A metro Atlanta adoption group says 101 Haitian orphans, all set to be adopted by families in the U.S., are stranded in the country because of the unrest and violence there.
Linda Gunter is the volunteer CEO and founder of Love Him Love Them.
She says with the reports of Haitian government offices being ransacked, she worries these children’s records could be discovered by gangs, who would then target them for kidnapping.
She says the U.S. State Department got children who were ready to be adopted out of the country in 2010 after an earthquake hit the country.
Gunter points out, “The United States government can make this happen because they did it then. Everyone who was scheduled for adoptions then, they gave them humanitarian parole and got them out.”
The State Department says they are in communication with U.S. adoptive families and adoption service providers regarding recent developments and are assessing the situation as it unfolds.
They are also urging prospective adoptive parents to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov to receive updates about the situation in Haiti as circumstances change.
That’s step.state.gov.