| Page 2 of 2 < |
Guatemalan Adoption Raid Riles Parents
The U.S. Embassy last week began requiring a second DNA test proving the adopted child in a visa request matches the child in the initial paperwork.
Casa Quivira appears to have fallen afoul of a previously unenforced 2003 law that requires caretakers of children in pending adoptions to obtain court-determined legal custody, not just papers signed by notaries. According to an U.S. Embassy statement, "no court custody orders were located for any of the children" at Casa Quivira.
  Seven Guatemalan children sit in bouncing chairs at the Casa Quivira children's home in Antigua, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Guatemala City Tuesday Aug. 14, 2007. The children are part of 46, set up to be adopted, to be sent to shelters following an order by a judge while authorities investigate whether the American and Guatemalan owners of their group home were stealing children or forcing parents to give them up for foreign adoptions.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Rodrigo Abd - AP) PHOTOS |
Few involved have confidence that Guatemala's already-overwhelmed court system can rule on thousands of adoption requests each year.
But "the law is the law and we have to start enforcing it," said Carlos Azurdia, the federal agent in charge of the case.
Casa Quivira's lawyer, Sandra Leonardo, was arrested along with the home's notary, Vilma Desiree Zamora Perez, on charges of illegally processing paperwork.
"There is not one stolen child in the house, and we can prove the legality of all of them," Leonardo said. "They talk about illegalities and incomplete records, but they didn't give us a chance to show anything. They just took us in."
Phillips said birth mothers are given several opportunities to change their minds.
"We are shocked at the illegal raid on Casa Quivira, and are working to make sure that the 45 children in our care continue to receive the high quality, professional care that we work so hard to provide," he said in a statement.
Roth said in a telephone interview that all her adoption documents have been seized.
"It shakes your foundation to know you have no idea what is going to happen," said Roth, 37, a child educator at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo. "I fear that the government is going to take these kids, and we won't know where they will go."
Roth and her husband, David, visited the home three times, and spent July taking care of the two babies, who are from different mothers. She described it as "a U.S.-style clinic," with nurses on staff 24 hours a day, nannies and daily visits by a doctor.
The Roths are considering flying to Guatemala. After dealing with infertility problems and preparing their nursery, they are determined not to give up on their children.
"We just need them to get home now," she said.
___
Associated Press Writer Julie Watson contributed to this story from Mexico City.
___
On the Net:
Casa Quivira: http:/
U.S. Embassy advice to adoptive parents: http:/
