The 5th Annual MPAK Gala Held to Raise Funds for Orphans and Vulnerable Children of North Korean Escapee Women
Event to Support the Adoptee Citizenship Act 2021
Friday, July 9, 2021
The Hon. Kim Youngwan, the Consul General of Korea in LA hosted the event at his residence to campaign for the Adoptee Citizenship Campaign. In attendance was the former consul general Kim Wan-joong, currently a deputy minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Korea.
On Friday, July 8, 2022, The Hon. Kim Youngwan, who is the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles, invited around 130 people consisting of adult adoptees and MPAK families, and the leaders of the Korean-American community to his residence to support the Adoptee Citizenship Campaign.
MPAK was joined by Korean Women's International Network Pacific LA (KOWIN Pacific LA) in organizing the event. The consulate office in LA was very helpful in assisting us to put together the event. We are grateful to Hon. Kim Youngwan for hosting this event, which was highlighted with a keynote speech by Susan Cox and Joy Alessi. A special presence by the Hon. Kim Wan-joong, the former consul general and now the deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) came from Korea to share his experience in helping the adoptees with the campaign. To adoptees, Hon. Kim Wan-joong was the most helpful government official in all the efforts to campaign for the citizenship rights of all adoptees.
KOWIN Pacific LA raised $20,000 adoptee scholarship funds, and this fund was distributed to 19 adoptees in the MPAK families that will or are attending colleges.
Adoptee Citizenship Campaign is Not just for Korean Adoptees, but for the adoptees from all over the world that have legally been adopted into the US.
"Citizenship is the Right of All Adoptees" - Susan Cox
Resources & Information:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1593
https://adopteerightslaw.com/
https://adopteerightscampaign.org/
https://www.adopteecitizenshipact.org/
Your Actions Needed:
List of Senators and Contact Information
https://adopteerightslaw.com/action/aca2021/#contact
Call Your Representative
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Current Status of the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021 (as of July 2022) - Sometimes called ACA or ACA21 for short—was included in the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which was passed by the House in February 2022. However, in March 2022 the Senate took up the COMPETES Act and revised it and passed their own version of the Act, which did not include the adoptee citizenship act, and passed it back down to the House. The House is in disagreement with the Senate. Party leaders in the Senate and House have now appointed more than 100 conference committee members to work out differences between the two bills.
