By Ana Carolina Ferreira Verdugo Lizama
Herald Intern
The Mann family’s journey to bring home their son was nearly complete until Chinese authorities suddenly shut down international adoptions in 2024.
The People’s Republic of China launched its international adoption program in 1992, following the country’s “one-child policy,” a measure introduced to slow rapid population growth by limiting most families to a single child. Since then, more than 80,000 children from China have been adopted by families in the United States.
In 2017, the Mann family began the process of adopting their first son, who was living in China’s foster care system at the time. Brittany Mann, an elementary school teacher and owner of Hao Bao Bao Coffee Shop in Sanford, said the adoption took just over a year, which is typical for international adoptions from China.
In 2019, the family began the process to adopt their second son, Asher. Mann shared that things were moving along as expected until the COVID-19 pandemic hit and put the entire process on pause.
“My exact words were ‘This is gonna affect Asher's adoption,’” Mann said.
As international adoptions were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mann family’s efforts to adopt Asher came to an abrupt pause. The separation continued for 4 years, as they awaited the Chinese authorities to continue with the process.
By July 2023, adoption procedures were back in motion, and Mann was hopeful that the final steps would fall into place, allowing her and her husband to travel to China and bring their son home to Florida. Only 3 months later, in September 2024, the Chinese government officially shut down all foreign adoptions, leaving their journey unresolved.
“It was really devastating. We were just completely shocked by that,” Mann said.
China announced that foreigners may only adopt Chinese children if they are “collateral relatives,” such as nephews or cousins within three generations.
This decision was made to push domestic adoption, but according to Mann, the decision affects mostly those with some type of disabilities, which includes her son, who will most likely need surgeries and constant monitoring.
“The children that are being abandoned are the ones with significant special needs or medical needs and unfortunately, those children probably will never be adopted,” Mann said.
After the sudden suspension of international adoptions, several families directly affected by the decision came together to advocate for change. They submitted a letter to President Donald Trump, appealing for collaboration with Chinese authorities to ensure the completion of pending adoptions. The correspondence was endorsed by more than 100 members of Congress from all political sides.
The family is not ready to give up on the adoption, and they wait for the moment when they will be able to celebrate Asher’s birthday with him in their safe and loving home. The family now hopes President Donald Trump will raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their next meeting.
“If President Xi says no, then there's nothing more we can do,” Mann said. “It would feel like closure if we could at least know that our message has been heard.”
