USA statistics on international adoptions

I tallied nearly 167,000 international adoptions from the USA statistics below from 1989 onwards. I didn't realize that international adoptions were that prolific! P.S. Sorry for the duplication of threads in the International Adoptee [url="http://forums.adoption.com/showthread.php?t=233176"]http://forums.adoption.com/showthread.php?t=233176[/url] and International Adoption sections [url="http://forums.adoption.com/showthread.php?t=233178"]http://forums.adoption.com/showthread.php?t=233178[/url] (I'm still getting used to the myriad of sections in this site) - I hope this doesn't create huge hassles for everyone. [url="http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=f936c37d48b1f4125863b7251ddb480c"][font=sans-serif]http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=f936c37d48b1f4125863b7251ddb480c[/font][/url]

[font=Arial]Asian Adoptions On the Rise[/font] [url="http://www.asian-nation.org/"][font=Arial]Asian Nation[/font][/url][font=Arial], C.N. Le, Jan 18, 2006[/font] [font=Arial]In the last several decades, the adoption of children born in Asia to new parents in the U.S. has become increasingly common. As these adopted Asian children grow up in predominantly White families, they frequently encounter adjustment and ethnic identities issues and conflicts about their "place" in American society.

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HISTORICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

Various economic, cultural, and demographic factors have contributed to this phenomenon. On the "push" side, an oversupply of children from impoverished areas in Asia combined with a cultural devaluation of girls frequently leads many birth parents to give their children up for adoption. "Pull" factors in the U.S. and other western countries include large numbers of couples who are unable or unwilling to conceive children themselves have created a demand for overseas adoptees.

The practice of Asian-born children being adopted by primarily American (and predominantly White) parents became increasingly common beginning in the 1970s. During this time, several Asian countries experienced political and/or economic upheavals that resulted in the worsening of living conditions for many of their citizens, particularly poor, working class, or rural families. These events led many families in vulnerable circumstances to be more willing to give up their infants and young children to be adopted.

One of the most visible examples of this situation were the events surrounding the end of the Viet Nam War in 1975. One month before the South Vietnamese government fell to advancing North Vietnamese communist forces, "Operation Babylift" was approved by President Gerald Ford that would airlift 2,700 orphans out of Viet Nam to be adopted by families in the U.S.

Many of these children were those who had lost their parents, were children of American GIs whose Vietnamese mothers had put them up for adoption, and/or were malnourished, sick, or disabled. After a disastrous first flight that crashed shortly after takeoff and killed 154 children and adults on board, several planeloads of Vietnamese children eventually landed in the U.S. and were adopted into predominantly White families.

Also during the 1970s, adoptions from other Asian countries such as China, South Korea, the Philippines, and India began accelerating. In addition to worsening conditions within each Asian country, many of these governments began to streamline their adoption procedures to make it easier for overseas families to adopt children in their countries.

While comprehensive statistics on Asian adoptees are very difficult to find, the most accurate information comes from the U.S. Department of State, who keeps track of all immigration visas issued to orphans, which are required for international adoptions. The table above shows the number of such visas issued by years(s) and country of origin.

The results show that from 1989-2003, China sent the most numbers of adoptees to the U.S. (and continued to do so in 2003), followed closely by Russia and South Korea a distant third. Other Asian countries that have sent significant numbers of adoptees include India, Viet Nam, the Philippines, and Cambodia. Although adoptions from the top four countries continues to be strong, the data also show that in recent years, notable numbers of adoptees have come from the former Soviet Union countries of Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH ASIAN ADOPTIONS

The vast majority of these Asian adoptees have been and continue to be girls and this has led to one of the criticisms surrounding such Asian adoptions. Specifically, many people (not just Asian Americans) feel that because of centuries of deeply-ingrained patriarchy and discrimination against women, these Asian countries continue to systematically value the life of a girl much less than that of a boy. Boys are valued more because they can supposedly contribute more labor and have more legal rights.

As critics argue, the result is that when there are too many girls being born, they are too quickly considered "excess property" that needs to be disposed. Many claim that's the reason why so many Asian girls are adopted each year. Although these criticisms are directed toward the cultural, political, and social systems of the Asian country and not at the adoptees themselves or their American adoptive parents, this gender imbalance continues to be a point of controversy for all parties involved in the adoption process.

In recent years, many critics of Asian adoptions have argued that in many cases, the status of these Asian children as orphans may not be valid. Specifically, there have been documented instances in which mothers have been coerced or tricked into giving up their children for adoption or where mothers have been paid money (or given non-monetary incentives) to relinquish custody of their children for adoption.

In extreme cases, some children may have been kidnapped from their mothers in order to be "sold" to adoptive parents overseas, who in most cases had no knowledge of these suspicious and/or illegal activities. In fact, several adoption agencies have been charged with fraud and suspicions of improper adoptive activities had led the U.S. State Department to impose significant restrictions on or even suspend adoptions from certain countries until investigations are completed.

On the other side of the adoption process, another concern that has been raised in regard to such Asian adoptions is that since the vast majority of these orphans are adopted into White families, these children may be socialized into ignoring or even abandoning their Asian culture. Specifically, many critics feel that non-Asian adoptive parents will "whitewash" these Asian children into White society so that they quickly and perhaps permanently lose their Asian identity and sense of ancestry.

As described in many books written by Asian adoptees that have emerged in recent years, their experiences confirm that because they tended to grow up in an almost all-White environment, they never had to think about their ethnic identity -- they just assumed they were like everyone else. That is, until they experienced some form of racial prejudice or discrimination from schoolmates, strangers, or even relatives of their adopted family.

Because their adoptive families and parents either could not shield them from this almost inevitable process or could not adequately understand or support their feelings, many of these adopted Asians experienced an "identity crisis." It become clear to them that they were not White but they had little if any connection to their Asian ancestry. To complicate matters, the Asian community often shunned their attempts to connect with their "roots" because they had lost the ability to speak their "native" language and/or had little knowledge of their ancestral culture.

POSITIVES OUTWEIGHING THE NEGATIVES

While many Asian adoptees have faced this dilemma, this has not been the experience of all Asian adoptees. Rather, many others have enjoyed extraordinary levels of love and understanding from their non-Asian adoptive parents, who have made concerted efforts to help their adopted children retain their Asian identity by teaching them about Asian history, culture, and sometimes even language. These parents have also sympathized and comforted their children when racial discrimination has happened. They have also supported their children's attempts to find their birth parents back in Asia.

At the same time, while many well-meaning parents make sincere efforts at educating their child about his/her Asian roots, observers again point out that these parents frequently forget to educate the child about Asian American issues. That is, many adoptive parents implicitly assume that being Asian is the same as being Asian American. To the contrary, critics note that it can be just as important for the adopted child to learn about and understand the historical and contemporary issues that Asian Americans face because ultimately, that will be the child's social and cultural environment as long as s/he lives in the U.S.

Many support groups have also formed across the country for both adoptive parents of Asian children and for the adopted children themselves. These groups allow parents and children to share experiences, support each other, and to learn together about both sides of their racial/ethnic identity. Ultimately, the fact remains that while the criticisms about the devaluation of girls in Asia ring true, that should not take away from the happiness and love that most Asian adoptees share with their adopted family who have given them a much better life than what they would have had otherwise.

Ultimately, many adopted Asian Americans have gained the ability to incorporate two cultures into their own identity. As many of them point out, their experiences do not make them half of one culture or another. Instead, their experiences have doubled the richness of their lives and personal identity. Further, as Asian adoptions continue to occur, adopted Asian Americans are likely to be an increasingly prominent feature of the Asian American population. As such, the collective experience of the Asian American community is likely to be influenced by the contributions of adopted Asian Americans for years and decades to come.

Immigration Visas Issued to Orphans

by Country of Origin and Year(s)

China

Avg. per Year

1989-2004 2,233

Total between

1989-2004 35,730

2004 7,044

Russia

Avg. per Year

1989-2004 2,168

Total between

1989-2004 34,688

2004 5,865

S. Korea

Avg. per Year

1989-2004 1,710

Total between

1989-2004 27,361

2004 1,716

Guatemala

Avg. per year

1989-2004 801

Total between

1989-2004 12,823

2004 3,264

Romania

Avg. per year

1989-2004 439

Total between

1989-2004 7,029

2004 57

India

Avg. per year

1989-2004 353

Total between

1989-2004 5,645

2004 406

Colombia

Avg. per year

1989-2004 345

Total between

1989-2004 5,526

2004 287

Viet Nam

Avg. per year

1989-2004 268

Total between

1989-2004 4,290

2004 <50

Philippines

Avg. per year

1989-2004 252

Total between

1989-2004 4,034

2004 196

Ukraine

Avg. per year

1989-2004 224

Total between

1989-2004 3,587

2004 732

Kazakhstan

Avg. per year

1989-2004 170

Total between

1989-2004 2,716

2004 826

Bulgaria

Avg. per year

1989-2004 111

Total between

1989-2004 1,781

2004 110

Cambodia

Total between

1989-2004 71

Total between

1989-2004 1,128

2004 <50

Source: U.S. Department of State

Copyright 2001-2006 by C.N. Le. All rights reserved. Suggested reference: Le, C.N. 2006. "Adopted Asian Americans" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. (January 17, 2006).[/font]