Passport rush blamed on US policy stalls adoptions in Haiti

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Children are stuck in orphanages across Haiti, unable to leave the increasingly volatile country and start new lives with adoptive parents. The problem is a Washington policy change that is allowing some Haitians to more easily gain entry to the U.S. That has set off a rush for Haitian passports and Haiti’s single passport office is overwhelmed. People with appointments for adopted children cannot squeeze through the aggressive crowd swarming outside the office or secure new appointments. Couples in the U.S. that have had adoptions approved worry their children will succumb to hunger, cholera or gang violence before they can get them out of Haiti, where conditions are deteriorating rapidly.