“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with these Ohio families who are simply trying to bring their adopted children home,” Portman stated. “Many children affected by this suspension require medical care and others have come to know and love their adopted families. I’ll continue my work to help bring these children home.”
On April 17, 2014, Portman sent a letter to the President and Prime Minister of the DRC urging them to issue exit letters for more than 800 stalled adoption cases of Congolese children who have either been adopted or are in the process of being adopted by American families. To date, there has been no response from the Congolese government.
The families of these adopted children organized a candlelight vigil last evening outside of the U.S. Capitol to remember the Congolese children who have died waiting and the hundreds of Congolese children who remain waiting in the hopes of joining their families soon.