US Woman Faces Deportation to Iran After 50 Years, Adoption Law Gap

When she believed the prospect of deportation to Iran couldn’t secure any worse, the country she considers her own, the United States, began war. “It’s all madness. It’s surreal. It’s definitely more dangerous for me now,” says Buttons, the nickname given to her as a child because of her large dark eyes, and the name she prefers to apply.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran added more horror to the grim outlook she faces if the deportation order from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued on February 7th is carried out. “I can’t imagine going under these circumstances. They’ve already killed six American troops,” she points out, remembering that she is the daughter of an American soldier, which could count against her upon arrival in Iran. She would likewise be a Christian woman in a Muslim state.

She holds onto the hope that the armed conflict initiated by the Trump administration in Iran and already having repercussions throughout the Middle East might somehow favor her case, as she doesn’t understand how someone can be “sent to a country that is being bombed, and worse, someone who has no family there.”

The DHS notification justifies the deportation order based on overstaying her tourist visa. In reality, her visa likely expired half a century ago – the length of time she has lived in the United States. Born in Iran and orphaned, she was adopted in 1972 at the age of two by an American military officer and his wife. By age three, her adoptive parents brought her to the United States, and by age five, the adoption paperwork was finalized.

From then on, her life was like that of millions of Americans. “I grew up in an American family with a prisoner of war, an Air Force officer, who sacrificed for this country. I was educated in schools here, spent Sundays in church with my Christian family, and my only language is English,” she states in a phone conversation. “To receive a letter telling me ‘we will not allow you to identify as an American citizen’ is truly painful. It’s very sad that this country would turn its back on me after 50 years of paying taxes and contributing as a citizen in my community,” laments the woman who lives in California and works in the healthcare sector.

It wasn’t until 18 years ago that she learned she couldn’t obtain a US passport. Gathering papers from her deceased parents, she discovered they had applied for her naturalization, but the paperwork hadn’t been finalized. She believes she is an American citizen and that an administrative problem – loss of documents by authorities – is responsible for her current situation.

Her case isn’t unique, stemming from a legal gap that existed until 2000, leaving thousands of children adopted from abroad without US citizenship, despite arriving at a young age and knowing no other homeland. At that time, parents were required to apply for their children’s naturalization, but many were unaware of the requirement. Some don’t even realize they are in this situation, but this bureaucratic hurdle hadn’t prevented them from living as Americans.

“Historically, it was common for American adoptive parents to use temporary visas to bring their children, but those visas would expire before the adoption process was even complete. This required changing their status to permanent residency, a step parents often overlooked, which blocked their path to citizenship,” explains Joy Alessi, from the Adoptee Rights Campaign, an organization that has been fighting for their rights for years.

Only for those born after 1983

Congress responded to the problem and, in 2000, passed the Child Citizenship Act, granting automatic citizenship to foreign-born children adopted by US parents. However, the law is not retroactive and only applies to those under 18. That is, it excludes all those born before February 27, 1983.

“That’s when I got angry because I said, ‘How could they do this too?’ To say, ‘Well, half of you will get citizenship and receive all the promises of an adoption policy, but the rest will continue to worry about ICE, and be relegated to a second tier,’” Buttons recalls.

Although the exception seems unfair, in practice, the thousands affected never felt threatened. Only now, with the Trump administration’s hostile stance towards foreigners and its prioritization of the largest deportation in history, are they at risk of being deported as undocumented individuals. “There was a sense that we could ignore it, that it would never be a big problem. But now we are at a time when we have a vulnerable population, potentially facing deportation. These are people who have lived here all their lives, Americans in all respects, and, due to this legal loophole, lack the security and protection they should have,” explains Hannah Daniel, Director of Government Relations at World Relief, who for years advocated for the rights of foreign-born adoptees from the Commission on Ethics and Religious Liberty (ERLC).

This group has been lobbying Congress for years to pass legislation including those adopted individuals excluded from the 2000 law. Every year We see presented in the Capitol, but it doesn’t pass. According to Daniel, there are two main reasons hindering its approval. One is that some legislators are wary of granting citizenship to those who may have committed a crime (a small minority). The other factor, in her opinion, more widespread among congressmen, is the lack of political will and urgency on this issue. “When I met with members of Congress and their staff to talk about it, what I usually heard was: ‘Well, I understand why we need to do this, but these people will never be deported. This will never be a real problem.’ And now it is,” she points out.

The woman facing deportation to Iran has been seeking recognition as she identifies: an American. She is very active in her efforts and has knocked on many doors, from the Department of State to representatives, senators, immigration personnel… but has received no support. Despite this, she never thought she would face deportation. “I always felt they would leave me alone because no one had position me in deportation proceedings. And, obviously, I never thought that would happen, because I am not a criminal. I haven’t broken the law. When I heard it on television, and they repeated it over and over: ‘We are pursuing criminals’; I didn’t suppose it would affect me. I don’t know what happened for them to decide to strive to deport me,” she says.

Since the presidential election campaign of November 2024 and throughout the 13 months of his second term, Trump has repeatedly stated that his campaign against immigration focuses on “the worst of the worst” criminals. The reality is that the detention centers of ICE are filled with people who have never committed a crime, and the majority of those deported have no legal record. Now included in his list of targets for deportation are those who were brought as children and have lived their entire lives as Americans. The largest group is of Korean origin, but there are people from around 50 different countries.

“They want to glance at it from the perspective of immigration, but, in reality, it’s a failure of adoption policy,” Buttons points out. She already has her first court date scheduled for her case. The judge understood the risk she faces and accepted her request for the hearing to be held virtually. She fears that in subsequent hearings she will have to appear in court, knowing that ICE agents are lurking in the courts to hunt down migrants. “I came here as a result of the decision of two governments to give a home to an orphan. And then this country decided to break its promises or not respect adoption laws. That is the biggest problem people need to understand, that much of adoption policy is a failure,” she says.