U.S. adoptive families urge immediate evacuation of endangered Haitian children

Michelle Reed, an adoptive parent from Fort Myers, Florida, has watched helplessly as the gang crisis rages in Haiti, knowing her 6-year-old son is trapped in a country where gang violence and fear have become an everyday reality. Like 54 other U.S. families, she is calling on the U.S. government to act before it’s too late.

“My two older sons have been thrilled to be here with me. But they miss their younger brother, whose life is facing the danger of gang violence in Haiti,” Reed said. Reed, a middle school Math teacher who had made several trips to Haiti while previously working for an adoption agency, brought her 6-year-old’s two older brothers from Haiti two years ago. Since she found out three years ago that they had a younger brother, she’s been fighting to bring him to the U.S. as well.

In a heartfelt appeal, a coalition of 55 American families is urging the U.S. Department of State to expedite the emergency evacuation of 70 Haitian children entangled in a protracted adoption process. These families, spanning 23 states, have spent six months advocating for the swift relocation of their adopted children to the U.S., citing gang violence and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti as pressing concerns.

“None of the adoptive parents is asking to bypass any step in the adoption process,” says Chereyl Moyes, a case manager at Wasatch International Adoptions.

“They are simply requesting that the U.S. government authorize an emergency entrance for these children, who are already legally adopted, to leave Haiti and unite with their parents safely.”

Moyes, who has two decades of experience processing adoption cases in Haiti, emphasizes that all critical steps required by Article 5 of the Hague Convention on intercountry adoptions have been completed and approved by both U.S. and Haitian authorities.

“The remaining steps are mainly formalities in some cases, such as Haiti’s court final judgments for adoption decrees and the immigration process for these children,” Moyes added during a phone interview with The Haitian Times.

“It’s crucial for authorities to consider what is in the best interest of these children.”

Some children’s cases have cleared the Haitian court system and are awaiting immigrant visas, while others are pending judicial review. Meanwhile, children face the trauma of multiple relocations due to gangs infiltrating and terrorizing orphanages.

Unanswered pleas: families urge action as children remain in Haiti

For the past six months, these U.S. families have pleaded with the State Department’s Children’s Issues for emergency humanitarian parole to evacuate the adopted children. Despite the Haitian government’s consent for the children’s departure, the State Department has been reluctant to greenlight their evacuation for some reasons, leaving the children in perilous conditions.

“The violence has claimed lives, including that of two adopted children’s grandmother, who suffered a fatal heart attack when gangs invaded her home,” reads a press release from the families’ coalition.

The adoptive families are from states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. Notably, about 25% of the adoptive parents are Haitian Americans adopting relatives, while the majority of adoptions are through orphanages.

The situation in Haiti has become more dire, with gang violence threatening children’s welfare in orphanages. Many children have faced unsupervised conditions, and some have been victims of gang attacks.

Emmerson Philippe from Vero Beach, Florida, who has been fighting for over five years to bring his adopted daughter and son — his biological niece and nephew— home, shares similar frustrations, highlighting the control gangs wield over much of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.

The families continue to rally support, with Congressman August Pfluger and other U.S. legislators advocating for the children’s safe passage to the U.S. Despite numerous letters to U.S. and Haitian authorities, the situation remains unresolved, with passport requirements posing a significant hurdle.

Despite all, efforts to resolve this impasse continue, as families remain hopeful for a resolution that prioritizes the safety and well-being of their adopted children.

“My office has been working diligently since March when we learned of a family in our district with an adoptive child they have been urgently trying to bring home,” Congressman Pfluger said, responding to a request for comment from The Haitian Times via email. 

“In hearing of the worsening security situation in Haiti, the countless families across the country in the same predicament, and numerous individual letters being sent from so many members of Congress to the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security, with no responses, I decided to lead. I have brought together bipartisan, bicameral support to elevate this issue at both Departments and have engaged Arielle Villedrouin, the Director of the l’Institut du Bien-Etre Social et de Recherches (IBESR), and Stéphane Vincent, the Minister of Interior, on this issue.” 

The U.S. Representative said he continues to respectfully call upon the Haitian authorities to waive the current immigration process due to the devolving security situation in Haiti and to allow all children with adoption decrees to be evacuated immediately. 

“These children absolutely meet the requirements for humanitarian parole. If the Haitian government agrees, we urge the U.S. government to authorize Humanitarian Parole for these highly vulnerable children. The safety of these children should be prioritized,” he added.

Haiti’s director of immigration, Vincent, did not respond to a request for comment from The Haitian Times. However, in response to the U.S. Congress members’ letter,  he wrote on Sept. 12 that he had set aside a special unit to deal exclusively with passports of the adopted Haitian children in consideration of their well-being and emergency to leave Haiti.

The DOS has told the families that it could waive the passport requirements for entry into the U.S. but has also hinted that Haiti might not be willing to let any of the children exit without a passport, clouding the hope given.

“Regarding the passport requirement, please note that the Department of State remains willing to waive U.S. entry requirements for a passport.  However, waiver of the Haitian requirement to exit from Haiti with a passport is not possible at this time,” the DOS wrote in a letter to the families.

“ U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince secured permission from Haitian Immigration for a small number of children to depart without a passport in the past.  However, these decisions were made on a case-by-case basis after significant negotiation with Haitian Immigration at the highest levels.  Haitian Immigration has been clear that they want adopted children to depart with Haitian passports,” DOS added.

The parents believe that the DOS and the DHS have the authority to grant emergency humanitarian parole for their children, as they did for 14 other Haitian children in May 2024.

“On March 22, 2024, the DOS sent an email to all adoptive families with detailed plans to evacuate our children from Haiti due to the escalation in gang violence and the humanitarian crisis. On April 22, they rescinded their plans with no explanation. They told us we would have to complete the adoption process while also admitting that it was near impossible,” Reed told The Haitian Times.

According to the Florida resident, on April 28, DOS evacuated 39 adopted children from Haiti: 25 with IH-3 immigrant visas and 14 with emergency humanitarian parole.  

In June, multiple Senators, Representatives, and State Delegations wrote Congressional letters to DOS, DHS, and USCIS. The adoption service providers licensed to process adoptions in Haiti have also written several times to DOS, DHS, and USCIS. The families wrote a group letter to DOS/DHS and USCIS. None of these letters have bore any fruit yet.

The Haitian Times contacted the U.S. DOS for comment and received an automatic reply that reads, in part: “The Department of State receives inquiries from U.S. citizens concerned about the plight of children who are refugees or in war zones. Our office shares this concern for these children, and we understand that some U.S. citizens want to respond by offering to open their homes and adopt these children in need.”

The automatic message continues: 

“It can be very difficult to gather documents necessary to establish that the child meets the requirements of U.S. immigration law, so prospective adoptive parents may wish to consult with an experienced immigration attorney and take extra caution when considering adopting or caring for a child under these circumstances.”

Endless obstacles to safety and adoption

“Most of us have been involved in the legal adoption process for five to ten years, spending up to $50,000 per child,” Philippe estimated. He described the adoption journey as economically, emotionally, and psychologically exhausting for most families involved.

“Despite having approvals from the Department of State (DOS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Haitian Central Adoption Authority (IBESR), and obtaining court adoption decrees for our children, we cannot get DOS to permit their departure from the crisis-stricken country,” Michelle Lake, Philippe’s wife said.

The prolonged sociopolitical instability in Haiti has debilitated its institutions, and the process has been further complicated by changes introduced a decade ago under former President Michel Joseph Martelly. While some changes pertain to the Hague Convention requirements, others are unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, imposing additional financial burdens.

Despite safeguards meant to protect children, the system is entrenched in a traditional practice of corruption, controlled by raketè—middlemen who create a back-channel system that siphons money, causing backlogs and inflating costs.

Zach and Cherry Stewart, an adoptive family from Oren, Utah, began their adoption journey in Haiti in February 2018. They were overjoyed last year upon learning from their U.S.-based adoption agency that the two boys they sought to adopt were located at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince.

“There is a quick pathway for Haitians to enter the United States on humanitarian parole,” the Stewarts stated, alluding to the popular Biden program ( (I-134A). “Yet, despite having approvals from USCIS and IBESR, DOS has not allowed our children to leave Haiti. We are distraught with the U.S. government for leaving our children in harm’s way,” Cherry lamented.

The IBESR has approved the Stewarts’ adoptions, yet they remain anxious about the status of their cases. “We know our file should be at the Haitian court for adoption decrees, but we have no information about whether a judge has been assigned,” they said.

Their anxiety worsened with news that the orphanage had been invaded by gangs, who terrorized and demanded hefty ransoms. Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of Haitian police and humanitarian organizations, the children were airlifted to a temporary location in northern Haiti.

Zach and Cherry regularly communicated with their sons via video calls via WhatsApp. “But we haven’t heard from the orphanage staff for two months, which deeply concerns us,” the couple said. “We urge the DOS to prioritize the safety of our vulnerable children and permit them to leave Haiti on emergency humanitarian grounds.”

A significant portion of Haiti is under an extended State of Security Emergency, highlighting the situation’s urgency. For these American families, the stakes are incredibly high. “These children have known us as ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ for a long time. We are their family,” they emphasized.

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U.S. adoptive families urge immediate evacuation of endangered Haitian children was first posted on September 24, 2024 at 1:57 pm.