Couple seek senators’ aid in Vietnam adoption fight
By Michael Collins
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Carrolls and two other families who are in the same situation brought their case to Washington on Tuesday, where they enlisted the support of California’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
“Everything we know says the State Department is frankly using these babies as a tool in a battle that has nothing to do with these families or the children themselves,” said Boxer, who pledged to intervene on the families’ behalf. …
Initially, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, told the Carrolls that a visa for Maddy Grace would be denied.
But late last month, the federal agency concluded that the case met the necessary criteria for a visa to be issued. The State Department, however, refuses to grant the visa. …
Boxer and attorneys representing the families suspect that the State Department may be holding up the visas to convince the Vietnamese government that the current system is flawed and in need of improvement, even though Citizenship and Immigration Services found no problems with the adoptions.
“None of this makes sense,” said Boxer, who has asked Moore to accompany the families to a meeting with the State Department today. …
If the visa problem remains unresolved after that meeting, Boxer said she will call Assistant Secretary of State Maura Hardy on the families’ behalf and ask to meet with her personally if necessary. Boxer said she also plans to bring up the matter next week during a meeting with a top-ranking official from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
6 Responses
WOW – how’s that for political pressure?! I just hope Boxer goes into these meetings with an open-mind, gets answers, and does what’s truly *right* on behalf of the BABIES. Right now it sounds like she’s acting on behalf of the a-families, not necessarily the orphans in Vietnam. Not that I’m convinced the DOS has the best interest of each individual orphan in mind either. This is one screwed up program, and it’s just really really sad how apparent that is becoming.
It is interesting that CIS and the State Dept. do not seemingly support one another. I have heard of several cases where the DOS told families that regardless of whether or not CIS recommends approval, they’ll still refuse to issue a visa. It makes no sense that these departments are not operating in a cooperative manner with each other. Clearly there’s more to these stories. I’d just like to know what more there is.
This case troubles me more than the other NOIDs cases because it is very upsetting to hear/read that the US government can’t arrive at a uniform decision. I think a NOID is a sad, heartbreaking event for PAPs. But to be caught between two US agencies? I don’t get it. And I’m really surprised it’s gone this far. I would’ve thought that at one point, someone at the DOS would’ve picked up the phone and called CIS and worked this out one way or the other. It certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in my government for me. 🙁
What I really want to know is who is acting on behalf on these children, clearly not our government, their government or the agencies that “found” them…
I think people are losing sight of the forest for the trees here. Of course Senators Boxer and Feinstein are acting on behalf of the families. The families are their constituents. They are not eelcted officials of Vietnam representing Vietnamese children. Or, looking at it differently, the Vietnamese government already has allowed the adoption to go through and the children are part of the US families who adopted them. Why shouldn’t a US Senator assist a US family in bringing home their newly adopted child?
Jane- Thanks for bringing up a point and shedding a new light in view of this situation. I did not think of it that way. I am usually not a fan of Barbara Boxer, or Feinstein for that matter, but in this case they are acting on behalf of their constituents. Yes, the children are important….but if the Vietnamese government has allowed the adoption to take place after their findings (and I doubt the Vietnamese government wants corruption on their end either) then Boxer and Feinstein are doing their jobs. Different way of looking at the situation. Thanks for that insight.
I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that Boxer is helping families that are outside of her state. There was a news article that she was helping a number of families and I’m 99% sure that at least one of them was from the eastern part of the U. S. I, too, am not a big fan of hers (or Feinstein for that matter) but I do admire the fact that they have looked at the paperwork, reviewed the situations, and are acting on what they feel is right. To do so for their constituents is one thing, you expect your government officials to assist you. Living in the mid-west, though, I would not be expecting her help. I would have to think it is something they feel strongly about to assist outside their area.