https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdn4mknr1anmm6r/L...20Adoption.docxPresident Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to request your assistance with finding a solution for the small number of Russian
orphans who have already met and bonded with their American families, yet were not able to have
their adoptions completed due to the Russian adoption ban. We understand that you will be
meeting with President Putin in June during the G8 Summit. We ask that you prioritize this issue
and seek commitment from President Putin to finding a humanitarian solution.
Politics between the United States and Russia have become personal to several hundred Russian
orphans and the families in the United States hoping to adopt them. These are children without
parents, families, or homes. Many are in need of urgent medical care; all are in need of a future filled
with promise. These children have no voice. These children have already been promised homes in
America, and they have bonded with these American parents. The Government of Russia’s
unwillingness to allow their cases to be completed adds yet another trauma to their young lives.
We have met many of these families and spoken with them frequently. They remain completely
dedicated to these children, and they are trying everything in their power to help them.
Approximately 230 of these families had traveled to Russia before the adoption ban to spend time
with the children with whom they were matched. These devoted families already think of the
children they were matched with as their sons and daughters.
Mr. President, we must find a humanitarian solution for these children and these families. We were
cautiously optimistic when the Government of Russia sent a delegation to the United States a few
weeks ago, but the outcome of that visit was disappointing.
We ask you to raise this issue with President Putin directly in the hopes that two world leaders can
step back for a moment and find a way out of the political morass for a few hundred wounded
children. Based on the briefings we have received from the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services, we know that there are options for bringing these children home, despite
the ban. The issue, then, becomes a question of convincing the Russians to put the children’s needs
first. We thank you in advance for your efforts on behalf of this group of children and families.
Sincerely,
Names of Congressional Members
To sign on to the letter please contact Whitney Reitz in Senator Landrieu’s office at
202-224-
5824
or email her at
whitney_reitz@landrieu.senate.gov
The deadline for signing this letter is the
end of business on Friday, May 24th.