미국 시민권 미취득 입양인 문제 해결을 위한 미국입법 현황과 한인 입양인의 추방 방지를 위한 우리의 대응

Abstract

The ｢2021 Adoptee Citizenship Act｣ was issued by the House of Representatives on March 3, 2021, and the U.S. Senate on March 25, 2021. It is a bill that amends Section 320(b) of the ｢Immigration and Nationality Act｣ within U.S. Federal Law. If the U.S. Congress passes the ｢2021 Adoptee Citizenship Act｣, the number of adopted children who were born in a third country and automatically acquire U.S. citizenship after being adopted by U.S. citizens could increase in comparison to the time period ｢2000 Child Citizenship Act｣ has been in effect. Presently, the Overseas Director of Korean Consular Affairs, the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles, civic group that campaign for the rights of adoptees in the United States, as well as Korean American groups, are making efforts to pass the bill.
 Although the Biden administration has made significant positive amendments to the immigration regulations of the Trump administration, the bill is still in a deadlock along with other significant immigration reform bills proposed by the Biden administration and the prospects for the passage of the bill remain unclear. In addition, even if the ｢2021 Adoptee Citizenship Act｣ passes, the law could not be a remedy for all the Korean adoptees (their estimated number is 19,000) who have not been able to receive U.S. citizenship.
 Hence, South Korea needs to understand the situation of the adoptees who have not acquired U.S. citizenship and should individually and legally support these people so that they could obtain the legal status of residence and citizenship within the United States. As South Korean supports Korean adoptees in their acquisition of citizenship, it is of utmost importance to respect the territorial sovereignty of the United States and pay close attention not to undermine the friendly relationship between the two sides. Meanwhile, the United States needs to actively seek legislative measures for granting citizenship to all Korean non-citizen adoptees based on the principle of respect for human rights (the right to family reunification in this case). These are people who legally entered the United States immediately after birth, under the connivance of the governments of the two sides, and have lived all their lives in the United States as children of parents who are U.S. citizens. However, classifying them as illegally residing foreigners and deporting them from the United States is quite an inhumane and humiliating treatment to those people of concern who naturally consider the United States as their homeland.