The House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act with the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021, a bill that would grant benefits to thousands of adoptees who were legally adopted and brought to the U.S. by their citizen parents.
He was brought to Illinois for adoption from Colombia in 1978. He found out only 5 years ago he isn’t a citizen. Alison Bowen, Chicago Tribune
Michael Libberton felt like a U.S. citizen his entire life. After all, since arriving in the U.S. from Colombia in 1978 as a toddler brought here for adoption by his parents, he assumed he was.
Five years ago, he found out he wasn’t.
Despite being adopted by U.S. citizen parents, federal law has limited citizenship options for some international adoptees. A bill introduced in March (H.R. 1593) and supported by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., would ensure all internationally adopted children can become citizens.
People adopted from overseas assume they are U S citizens but often are not chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.