Minn. senators talk adoption with Guatemalan president

Minnesota Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar met with Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom Tuesday, pressing him to let adoptions that are in the works for American families go forward.

On Jan. 1, a new adoption law took effect in Guatemala to comply with an international treaty to prevent human trafficking. Guatemala is the second-largest source of U.S. adopted children after China, and there are nearly 3,000 pending U.S. adoptions.

Under State Department pressure, Guatemala is allowing those to go through, but would-be parents were warned last year not to initiate new adoptions.

According to Coleman, a Republican, Colom assured the senators in the meeting that the country intended to move forward with the "grandfathered" cases.

"We left with assurances that this was high on his agenda," Coleman told reporters on a conference call. "We're all concerned about the Guatemala adoption process," he added.

He said his message for families that have pending applications is: "The process may take a little time, but the commitment is to move forward, and ultimately get these adoptions completed. I understand the anxiety."

In a statement, Klobuchar said she pressed Colom to work with Minnesota families who are finalizing adoptions.

"We must work together to ensure that we can have the common goal of helping place these children in permanent homes with loving families," she said. "This is not just about helping families in America who want to adopt. It's also about protecting Guatemala's children in need who deserve a permanent, nurturing family - many Guatemalan children have found these loving families right here in Minnesota."

Also Tuesday, Coleman commented on Vietnam's announcement this week that it would stop processing new adoption applications from U.S. citizens after July 1, amid allegations of baby-selling, corruption and fraud.

In a telephone interview, Coleman said that U.S. families that have already processed adoptions from Vietnam should be allowed to proceed.

"I am pleased that the Vietnamese government is taking the issue of corruption and child trafficking seriously," he said.

"The one concern I have is there are Minnesota families who have gone through the process, who have been vetted," and could be affected by the decision. He said he plans to meet with the Vietnam ambassador to the U.S. to discuss the situation.

The State Department says that Vietnam would allow adoptions to be completed in pending cases where prospective parents had been matched with a child and received an official referral before Sept 1.

But Coleman says that families he's been contacted by are still concerned about the status of those adoptions.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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