Thread by @arapaho415

@ThomasS4217 1/ This <thread> provides a timeline for what appears to be a coordinated effort by the current WH to expand pool of children available for transnational adoptions, which began at the State dept.'s Consular Affairs office on Jan 27, 2017, and by DHS on Feb 2, 2017
#ZeroTolerance

@ThomasS4217 2/ Fueled by evangelical fervor for transnational adoptions (receipts downthread: indebted to @rkfatherlee), current WH Adm.'s goal is to remove detained minors from federal jurisdiction (HHS/ACF/ORR/UAC) as quickly as possible by transferring detained children to 1 of 17 states

@ThomasS4217 3/ Once detained children enter a state's foster care system, they are no longer the responsibility of the federal gov't (HHS/ACF/ORR/UAC), but instead those children's welfare is the responsibility of that particular state.

@ThomasS4217 4/ US State dept.'s Consular Affairs is "the U.S. Central Authority for the Hague Adoption Convention. The Office of Children's Issues is responsible for the day-to-day oversight and implementation of the Hague Adoption Convention in the United States."
travel.state.gov/content/travel…

@ThomasS4217 5/ STATE Dept: Asst Sec'y Consular Affairs (ASCA)

2017:
Jan 27 Obama-appointed Michele Thoren Bond steps down
Jan 28 David Donahue, Interm accting ASCA
June Carl Risch nominated for ASCA
Aug 3 Risch confirmed as ASCA
Aug 10 Risch sworn in as ASCA
source: Wikipedia

@ThomasS4217 6/ State Dept. Consular Affairs:

2017
Mar 31 Solicits bid for new "Accrediting (adoption) Entity" (AE)
Jul 28 IAAME announced as a designated (AE)
Oct 6 COA, current AE resigns effective Dec 2018

(acronyms defined in next tweet...)

@ThomasS4217 7/ Acronyms:
COA Council On Accreditation, designated AE for 5 yrs on Jul 11, 2016
💥resigned Oct 6 2017
IAAME Intercountry Adoption Accreditation & Maintenance Entity, Inc.
Gainesville FL new AE designated Jun 28 2017

https://twitter.com/rkfatheree/status/1010940950720507905

@ThomasS4217 8/ NOTE to Twitter sleuths. IAAME, effectively the ONLY accredited transnational adoption entity for the US *screams* for more investigation.
It's newly formed, its Intercountry Adoption Accreditation Director "qualification" is a focus on private child mental health (meds?).

@ThomasS4217 9/ And here's where we need a drumroll🥁…
"February 2018
Jessica Conway moves from Bethany Christian Services to IAAME."

https://twitter.com/rkfatheree/status/1010940974812581889

@ThomasS4217 10/ Link to profiles on IAAME officers/directors:
travel.state.gov/content/travel…

@ThomasS4217 11/ DHS timeline

2017:
Feb 2 John Lafferty, Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum
chief told officers of new responsibilities (see tweet👇)
Mar John Kelly says children may be separated at border
Jul 1 El Paso separation pilot

https://twitter.com/rkfatheree/status/1010940944613593089

@ThomasS4217 12/ Three-month El Paso pilot program to separate families at US southern border ran from Jul 1-Sep 30 (end of fiscal year 2017) after being deemed a "success"🤨.

https://twitter.com/traciemac_Bmore/status/1012702227213869057

@ThomasS4217 13/ Oct 24 2017:
"Beto O'Rourke's office gathered advocates, attorneys and faith leaders with reps from CBP, ICE and DHS for a meeting about immigration. A Border Patrol agent" said "the new policy is that we can separate children as long as they are 10 or over... (con't)

@ThomasS4217 14/ "To which Maureen responded, 'What do you mean? I have a client with a four-year-old.' The whole room collectively gasped."

The #kafkaesque #catch22 ordeal currently being endured by our fellow humans was *not* a mistake, it was a planned assault.

https://twitter.com/7im/status/1010898390916292610

@ThomasS4217 15/ As of yesterday (Jul 10, the court-imposed deadline to reunite children less than 5 years old), I think this is still true:

https://twitter.com/kathrynajoyce/status/1015556149121306627

@ThomasS4217 16/ "Either agree to waive their child's right to release under the Flores agreement & stay together in custody, or agree to release their child to ORR, where they'd be placed in licensed, nonsecure facilities or possibly released to an eligible sponsor...
buzzfeed.com/amphtml/zoetil…

@ThomasS4217 17/ ...However, the government did not read the orders together to give parents any right to themselves be released."
Note: I am unclear what this means, but I *think* it affirms what @GovInslee said on Friday (please advise if I'm incorrect):

https://twitter.com/GovInslee/status/1015318370080583683

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 18/ #TransnationalAdoptions and #Evangelicals from Sep 2013 (excellent article) --
"If you attend an evangelical church these days, there’s a good chance you’ll hear about the 'orphan crisis' affecting millions of children around the world." (con't)

https://twitter.com/rkfatheree/status/1015084047167520769

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 19/ "While the United States abides by the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption — a set of standards promulgated in 1993 to prevent abuses — American agencies can often dodge responsibility for abuses by blaming local partners." (con't)

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 20 "Moreover, many foreign children brought into America come from countries that have not signed the convention." (con't)

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 21/ "Evangelical adoptions picked up in earnest in the middle of the last decade, when a wave of prominent Christians" (including megachurch pastor Rick Warren, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention), "began to promote adoption as a special imperative for believers." (con't)

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 22/ "Adoption mirrored the Christian salvation experience... likening the adoption of orphans to Christ’s adoption of the faithful."

"Evangelicals from the Bible Belt to Southern California don wristbands or T-shirts reading “orphan addict” or “serial adopter.” (con't)

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 23/ "Ministries have emerged to raise money and award grants to help Christians pay the fees (some $30,000 on average, plus travel) associated with transnational adoption."

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 24/ For evangelicals, there's a shortage of children available for adoptions:

Some countries have curbed the number of children avb for transnational adoptions;

Dec 2012 👉US #MagnitskyAct, Putin's retaliatory ban on Americans adopting Russian children.

https://twitter.com/rkfatheree/status/1010940943539802113

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 25/ And there's this bit of recent news:

https://twitter.com/rkfatheree/status/1016079783808126976

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 26/ Something to consider, from a historical (authoritarian regime) perspective:

https://twitter.com/equalandallied1/status/1011620578078445570

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 27/ Will continue this MEGA<thread> tomorrow with more evidence on the intent behind separating children at the southern border and more info on HHS/ACF/ORR.
For now, info on HHS/ACF/ORR/UAC budget.
2018:

https://twitter.com/arapaho415/status/1010046381497565184

@ThomasS4217 @GovInslee 28/ From Feb 2018, via @traciemac_Bmore.
2019 fiscal budget:
"Trump's 2019 budget... calls for $2.5 billion to hold as many as 47,000 illegal immigrants within detention centers, another major revenue source for prison operators."
cbsnews.com/news/one-winne…