Emily was adopted from South Korea in 1964 when she was three months old. She is one of thousands of children adopted by U.S. military families - her father was a veteran of WWII - and raised as Americans. Growing up, Emily and her adoptive parents always believed she was a U.S. citizen. Emily paid her taxes, worked in the aerospace industry, got married, and had a son. At the age of 48, she was diagnosed with a severe spine disease that makes it impossible for her to work. Upon applying for disability, she was ineligible to receive benefits because she was not a citizen. In 2000, she was issued an order of deportation after the police found drugs on a passenger in Emily’s car; she was not aware the person was carrying these drugs. She and her family now live in fear of separation in spite of the fact that she has fulfilled her legal obligations to the justice system and paid her debt to society. Emily will soon require surgery for her spine but, as an adoptee without citizenship, she does not qualify for disability or unemployment insurance support.

Keven was born in 1954 in Seoul, South Korea. He was adopted at the age of three by U.S. citizen parents. His father was a veteran of WWII and Korea. All his life, he and his adoptive parents believed he had U.S. citizenship. He worked for nearly 50 years as a journeyman carpenter, but had to quit his job to be a full-time caretaker when his wife fell ill with Small Cell Lung Cancer. After she passed away, Keven applied for Social Security benefits. However, he found he was unable to obtain these benefits because he has been unable to prove his citizenship. Keven’s adoption paperwork was destroyed in a fire and he has not been able to secure the required paperwork from adoption or government agencies because he does not know his Korean name. He is now taking care of his granddaughter and has been surviving on his wife’s pension for the last three years, but it is not enough to make ends meet. Keven yearns for financial security and peace of mind.

Travis was adopted from Venezuela to Texas in 1971 when he was nine months old. Due to mishandling of his paperwork by the Venezuelan government, his U.S. citizen parents were unable to finalize his adoption until 1993. Travis was deported to Venezuela after being charged with a crime he did not actually commit. Although the court vacated, the immigration court refused to accept the dismissal. He does not have a home in Venezuela or a place to seek refuge. Travis now lives apart from his brothers, sisters, parents, wife, and young son and grapples daily with this loss.