Senator Landrieu Dons Cape and Sweeps in to “Save” Guatemalan Children in Pipeline UPDATED
I thought that sounded better than the actual article title Sen. Mary Landrieu helps adoption standoff [Politico 4/11/12 by Associated Press]
Before we get to the article, let’s walk through the filth that has emerged in the past year.
First, the former CCI facilitator was arrested and a former WHFC facilitator had conspiracy charges added to the illegal adoption charges in Guatemala. See here.
Then, CICIG, the investigatory body that the Guatemalan government asked UNICEF to set up, announced that 60% of adoptions had irregularities. The irregularities were “theft and illegal purchase/sale of children, threats and deception to biological mothers, and forgery of documents to carry out “adoption processes” both before and after the entry into force of the Adoption Law (31 December 2007). In many cases there are multiple and clear indications that the illegal procedures were promoted by transnational organized crime who acted along with the participation or acquiescence of state officials.”
CICIG further stated that a mere 10% of children adopted 2007-2010 were abandoned or orphaned (so take a guess at how those other 90% came to be available), yet the regulatory body PGN allowed 90% of cases through! Sen. Landrieu “manifested her disagreement with the CICIG´s report on criminal structures involved in illegal adoptions.” This ticked off CICIG so much that they asked for a public explanation of her rude comments and accusations.See here. In that post, we also detail what JCICS was doing in the 2007-2008 timeframe in Guatemala.
In May of 2011, Susana Luarca was taken into custody. See post here and Poundpup files and links here.
Also, in May, the CCAI released their OUTRAGEOUS assessment of Guatemala, seen here. Some of their conclusions (with our comments) need repeating:
“(1) “Creation of a master list”
After all the CCAI moaning about Guatemala in this report, this is a US bureaucratic issue.
(2)”Clear communication that domestic adoption of a child who was matched with an international family is not in best interests of the child and is a violation of Guatemala’s 2007 Ortega adoption reform law”
Yes, they are seriously arguing that domestic adoption should be denied for these children.
(3)”Reform of the CICIG Working group
It was shared with the delegation by many that the working group is neither balanced nor efficient”
Oh please! 
They didn’t like what the CICIG report said because it implicates the entire adoption industry whom they represent.
(4) “Keeping CICIG report findings in proper perspective:CICIG’s effort to catalogue and prosecute the types of abuse that occurred in the past should be used a guide to avoid such transgressions in the future. The types of abuses described are completely avoidable if the Government is willing to pass and enforce laws on “illegal adoptions.”
So let’s share that perspective again:
- It is established that only 10% of Guatemalan children who were placed for adoption between 2007 and 2010 were in an orphaned or abandoned situation
- 60% of adoption processes had irregularities and
- A large problem is that birthmothers can’t be found.
Yes, we will be sure to continue to keep those three things in mind! 
”
July 2011: Lost Children of Guatemala
August 2011: Anyeli Hernandez’ case
Also August 2011: Landrieu from Legislative Branch along with OCI in Executive Branch Pressure Guatemala to Speed things up
October 2011: Anyeli’s Parents Speak Out
November 1, 2011: Finding Fernanda book goes on sale
January 2012 Review of organized crime in adoptions in Latin America
February 2012 Alba-Keneth Alert System
April 2012 REFORM Talk’s First Impressions of FOIA US Embassy Cables that document adoption corruption
Our readers need all of this perspective when they read about Senator Landrieu’s latest trip and the pressure she put on the President.
“Guatemala’s president says he’s willing to speed up 350 adoptions by U.S. couples that were in process before his Central American nation suspended adoptions by foreigners in 2007 following allegations of fraud and baby theft.
President Otto Perez Molina said Wednesday he hopes to resolve those cases after meeting with Sen. Mary Landrieu. The Louisiana Democrat has been traveling to Guatemala to push for the adoptions to go through.”
REFORM Puzzle Pieces
Update: DOS issues notice on May 14, 2012. See here.
“Notice: Guatemala Update
This Adoption Notice is a follow up to the Notice of December 12, 2011.
Universal List
In March 2012, after months of meetings to gather information, U.S. officials presented a list of known pending cases to Guatemalan officials. This list is a compellation of USCIS records of all properly grandfathered Form I-600A applications and pending Form I-600s filed by U.S. citizens on behalf of Guatemalan children, and lists provided by each of the adoption processing entities in Guatemala. This “Universal List” reflects all known Guatemalan records of pending cases involving U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents. The goal is a consistent and universally agreed upon list of cases for both U.S. and Guatemalan officials to work from, allowing officials to focus on the necessary steps to bring each of the transition cases to resolution. The initial response has been positive, with all Guatemalan agencies agreeing to work from this Universal List.
Senator Mary Landrieu and Representative Karen Bass Led Delegation to Guatemala April 10-14, 2012
Senator Mary Landrieu and Representative Karen Bass led a congressional delegation to Guatemala April 10 -14, 2012. USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas traveled with the delegation along with the Office of Children’s Issues Guatemala Adoption Officer. The delegation attended meetings with President Otto Perez Molina, Vice President Roxana Baldetti, Foreign Minister Harold Caballeros, the Attorney General, the Ministerio Publico (MP), the Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), the Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN), the National Adoption Council (CNA), UNICEF, and Ministry of Social Development.
Senator Landrieu provided all of the above officials with a copy of the Universal List of cases. Senator Landrieu urged Guatemalan officials to resolve all of the pending cases by the end of 2012, and to move forward with adoptions involving U.S. prospective adoptive parents where there is no evidence that the child was taken fraudulently from his or her birth family. USCIS Director Mayorkas offered to return to Guatemala to learn more about the Guatemalan adoption investigation process and to encourage Guatemalan authorities to continue to complete cases. President Perez-Molina expressed his hope that the pending cases will be resolved within the next 6 to 12 months, and all other Guatemalan authorities — as well as CICIG — generally agreed that the pending transition adoption cases should be resolved as soon as possible in the best interests of the children, but also stated that a lack of resources is a potential obstacle to resolution. Guatemalan authorities noted the possibility that some of the notario cases may not be able to proceed as notario cases when the investigation reveals that the case does not fall within the parameters of the relevant law. However, they also advised that in these cases, if a judge makes a finding of adoptability for the child, such a case may be considered eligible under the CNA Acuerdo process.
Update on possible legislative solution
In February 2012, Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Harold Caballeros travelled to Washington, D.C. and met with U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Susan Jacobs, as well as congressional leaders and adoption stakeholders. The new Perez-Molina Administration announced that they would have a plan to resolve the pending transition cases by June, and suggested that the Guatemalan Administration was looking at a legislative solution.
In April, Foreign Minister Caballeros informed the congressional delegation and Embassy officials that the Guatemalan administration did not believe it was necessary to pursue a legislative solution, and that the pending transition cases could be resolved within the existing framework.
CNA Acuerdo Update
In December 2011, the CNA confirmed the details of a processing plan for a limited group of pending adoption cases already under CNA processing authority. Please refer to our adoption notices from December 13, 2011 and September 27, 2011 for more background.
To date, the CNA has initiated only five cases under the Acuerdo process, out of 22 that it has identified as currently eligible. This is less than the number of cases that the CNA represented would be in progress by this time. Embassy officials continue to meet frequently with the CNA to identify and address causes for delay and to urge the CNA to initiate all of those cases that are eligible to proceed.
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City submitted a formal request to the Guatemalan government in early May 2012 for extension of the Acuerdo beyond the current August 2012 expiration date to ensure continued processing of adoptions. The Guatemalan government has not responded. Embassy officials continue to press for the extension.
Adoptions in Acuerdo Process
Progress has been slow on those cases that have been initiated and submitted to the CNA by the U.S. Embassy under the Acuerdo process. After its review of the first case, the CNA requested supplemental documents in addition to those required documents confirmed in writing by the CNA in December 2011. Embassy officials responded urging the CNA to abide by their original documentary requirements. We will provide updates when they are available.
Note: Only the CNA can determine whether cases are eligible under the CNA process. The Office of Children’s Issues, USCIS, and the U.S. Embassy can only advise on whether or not the CNA has initiated the case, and if so, what documents the CNA requires. The Office of Children’s Issues can also provide general information on the CNA process.
Working Group Update
Although the working group (known as the “mesa tecnica” in Spanish) is reportedly continuing to meet on a weekly basis to investigate and move cases closer to resolution, this has not translated into significant numbers of cases moving to final adoption. The U.S. Embassy continues to communicate on a regular basis with each institution that participates in the working group on a regular basis, but the working group itself refuses to provide a comprehensive status update for those cases already reviewed.
Other News
Between June 2011 and April 2012, the PGN informed the U.S. Embassy of approximately 40 children no longer available for adoption because the child was either reunited with the biological family or placed in domestic adoption. Upon receiving written confirmation of this from the Guatemalan government, USCIS informed the U.S. families associated with those cases.
Visas statistics
From July 1, 2011 until December 31, 2011 the U.S. Embassy issued eight (8) IR3 adoption visas. From January 1, 2012 to May 1, 2012, the U.S. Embassy has issued only one (1) IR3 adoption visa. These visa statistics represent only the cases which have completed ALL processing steps with Guatemalan authorities, USCIS Guatemala, and the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy.”
Update 2: Senator Landrieu returns to Guatemala.
”
Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs is visiting Guatemala from July 1-3 as part of a Congressional Delegation led by Senator Mary Landrieu. The delegation, which includes officials from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is meeting with Guatemalan officials to discuss progress in resolving the remaining intercountry adoption transition cases.
While U.S. citizens have adopted thousands of Guatemalan orphans in the past, Guatemala announced in 2008 that it would not accept any new adoption cases. Processing of transition cases slowed dramatically in 2010. The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of Children’s Issues and the U.S. Embassy are working with the Guatemalan authorities to resolve the remaining cases. This is Senator Mary Landrieu’s fourth congressional delegation visit to Guatemala since April 2010.
For more information about children’s issues, please visit: ChildrensIssues.state.gov
For updates on Special Advisor Jacobs’ trip, follow her on Twitter: @ChildrensIssues
For press inquiries please contact CAPRESSREQUESTS@state.gov or (202) 647-1488.”
Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Guatemala [DOS Media Note 7/2/12]
Google-translated: “U.S. urges expediting adoption proceedingsThe U.S. special advisor for children’s issues, Susan Jacobs, asked President Otto Perez Molina, intervene to expedite the 185 cases of adoption of Guatemalan children to U.S. families, suspended for five years.
Jacobs, who came to this Central American country since last Sunday, was received by Perez Molina at the Presidential House, where they talked for about 20 minutes on the interest of the White House to resolve the cases of U.S. adoption of Guatemalan children pending since 2007.Francisco Cuevas, Secretary of Communication of the Presidency, told Efe that “Mrs. Jacobs raised the concern of the President of the United States government in these cases, and asked him to intervene to expedite the process.”The president, said Cuevas, expressed interest in “the early resolution of these processes,” but said that they are regulated by the National Council for Adoption, an autonomous body responsible for overseeing the process of international adoptions.Jacobs, who gave no statements to reporters, is part of a congressional delegation led by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, who has visited Guatemala four times for the same reason, the last one in April.
A spokesman for the National Adoption Council told Efe that the 185 international adoption processes are resolved pending since 2007, are “walking” but “must be filled all the requirements of the law.”Guatemala suspended international adoption process in 2007 when it took effect the Adoption Law, which gives priority to Guatemalan families to adopt children, and thus ended a millionaire business that profited lawyers, among other sectors.”
EEUU pide agilizar 185 trámites de adopción
[Prense Libre 7/3/12]
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