Adam Crapser has become a symbol of a flaw in US law that critics say unfairly leaves tens of thousands of international adoptees in limbo without citizenship.
Eight years after being deported from the US – his home for decades – Crapser was recently in a Seoul courtroom seeking compensation over what he called a failed adoption process that ruined his life.
While a bill in Congress that could allow the 49-year-old to return to the U.S. waits in committee, Crapser’s case draws attention to a gap in the international adoption system — a gap that has separated some families.
“What about my children? Don’t they deserve a home?” Crapser told CNN, referring to the two children he was forced to leave behind, including his 10-year-old daughter.
Crapser was adopted by a Michigan family in 1979 and lived in the US for 37 years. However, his adoptive family and guardians failed to provide documentation of his citizenship, and he was deported after a lengthy legal battle in 2016.
“I’m stuck. I’ve been in this situation for a long time,” Crapser said of his desire to return to his family and the uncertainty of his future.
Crapser made history by being the first Korean adoptee to sue the South Korean government and its adoption agency for damages in 2019.
Pending a court ruling in Seoul, a bill that could grant him U.S. citizenship remains blocked in Congress.
The bill, the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024, seeks to grant automatic citizenship to international adoptees and correct a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which excluded those aged 18 and over at the time of the law’s enactment.
Crapser, who was 25 when the law was passed, did not obtain U.S. citizenship.
Crapser is skeptical that the new bill will pass, saying it “probably” won’t happen “in our lifetimes,” due to the lack of progress since discussions on the legislation began in 2017.
A spokesman for Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation, said: “While it is unlikely that we will see further progress during the remainder of the 118th Congress” – which ends in January 2025 – “given the election and transition period we look forward to, we are hopeful that this much-needed bill will advance in future Congresses and become law.”
The project was forwarded for review to the Senate and Chamber of Justice committees.
Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, another co-sponsor and father of two adopted children, said in a statement to CNN: “There are people who have always considered themselves citizens and who should be citizens. But due to a flaw in current law, some international adoptees are not citizens. Congress needs to fix this.”
A gap in citizenship
Korean Adam Crapser in 2016, left, with Christal, Christina and his then-wife, Anh Nguyen, at their home in Vancouver, Washington. Gosia Wozniacka/AP
After being abandoned by his first adoptive parents in the 1980s, Crapser cycled through foster homes and supportive institutions, according to a 2023 court filing in the Seoul Central District Court.
In 1989, he was adopted by another couple, who were accused in 1991 of physical abuse and assault against adopted children and found guilty in 1992.
In 2012, when Crapser applied to renew his residence permit — popularly known as a “green card” — his criminal record, which included charges of robbery and assault, caught the attention of U.S. immigration authorities, according to the lawsuit. judicial.
“It is often said that I made a lot of mistakes and got into a lot of trouble in the United States, and I admit that,” Crapser said during a court appearance, according to the Associated Press. “I survived as best I could in the United States, without family and without any Koreans around me.”
The criminal record was considered a violation of his residency status, and in 2016 he lost his fight against deportation back to South Korea, where he was born – but a place where he did not know the language or customs.
“It’s a nightmare. Other people who come to Korea of their own accord have planned it in some way. You don’t have that opportunity when you go to immigration detention,” he told CNN, expressing the lack of support he had to prepare for his forced return.
An attorney for Crapser previously told CNN that his criminal history does not reflect the full reality of his experiences, which included physical abuse and abandonment by his first adoptive parents, as well as mistreatment in his next adoption — highlighting the vulnerabilities of many adoptees.
Having grown up without any contact with Koreans, he says he struggles with a feeling of disconnection from the place he is expected to call home.
“I have no choice,” Crapser said. “All I know is American culture. I knew nothing about Korean customs, culture, rules, history, anything, because all of that was intentionally kept from me.”
Anguish over family separation
Crapser recently denounced both his South Korean adoption agency and the government during his appeal session in Seoul, he told CNN.
Despite a 10-year ban on returning to the US, he said he has been looking for legal ways to be with his children. He has not seen his 10-year-old daughter since 2017.
“I literally tried every legal avenue to try to get back to the United States early so I could be present in my daughter’s life, and it was not successful,” he said.
Crapser could ask for a waiver two years from now, but remains uncertain about how long that legislative process will take. Trying to return to the US sooner could result in a lifetime ban. “I wanted to be with her. I wanted to create her. I wanted to be in her life. I wanted to be her father. I wanted to do everything I could to give him a life that I didn’t have,” Crapser said. “I want her to know, definitively, that since this all started – before she was born – I have been fighting for this.”
“I want to make sure that there is a historical record, not just for my children but also for the history of adoption, that this relates to other countries where they failed to ensure that children received naturalization in the host countries,” he added.
CNN reached out to the adoption agency, Holt Children’s Services, for comment but did not receive a response at press time.
In response to recent news reports about adoptions from South Korea in the 1980s, Holt International acknowledged potential unethical practices in a public statement and noted that Holt Children’s Services separated from Holt International in 1977.
“These reports raise serious concerns and we do not take these concerns lightly or ignore the fact that mistakes were likely made,” Holt said in the statement.
Last year, a Korean lower court ruled that Holt must pay Crapser 100 million won (67,500 euros) in compensation for failing to inform his American adoptive parents of the steps necessary to secure his citizenship after completion of the its adoption in a U.S. state court, according to the lawsuit.
However, the Seoul Central District Court rejected Crapser’s additional claims against Holt and cleared the government of liability. Both Crapser and Holt appealed, with Holt saying it had no legal obligation to ensure Crapser obtained his citizenship, according to the AP.
The Seoul High Court is expected to announce its decision on January 8 on Crapser’s request for monetary damages.
