October 23, 2025
A Haitian-American couple in Florida is celebrating after years of navigating Haiti’s broken system to bring home their two adopted children.
A Haitian-American couple in Florida is celebrating after more than two years of navigating Haiti’s broken legal system to bring home their two adopted children from Port-au-Prince.
Emmerson Philippe and Michelle Lake-Philippe were recently reunited with their adopted children, Jade Sarah Mira Philippe, 5, and James Marcus Philippe, 7, who safely arrived in Miami from Cap-Haïtien on Oct. 11, Haitian Times reports. The reunion comes after a harrowing months-long ordeal that left the siblings trapped in gang-controlled Port-au-Prince, despite their adoption having been legally finalized.
“We got our kids from Haiti yesterday, and they’re home in Vero Beach,” Michelle said through happy tears. “We are so happy and thankful they are here.”
The family’s reunion comes more than two years after their last in-person meeting and follows a report from one month ago that spurred officials to make direct inquiries, contact the families for additional details, and advance the children’s files. Emmerson had adopted his nephew and niece from Jérémie, the capital of Haiti’s Grand’Anse Department in 2023.
Despite having fulfilled all legal and immigration requirements under the Hague Convention for intercountry adoption over two years ago, the children’s departure was repeatedly delayed due to them not having Haitian passports, documents that had been pending a single signature from the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government for months.
“The U.S. Embassy confirmed the children met all visa requirements,” Emmerson said. “But until Haiti issued their passports, they couldn’t leave. Every day that passed increased the danger.”
The children had traveled to Port-au-Prince to complete medical exams for their U.S. visas and were staying there until the adoption could be finalized. However, with much of the city under gang control and road travel nearly impossible, their situation was highly dangerous. Although their departure from Haiti was delayed due to pending passport issues, they could not return to the safer Jérémie region.
During the drawn-out process, the couple revealed that the children’s grandmother, who had been caring for them, died of a heart attack in 2023 amid a gang incursion. Additionally, the kids’ older sister was kidnapped by gangs, heightening the urgency to secure their safety.
“This was more than a bureaucratic delay,” Michelle said. “It was a matter of life and death.”
The situation underscores the challenges facing Haiti’s adoption system. Considered one of the most complex international adoption processes in the Caribbean, it has been governed by the Hague Convention since 2014. Yet decades of corruption, poor recordkeeping, and weak child protection institutions have led to prolonged delays.
Persistent gang violence only adds to the complications, with violence often forcing major government offices into lockdown. International agencies estimate that hundreds of legally adopted children remain trapped in unsafe conditions due to bureaucratic gridlock.
Since arriving in Florida, the Philippes celebrated their reunion at Disney World last week and are eagerly looking forward to helping the children settle into their new life.
“Bringing them home means everything to us,” Michelle said. “They’re safe, happy, and finally where they belong.”
The couple also remains committed to supporting reforms in Haiti’s troubled adoption system.
“We love Haiti — it’s our country, our culture,” Emmerson said. “But the system has to work for the children. Every day they wait is another day they risk their lives.”
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