Guatemala Cautious on Young Migrants’ Deaths, Wary of Angering U.S.

The deaths of two Guatemalan children in Border Patrol custody raised a furor in the United States, but drew a far more muted response in their own country, where a government focused on its survival is afraid that antagonizing the Trump administration could end American support.

The children, Felipe Gómez Alonso, 8, and Jakelin Caal Maquín, 7, fell ill and died this month after they crossed the southwestern border into the United States with their fathers, in separate events, and were detained by the Border Patrol.

More >> Guatemala Cautious on Young Migrants’ Deaths, Wary of Angering U.S.

• Boy who died in U.S. custody tested positive for influenza; cause of death still under investigation
• Trump policy still checks fingerprints of migrant child sponsors as record number wait in detention
• Department Of Homeland Security Promises Changes To Protect Migrant Children

American Families Face Increasing Odds Against International Adoption

After 11 months of paperwork and preparation, Natalie Young was ready to jumpstart her potential son’s adoption from Guatemala. All she needed was approval from his birth country.

One day shy of getting the green light to move forward, Young and her family were blindsided.

More >> American Families Face Increasing Odds Against International Adoption

Child welfare officials held after 40 teenagers die in Guatemala fire

Three people responsible for overseeing a government-run children's shelter in Guatemala where 40 teenage girls died after a fire have been arrested on suspicion of homicide.

More >> Child welfare officials held after 40 teenagers die in Guatemala fire

Guatemala 'deeply worried' by U.S. plan to deport families

Guatemala 'deeply worried' by U.S. plan to deport families

Guatemala on Tuesday said it had serious concerns about U.S. government plans to round up and deport undocumented Central American families, children and young adults who have recently arrived in the United States.

For adopted Guatemalans, a searcher will look for birth moms. But sometimes the reunions are fraught.

For adopted Guatemalans, a searcher will look for birth moms. But sometimes the reunions are fraught.

By definition, international adoption is a transaction between unequals. It takes desperation to relinquish a baby, and privilege to adopt one. Those disparities led to abuses in Guatemala’s adoption system that resulted in its shutdown in 2008. Unless you’re Guatemalan, you can’t adopt a Guatemalan baby now.

One girl's controversial adoption, and what it says about Guatemala's broken international adoption system

One girl's controversial adoption, and what it says about Guatemala's broken international adoption system

Adopting a child from Guatemala used to be really popular among Americans. In 2006 alone, more than 4,000 Guatemalan kids were adopted by families here in the US.

Judge blocks removal of Lev Tahor children in Guatemala

Judge blocks removal of Lev Tahor children in Guatemala

Attempts by Canadian and Guatemalan authorities to seize child members of the Lev Tahor sect have been blocked by a temporary court ruling.

After Five Year Delay, Reno Family Brings Home Adopted Son

The Carr family has grown to seven, after completing a five-year, seven-month adoption of their son, Geovanni from Guatemala after the third-world county put a stop to international adoptions.

State couple charged with smuggling baby into U.S.

State couple charged with smuggling baby into U.S.

A (probably desperate to adopt) Connecticut couple has been charged with smuggling an infant from Guatemala into the United States.

A Market for Children: Adoption Fraud in Guatemala

A Market for Children: Adoption Fraud in Guatemala


Erin Siegal, Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, recently donated one bankers-size box of documents about US citizens’ adoptions of Guatemalan children and adoption fraud to the National Security Archive.

Shutdown of Guatemalan adoptions leaves families in limbo

Shutdown of Guatemalan adoptions leaves families in limbo

The problem of delayed adoptions is particularly acute in Guatemala, where officials say they are trying to ensure children are not being bought or stolen from impoverished women.

U.S. couple first to test new Guatemalan adoption laws

U.S. couple first to test new Guatemalan adoption laws


The U.S. Embassy called to say the Guatemalan government would begin to authorize adoptions five years after a scandal froze the system that sent as many as 4,000 Guatemalan children a year to the United States.

Missouri Couple to Keep Allegedly Kidnapped Child

A Missouri couple will not be forced by U.S. officials to return a girl adopted from Guatemala in 2008, despite evidence that the girl was kidnapped from her birth mother by a child trafficking ring, Guatemalan officials said on Monday.

Missouri Couple to Keep Allegedly Kidnapped Child

South Florida Families Among Many Who Face Adoption Heartbreak

South Florida Families Among Many Who Face Adoption Heartbreak

South Florida families are among many who face long, arduous and uncertain international adoption process

Alamosa judge returns son to immigrant mother

Alamosa judge returns son to immigrant mother

A district court judge declined to terminate the parental rights of a Guatemalan immigrant Tuesday, reuniting the woman with her 4-year-old son.

Obama Administration Claims Immunity in 'Shameful' STD Study of Guatemalans

Obama Administration Claims Immunity in 'Shameful' STD Study of Guatemalans

Guatemalan prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients who were intentionally exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, without their knowledge or consent, by U.S. researchers in the 1940s, cannot sue the United States argued the Obama Administration on Monday, no matter how shameful and unethical the studies were.

Note: Can I have immunity for all of the unethical things that I've done too?

Babies for Sale: Looking at the Adoption Industry in Guatemala

Babies for Sale: Looking at the Adoption Industry in Guatemala

Last year, American families adopted more than 11,000 children from abroad. More than half came from either China or Ethiopia; but as recently as 2007, the country that sent the most children to the U.S. was the Central American nation of Guatemala. Between 1999 and 2010, more than 26,000 Guatemalan children were adopted by U.S. parents.

Guatemalan court sentences 2 women for trafficking baby adopted by US family

Guatemalan court sentences 2 women for trafficking baby adopted by US family

A Guatemalan court has sentenced two women to 16 and 21 years in prison for trafficking a stolen baby who was given for adoption to a U.S. family.

Adoption or kidnap? US caught up in legal battle over Guatemalan girl

Adoption or kidnap? US caught up in legal battle over Guatemalan girl

Guatemalan judge rules six-year-old girl should be returned to birth mother, but Missouri couple insist adoption was legal

Guatemalan Court Order Rattles Foreign Adoption Community

Guatemalan Court Order Rattles Foreign Adoption Community

The story about a young, missing Guatemalan girl whose mother searched for her for five years and eventually found she had been adopted by a couple in Missouri has been floating around for a couple of years now. But the latest news is that the mother, Loyda Rodriguez Morales, has essentially won her case. CNN reported on Monday that the Guatemalan government had ordered the girl returned, and that because it was considered a case of human trafficking, would call Interpol to enforce the order if the adoptive parents didn't comply. According to Erin Seigal, a fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University who's been covering the case closely, that's an unprecedented move in the world of international adoptions.