Rep. Roy leads House colleagues in advocating for Ukrainian Orphans

WASHINGTON— Late Wednesday, Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) and Sen. Mike Lee (Utah), joined by 38 of their Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, formally pressured the State Department to assist American families in the midst of adopting Ukrainian orphans.

In the bicameral letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers called on the Department of State to aid the Ukrainian government in opening a consular office in Poland to process statutorily required adoption paperwork.  The letter further requests information regarding current State Department efforts to aid both Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

“There are families already towards the very end of the process to adopt Ukrainian orphans, and they are waiting for approval from the Ukrainian government to be united with their adopted children on U.S. soil,”the letter explains. “In a warzone and a refugee crisis, it is often the most vulnerable who bear the greatest consequences,” it adds.

“We believe the State Department can do more to urge or aid the Ukrainian application process to continue, especially for cases close to finalization. … Helping these orphans to join their American families expeditiously will allow them to get to a safe, nurturing environment while freeing up resources for other refugees,”the legislators continue.

For full text of the letter please click here.