, in the tragic aftermath, these orphans were evacuated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for humanitarian reasons and with the Haitian Government's permission to American soil. Catastrophic circumstances prompted the evacuation of these children to the United States before their adoptions could be finalized in Haitian courts. Happily, in my home State of Nebraska and throughout the United States, many of these Haitian orphans were able to unite with the very American families who were seeking to adopt them and who are now working to finalize their adoptions in the courts of the United States. Due to a technicality in the law, however, these Haitian children, upon establishing a legal relationship with their adoptive U.S. parents, will have to wait 2 years before they become legal permanent residents. As international adoption case workers can attest, much can happen to these orphans and their families in 2 years. So long as their status in the United States remains temporary, these vulnerable children will have few legal protections.”