Sweet 16 turned bitter...
- added July 15, 2008
- 10 responses
-
-
-
-
- tora1
- added this
-
-
- related topics
-
- News and Politics (33859)
- Not News (25204)
- Politics (21903)
- Random (19974)
- Art and Style (17574)
- Culture (13460)
- US (2306)
- Immigration (413)
- Adoption (71)
- Guatemala (21)
From Mary Scott Speigner
CNN's American Morning
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Allie Mulvihill may seem like your typical American teenager, but she has something weighing on her mind that most 15-year-olds do not: deportation.
1 of 2 Allie may be forced to leave the country because U.S. immigration officials are questioning the legitimacy of the Guatemala native's adoption by her parents, Lori and Scott Mulvihill, in 1994.
When the Mulvihills brought their then 2-year-old daughter to their home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, they believed she would be granted citizenship.
But U.S. immigration officials questioned whether the woman who gave Allie up for adoption in Guatemala was really her biological mother. Allie's birth certificate was issued 10 months after she was born, which raised suspicions in U.S. officials' minds that she was made available for adoption due to a baby trafficking scheme.
The Mulvihills, however, say it is not uncommon for birth certificates to be issued for children months after they are born in Guatemala, especially for children born to poor families, because families must pay for the certificates.
The Mulvihills also say U.S. embassy officials in Guatemala interviewed the woman claiming to be her biological mother at the time of the adoption and did not raise any concerns. The embassy officials, however, did not conduct a blood test of the woman that would have definitely proven the woman had given birth to Allie.
The Guatemalan government also never challenged the adoption, the Mulvihills said.
But U.S. immigration officials still aren't satisfied, and the dispute over her adoption has become a roadblock on Allie's path to citizenship. Neither Allie nor her parents have a way to track down her biological mother and the adoption agency used by the Mulvihills to adopt their daughter has gone out of business.
The fact that she cannot get her immigration status resolved means the fear of deportation continues to loom.
More on CNN.com
CNN's Zain Verjee and Melissa Morgenweck contributed to this report.
© 2008 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
So... why should they deport her if there's no way to tell if she's adopted through trafficking?
A change in the process should be made for situations like these...
CNN's American Morning
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Allie Mulvihill may seem like your typical American teenager, but she has something weighing on her mind that most 15-year-olds do not: deportation.
1 of 2 Allie may be forced to leave the country because U.S. immigration officials are questioning the legitimacy of the Guatemala native's adoption by her parents, Lori and Scott Mulvihill, in 1994.
When the Mulvihills brought their then 2-year-old daughter to their home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, they believed she would be granted citizenship.
But U.S. immigration officials questioned whether the woman who gave Allie up for adoption in Guatemala was really her biological mother. Allie's birth certificate was issued 10 months after she was born, which raised suspicions in U.S. officials' minds that she was made available for adoption due to a baby trafficking scheme.
The Mulvihills, however, say it is not uncommon for birth certificates to be issued for children months after they are born in Guatemala, especially for children born to poor families, because families must pay for the certificates.
The Mulvihills also say U.S. embassy officials in Guatemala interviewed the woman claiming to be her biological mother at the time of the adoption and did not raise any concerns. The embassy officials, however, did not conduct a blood test of the woman that would have definitely proven the woman had given birth to Allie.
The Guatemalan government also never challenged the adoption, the Mulvihills said.
But U.S. immigration officials still aren't satisfied, and the dispute over her adoption has become a roadblock on Allie's path to citizenship. Neither Allie nor her parents have a way to track down her biological mother and the adoption agency used by the Mulvihills to adopt their daughter has gone out of business.
The fact that she cannot get her immigration status resolved means the fear of deportation continues to loom.
More on CNN.com
CNN's Zain Verjee and Melissa Morgenweck contributed to this report.
© 2008 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
So... why should they deport her if there's no way to tell if she's adopted through trafficking?
A change in the process should be made for situations like these...
-
What an inept bunch of bunglers we have running our government agencies. The true trickle down theory is in effect. Please don't tell me that these bureaucrats are going take this child away from the only family she ever known. According to the article, all they have are un-proven suspicions.
-
-
-
-
- bluestranger
- 1 month ago
-
-
Though it may not be through blood - they're still a family. The bond this family has can be just as strong as a blood relation.
-
they need to give her, her citizenship.. she has been here for 13 years already and she has a loving family, let her stay.... man americans can be so heartless sometimes.
-
She has grown up with this family for 14 years and all of a sudden she has to be sent away from all the people she loved in her life??? Is the Right-Wing Gov't really this cold-hearted???
-
Even if she really is a victim of trafficking (which seems unlikely), she grew up in the United States with this family. So what, they're suddenly going to send her to Guatemala to find her "real" parents two years shy of her 18th birthday? Someone over in immigration needs to get their head out of their ass.
-
All the 16 year olds who are freaking out over not having a huge "Sweet 16" blow-out need to read this.
At least they have their citizenship- what a beautiful gift that already is. -
Cruel.
-
This is absolute Bull Crap. Give the girl her citizenship. It's not like she swam over here at age two.
-
-
-
-
- Marilynn_Murray
- 1 month ago
-
-
"Good Christian" republican was a catch phrase, Maybe someone needs to see how much this illadvised investigation is costing us . And fire the brainless twit who launched it. Or maybe it is just some average joe frustrated with what their life has become and sees an opportunity to feel superior to someone else. PATHETIC!!!! Funny how that word comes to mind so often in Bush's America.
-
-
-
-
- victimofcoal
- 1 month ago
-
-
if they cannot find the birth mother then the person who has taken care of her for a majority of her life should be the legal parent.
-
-
-
-
- donkeyfly69
- 1 month ago
-
-
I'm sure this the most important immigration issue our government has going right now and a true threat to security. What happened to this country's logic?!
Login/Registration is required to add a response.
