Adoption impacts millions of people each year. From members of the “adoption triad” (adoptees, birth families, and adoptive families) to their communities, countless people and families are touched by the process.

Looking specifically at adoptees, as of 2026, roughly 5 million adoptees live in the United States. Every year, thousands of children are adopted from overseas.

One could easily assume that if someone is adopted by US citizens, they would automatically become a citizen, too. But a complicated legal system, the fraught history of international adoption, and the current Administration’s rhetoric around citizenship and immigration have caused concern for many adoptees. Are they at risk of being deported or losing citizenship?

Why Are Members of the Adoption Triad Worried?

Adoptees Without Citizenship

While adoptees are not the explicit targets of the Trump administration’s racist crackdown on immigrants, many are justifiably concerned. Someone who has lawfully obtained US citizenship cannot have their citizenship revoked by the Administration outside of extenuating circumstances. This protection includes many adoptees. Yet a 2024 study from the AP found that tens of thousands of adoptees could lack citizenship, particularly those from the Korean adoption diaspora (which has the world’s longest and largest international adoption program). Many of them may not even know it.

There are a number of reasons why so many adoptees lack citizenship, ranging from neglectful and exploitative adoption agencies, to adoptive parents who failed to understand that naturalization and adoption were two separate processes (until the passage of the Child Citizenship Act in 2000, all adopted children were still required to apply for citizenship), to an adoptive country that “wedged foreign adoptions into a system created for domestic ones.” As a result, dozens of adoptees have been deported in recent years.

The Child Citizenship Act was created to rectify this issue, granting automatic citizenship to future adoptees as well as those under 18 at the time of the law’s passage. But for adoptees born before 1983, there was no such luck, leaving tens of thousands of people undocumented. 

Many adoptees do not even realize they lacked citizenship until adulthood. One woman, Shirley Chung, describes only discovering she was undocumented when she went to get her Social Security card replaced. Another woman, adopted from Iran in the 1970s, found out she lacked citizenship when she attempted to get a passport in her late thirties.

Why not simply gain citizenship? Doing so is no easy feat. The naturalization process can take “years, thousands of dollars, wasted dates, routine rejections from immigration offices on technicalities,” and immeasurable emotional labor. And naturalization is not a guarantee; adoptee Leah Elmquist, who was adopted from South Korea as an infant and went on to serve in the Navy for 10 years, was rejected multiple times by immigration before finally being naturalized the day before her 40^th birthday. Others never have their naturalization approved.

Adoptees With Citizenship

Even for those who have citizenship, racism, hateful government rhetoric towards immigrants, and the illegal deportations of US citizens make fear a natural response. Adoption rights groups report being “flooded” with requests since President Trump began his second term in office, with some adoptees even going into hiding. Referencing the murders by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Minneapolis, adoption literacy speaker and trainer Cam Lee Small, MS, LPCC, shares that “as a mental health professional, I’ve been contacted by adoptees and parents alike, asking for help. Many families are scared.”

Birth Families Without Citizenship

On top of their own citizenship concerns, adoptees may fear for undocumented relatives like birth parents. Organizations like Abrazo Adoption Associates advise families in “open adoptions” (adoptions in which birth and adoptive families share information and maintain contact) to “exercise caution” to protect birth parents by taking measures like not “meeting in public places” in certain parts of the country. The constant fear of forced separation looms large, with traumatic consequences.

What About Birthright Citizenship?

Birthright citizenship is granted to people born in the US or to individuals when at least one parent is a US citizen, regardless of where they were born. This applies to any adoptees born within the US, but not to intercountry adoptees — so if a child is born in the US to an undocumented parent, they are covered by birthright citizenship, but if they are born outside of the US and adopted by a US citizen, they are not.

Notably, President Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 that challenged Birthright Citizenship for children born in the US by parents who are in the country unlawfully or temporarily. This Order has been deemed unconstitutional by several judges and has been challenged in multiple federal courts but has created fear and confusion.

How Can Adoptees and Loved Ones Protect Themselves?

Many advocates are pushing for a bill to extend citizenship to everyone legally adopted by US citizens, covering those who weren’t included in the Child Citizenship Act. Recent attempts to pass such legislation include the bipartisan Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024, which would have guaranteed citizenship to all intercountry adoptees and allowed previously deported adoptees to reunite with their adoptive families. Unfortunately, this law did not receive a vote and died in Congress. 

In the absence of comprehensive legal protections, experts in adoption and adoption law recommend the following:

• Check your status: If you haven’t already, confirm whether you or your adopted loved one has US citizenship.
• Explore naturalization: If you or your family member lack citizenship, explore the next steps for adopted children and adults.
• Carry documents: The National Council for Adoption advises that adoptees always have citizenship documentation in place. It's recommended to duplicate these documents and store the originals in a safe place. Documents may include one’s:
  • Passport
  • Certificate of Citizenship (you can file for one here)
  • Adoption Decree (official court documents proving the legal adoption). If you are able to get a certified copy, that’s even better.
  • Foreign Birth Certificate (helps establish your child’s identity and birthplace)
  • Proof of US Citizenship for Parents
  • Immigration Documents (could include visas, I-94 forms, or other evidence of legal entry into the US).
• Get legal help: if you’re concerned about your citizenship, consult with an adoption or immigration attorney.
• Connect with advocacy groups: Organizations like Adoptees United and Adoptees for Justice are just a few.