Where Does The Harsh Rules Of Exemption And Protection Apply To Become An American Citizen?

There are several ways obtain citizenship or a green card in the United States, such as the following: being born in America, marrying a spouse with an American citizenship, meeting work and tax requirements by living in America for many years, obtain residential status through a family member, or being a refugee of war or conflicted nations.

On the other hand, there are various exceptions where a person cannot obtain citizenship under special circumstances, such as if you are a child of a diplomat. Adam Crasper is a Korean American immigrant that is within the ‘gray area’ of immigration and is soon waiting for his deportation to South Korea. To give a brief summary of Adam Crasper, he and his older sister was adopted when he was 3 years old. However, he was abused by his first family for six years until the couple decided to give up. Afterward, Crasper was split-up from his sister and hopped around different foster homes before he was adopted again in Oregon.

Unfortunately, his second home ended up being worse than his first family. His new parents, who were named Thomas and Dolly Crapser were extremely brutal and, often times, inhumane to their children. The couple have been charged with child abuse, rape, sexual abuse, and criminal treatment. Furthermore, Thomas “was convicted on one count of sexual abuse, though he served just 90 days in prison.” Adam Crasper ran away when he was sixteen years old and ended up breaking into the couple’s house to reclaim a few of his belongings that he had from Korea. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to burglary and ended up serving 25 months in prison. To make matters worse, he had committed several more crimes, such as possessing an unauthorized firearm weapon and violating a protection order when he called his son that he had with his ex-girlfriend.

Crasper’s parents never bothered to submit for his citizenship application. In October 2016, an immigrant judge from Washington ordered his removal from the U.S. Crasper is seen as an unwanted criminal by the American government due to his past actions . However, there has been a growing number of petitions in support of Crasper to allow him to stay in the U.S as he is ultimately an American. He has been living in the U.S ever since he was 3 years old due to his adoption and he knows nothing of the Korean language and culture. Crasper is now a happily married 41-year-old stay-home dad with a full-time job. His recent court ruling is forcing him to separate with his family and to live in Korea, where he will have an extremely difficult time fitting in. Crasper is a victim of child abuse, as well as from a “flawed US law that unfairly leaves tens of thousands of international adoptees in limbo without citizenship.”

Adam Crasper has been fighting to obtain his green card ever since 2013. Crasper’s attorney, Lori Wall says “Crasper was eligible for a second chance, and deserves one.” Crasper’s case study raises several serious questions: Where do the harsh rules of exemption and protection apply to become an American citizen? Shouldn’t abused adoptees gain protection and obtain American citizenship from the government? In the meantime, Adam Crasper’s birth mother waits in Korea for her son’s deportation and is trying her best to educate herself with English to feel a step closer to connecting with her son.

Jisue Shin
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