U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) has joined more than 150 members of Congress to write a letter urging U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to advance discussions for international adoptions between the U.S. and China.
“I joined @repkevinbrady and 160 of my colleagues in sending a letter to @secblinken regarding international adoptions between the United States and China,” Granger wrote in a June 3 Twitter post. “This critical issue directly impacts families in #TX12.”
With the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19, international adoptions around the globe declined significantly, according to VOA News. As countries sought ways to contain the deadly virus, borders were closed and lockdown orders were put in place, stopping many approved adoptions in their tracks.
Since then, while many countries have amended their adoption policies and implemented measures to resume international adoptions, China remains one of the few countries that have not resumed finalizing adoptions.
“We write to you today concerning the plight of Chinese children waiting to be united with their adoptive American families and respectfully request that you raise this matter with the highest levels of the Chinese government,” read the letter, according to Texas State Rep. Kevin Brady (R–The Woodlands).
Nonprofit National Council on Adoption said that nearly 300 families had adoption visits to China approved before COVID, visits that are still currently on hold.
“While the coronavirus pandemic upended people’s lives across the world, it is critical for the sake of both children and families that we restart this adoption process,” read the letter. “We respectfully request that you raise to the highest levels of diplomatic engagement, so that our decades-long partnership with China on intercountry adoptions may successfully be renewed.”
The Chinese Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption has said that the ongoing suspension of adoptions is due to COVID-19-related concerns and that they have no timeline for when the suspension will be lifted.
International adoptions have been among the few things that the U.S. and China have seen eye-to-eye on for years.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
