This week, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) led members of the Ohio delegation and sent a letter to President Obama asking for his assistance to find a solution for the Congolese orphans who were legally adopted by Ohio parents but have not been granted an exit letter to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“The Ohio families in this process have remained vigilant and are doing everything in their power to help bring these children home,” Portman and his colleagues wrote. “Please find a humanitarian solution for these children and these families. We ask that you contact President Kabila and ask that exit letters be issued for all of the remaining children. “

Portman has worked with Ohio families and DRC officials to lift the adoption ban. He introduced a resolution in the Senate in the 113th Congress calling for exit permits for children in the process of being adopted, specifically prioritizing the processing of intercountry adoptions which were initiated before the suspension and expediting the processing of those adoptions which involve medically fragile children. The resolution also calls on the President to work with the DRC to prioritize a resolution for lifting the suspension of intercountry adoptions.