By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
October 11, 2025
Does anyone else find it incredulous that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are so commonplace that people don’t really seem to be shocked by them anymore? Kind of like how school shootings occur so often that the media (and general public) more often than not treat it as just another day — even though children are literally being killed trying to get an education, something that is an anomaly just about anywhere else in this world.
Ordinarily, this space is dedicated to Korean or Korean-adjacent topics. Today’s newsletter fits into that realm, but with a broader scope – because what is currently happening in the United States can happen to any of us.
On Friday, two masked border patrol agents violently threw Debbie Brockman — a white news producer for Chicago’s WGN-TV and a U.S. citizen — on the ground. As they struggled to handcuff her, her leggings were pulled down and her derriere was exposed, something the men didn’t appear to care much about as they threw her into an unmarked van with New Jersey license plates.
There is a contingent of well-actually people who will inevitably say, “She should have complied and then this wouldn’t have happened to her.” But I doubt any of them, especially any woman, would willingly get into an unmarked van with two large men who won’t show identification or reveal their faces.
For decades, news outlets and the police have warned women that if you’re not sure if an unmarked car belongs to the police, call 911. The dispatcher can alert the police officer who stopped you of your intentions to drive to a police station (or to a populated public area). Even in the pre-cell phone era when I was a kid, we were told to turn on our hazard lights and drive slowly to some place where we felt safe. A legitimate police officer would follow, or even call in a marked squad car.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Brockman was detained because she allegedly threw objects at the Border Patrol car and was arrested for allegedly assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. In a press statement yesterday afternoon, Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed:
In fear of public safety … officers used their service vehicle to strike a suspect’s vehicle and create an opening. As agents were driving, Deborah Brockman, a U.S. citizen, threw objects at Border Patrol’s car and she was placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer.
Border patrol agents have body cams and dashboard cams that would have proven their allegations. Given that Brockman was taken away at around 8:30 a.m. and released later that same day, it is unlikely that she assaulted anyone or threw objects at their vehicle.
And eyewitnesses like Josh Thomas, who filmed one of the most the widely-circulated footage of Brockman’s arrrest, told WGN-TV:
They claimed that the WGN employee was obstructing justice, even though she was — like all of us — just standing there, taking video.
If this can happen to a white woman who works for a prominent news organization, it can happen to any of us. Though she wasn’t asked to prove her citizenship, many POC — especially those with accents — won’t be afforded that benefit.
Why You Need a U.S. Birth Certificate, Certificate of Citizenship, and/or a Passport
My family recently renewed our passports. And for the first time, we also opted to pay extra for passport cards. Why? Few people have the space or desire to carry around their birth certificates, certificates of citizenship, or passports — all of which also can be tedious and expensive to replace. But if you are ever are in a situation where you have to prove that you’re a U.S. citizens, the passport cards — which are the size of a credit card — serve as proof. (Please note that having a Real ID drivers license is not proof of citizenship.)
This isn’t something that most white Americans have to worry about. But for those of us who’ve grown tired of being asked, “But where are you really from?” it’s a reality, even if you were born in the U.S. Many of us will be perceived as foreigners no matter how many generations our family has been here.
If you are the parent of a child who was adopted from a country other than the United States, I truly hope that you filled out the paperwork and paid the fee to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship, especially if your child isn’t white. I’ve heard so many excuses over the years, ranging from not knowing they needed to do this to proclaiming that it costs too much to pay for the CoC.
In the United States, the fee for a child’s CoC is currently $1,385. Bear in mind that this fee goes up every year. So while it may be expensive, it will cost more next year. And you as the parent are being irresponsible if you don’t get this done ASAP for the children that you chose to bring into the U.S.
You may be thinking, “Oh, I’ll just get them a U.S. passport instead. That’s proof of their citizenship and it’s a lot cheaper.” Yes, you could do that. But unlike CoCs, passports expire, and children’s passports expire every five years. And unless you are super organized and will remember to get your child’s passport renewed prior to their expiration date, your child could potentially be deported because of your profound failure as a parent.
What Can Happen to My Kids If They Don’t Have Proof of Citizenship?
In the past 60 years, more than 112,000 Korean children were adopted by U.S. citizens. But at least 20 percent of these adoptees do not have U.S. citizenship. What this means is that these children are extremely vulnerable without the protection of irrefutable citizenship.
Both Philip Clay and Adam Crapser were adopted by families in the U.S. After getting into trouble with the law, their punishment was particularly cruel — they were deported back to Korea, where they knew no one and didn’t speak the language. Unable to deal with the situation, Clay died by suicide. Crapser eventually filed a lawsuit against Holt Children’s Services — the adoption agency that shipped him off to the U.S. — and won. He now resides in Mexico.
And again, the well-actually crowd will say, “Well, if they committed a crime, they shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the United States.” But why shouldn’t an adopted child who commits a crime have the same protection as other born-in-the-U.S.A. folks who have done illegal things?
Also, bear in mind that in order for an adopted child to enter the United States, there has to be a paper trail of official documents that is cleared through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. So intercountry adoptees already have been accepted by the U.S. government to enter the country as U.S. citizens. But, they still need that Certificate of Citizenship. Without it, USCIS won’t update their database to show that the child is a U.S. citizen.
I know. Make it make sense!
How Do I Get My Adopted Child a Passport If They Don’t Have Their CoC Yet?
If your child doesn’t have their Certificate of Citizenship yet, you can prove their eligibility for a U.S. passport with a certified copy of their final adoption decree.
If they have a U.S. passport that needs to be renewed, you do not need to send in their CoC as proof of citizenship, as long as their current passport hasn’t expired yet. Sometimes, the clerks handling passport renewal applications are unaware of this and will try to convince you otherwise. Show them this link from travel.state.gov (or have it printed out as proof).
For more information about passport requirements for various countries, check out U.S. Passports & International Travel‘s website.
* If I have any facts incorrect, please do reach out and I will fix them (and attribute the correction to you, unless you don’t want to be mentioned). But if you simply disagree with what I’ve written, I can live with that and hope that you can, too. Cheers!
NOTE: I am sharing a few anecdotes behind a paywall for my paid subscribers. If you’d care to read that portion, you may upgrade to a paid subscriber and read the rest of the article here.
© 2025 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
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