Forced Deportation

[Anchor Lead]

A Korean-American who was adopted by a U.S. couple at the age of three is now facing a forced deportation to Korea. Here is the story.

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Adam Crapser is a Korean man who was adopted by an American couple 37 years ago at the age of three. However, his adoptive parents repeatedly abused him and ended the adoption after six years. Crapser was then abused yet again by his subsequent adoptive parents and eventually kicked out of the house when he was 16. His two adoptive parents did not apply for his U.S. citizenship, and Crapser has been living on a permanent resident status. He is now facing forced deportation after being arrested by police for a misdemeanor. Detained in an illegal immigrant detention center for the last eight months, Crapser applied for the cancellation of the deportation order, but the U.S. Immigration Court rejected the application. The court cited his adoption prior to 2000 when citizenship began to be automatically granted to adoptees as the reason for the rejection.

[Soundbite] Adam Crapser(Ethnic Korean Adoptee/April 2014)

As a married man with three children, Crapser is faced with breaking up with his family if he is deported.

[Soundbite] Yoon Dae-jung(NAKASEC) : "He left Korea and was adopted when he was three years old.He cannot speak Korean and is not familiar with Korean culture.There is no way for him to earn a living in Korea."

A total of 35,000 adoptees in the U.S. face a situation similar to Crapser's. A bill to automatically grant them citizenship is pending in the U.S. Congress.