Deportation of Adam Crapser, Korean Adoptee Brought to US at Age 3

The story of Adam Crapser, a Korean-born man who was adopted by U.S. citizen parents at the age of 3, has surfaced in the news recently and in the past year to illustrate the harshness of the deportation laws affecting noncitizens – including lawful residents – with prior convictions.  He was subjected to severe child abuse by his adoptive parents and later, by foster parents (who were later convicted for child abuse, including sexual abuse).  As a younger adult, Crapser had troubles with the law that resulted in several criminal convictions.

This Slate article describes the denial of his application for Cancellation of Removal, a discretionary form of relief that would have allowed him to remain in the US.  An April 2015 New York Times Magazine piece described his “Bizarre Deportation Odyssey.”  As the NYT Magazine article stated:

It’s a Kafkaesque episode: Crapser’s various crimes may have warranted the punishments he received, but deportation to a country in which he had barely lived? In fact, Crapser has company. No one knows exactly how many international adoptees in the United States don’t have U.S. citizenship; in some cases, adoptees don’t find out themselves until they apply for federal student loans, try to get a passport or register to vote. But at least three dozen other international adoptees have also faced deportation charges or have been deported to countries like Thailand, Brazil and South Korea.

On one hand, Crapser’s case reflects exceptional details that have caused many on social media to denounce his pending deportation.  The fact that he was adopted from his home country means that his ties to Korea are likely even weaker than those of many other immigrants who, despite coming to the US as babies and toddlers, face the reality of deportation.  His brutal treatment by his adoptive and foster parents is heartwrenching.  And his Korean citizenship serves as a reminder that while immigration enforcement has a hugely disproportionate effect on Latino/a immigrants, noncitizens of all countries are affected by the deportation laws.

But in other ways, Crapser’s story is too familiar.  He is one of many immigrants brought to the US as young children who still face deportation and detention.  His rehabilitation story was heard (and he seems to have shown rehabilitation:  His troubles with the law stopped. He became a business owner.  He got married, had children, and was a stay-at-home father.) — but ultimately, the Immigration Judge could choose to deny his Cancellation of Removal application.  He could appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, but unless he were to prevail there, he would likely not be able to pursue any further appeals in the federal circuit courts due to statutory restrictions on judicial review that prevent discretionary applications by noncitizens with criminal convictions from being reviewed. 

Hopefully, the outrage over Crapser’s immigration case will lead more people to question the legal framework leading to cases like his.

-JKoh