Fear, frustration as a Minnesotan adoptee tries to prove her citizenship

As deportations are happening across the country, one local woman has her own worries. She was adopted as a baby and wanted to make sure she had citizenship papers. That started a domino effect, leading to fear and frustration. Now, Astrid-Ira McCarthy says she hopes her case serves as a warning for others to get their paperwork together. 

According to what she has of her original adoption records, McCarthy's parents adopted her from India as a baby in 1989. She grew up in Minnesota. She said she grew up having no reason to believe she was not always a U.S. citizen, and that hasn't changed in light of her new discovery. 

"I'm no less American than I was when I showed up here at 6 months," McCarthy said. 

She always assumed her citizenship documents were in order. But when she went to apply for a passport, she realized she didn't have everything she needed. 

"I didn't even know I needed this naturalization document to get the passport. Because we went to go get my birth certificate, but it says right on it that this isn't proof of citizenship. That's how we went through, got through everything, and figured out I needed this document," McCarthy said. 

That realization led her and her wife down a new path. They contacted U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and paid to get a replacement naturalization document. 

"Months went by, and I got a letter in the mail that basically said I needed to prove my citizenship and that I basically need to give them the information I'm asking them," McCarthy said.

The letter led to a flurry of feelings, including fear. 

"It's been really stressful every day. I worry, if she gets pulled over in a traffic stop, is she not coming home that day? I don't know at any moment. If she had any interaction with law enforcement ... are they going to keep her?" wife Lex McCarthy said.

WCCO took their questions to Zachary Aaker, an immigration attorney familiar with Astrid-Ira McCarthy's case, to find out if there's a risk to this community.

"There's a chance if they don't have the documentation to prove their citizenship, if they do have that certificate of citizenship or passport, that's proof of their citizenship. But if they don't have those, then they should look into acquiring them," Aaker said.

He says many adoptees became citizens through the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, including Astrid-Ira McCarthy.

"Anyone who was over the age of 18 at that time was not covered. But anyone who was under 18 was covered by the Child Citizenship Act. That means they automatically became citizens if they were adopted by a U.S. citizen," Aaker said.

But he says an adoptee still needs to have paperwork for proof. The couple did file what's called a Freedom of Information Act (or FOIA) to have access to her full case file. That way, they could find out if a certificate of naturalization or citizenship was ever filed. Aaker says that's the right move, and felt her case would be resolved.

"She's a citizen. It's just a matter of how much of a hassle, how much of a cost is it going to be to get the documentation to prove that," Aaker said.

It took nearly six months, but Astrid-Ira McCarthy did get the answers she was waiting for. Earlier this month, she received a replacement certificate of citizenship in the mail. She and her wife wish it could've been resolved without all the chaos and confusion.

"We're going to make sure that other people know what's happening to them, what's on the table for them, too," Astrid-Ira McCarthy said.

She says while it's a significant relief, she still has concerns. 

The immigration attorney says it's important to know your rights. Aaker says a group that could be at more risk is adopted children who were over 18 when the Child Citizenship Act went into effect and who have a criminal history.