Washington, DC – Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to pass Representative Jennifer Wexton’s (D-VA) Divided Families National Registry Act, which aims to help Korean Americans reconnect with the families they left behind in North Korea decades ago in the wake of the Korean War. Wexton introduced the bipartisan bill last week alongside Representative Michelle Steel (R-CA). It now goes to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
“The Divided Families National Registry Act would be a monumental law for Korean American families across the U.S.,” said Rep. Wexton. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan legislation with Rep. Steel on behalf of all those who have waited decades to see their loved ones and give hope to second- and third-generation Korean Americans who have only known stories and heartbreak of their separated families. I’m grateful to the Foreign Affairs Committee leadership for taking swift action on this bill and for the broad bipartisan support to advance this important legislation.”
“Over 100,000 Korean Americans have suffered the unknowable heartache of separation from their relatives who are still trapped in North Korea. For too long, these families have been denied the opportunity to reconnect with family members, but thanks to the Divided Families National Registry Act, we can work to bring together those who have been apart for over 70 years. I am honored to co-lead this legislation to right this wrong for so many Korean Americans who are running out of time to see their family members again,” said Rep. Steel.
The Divided Families National Registry Act would establish a data repository through the State Department of information about Korean American families and their relatives in North Korea, living and deceased, and encourage cooperation between the U.S. and North Korea to help facilitate reconnection opportunities either through travel or digitally. Similar efforts between South Korea and North Korea have successfully brought together more than 44,000 families.
“Since beginning to work on this issue in 2016, two of the greatest challenges I have seen facing Korean American divided families have been a lack of a formal accounting mechanism or access to an official channel of reunions. For the first time ever, the Divided Families National Registry Act offers a tangible solution to these problems and provides an official pathway for reunions. In other words, if this bill were to become law, it would not only give hope for reconnection with their relatives in North Korea, but also a sense of safety and reassurance that they would be supported by the US government,” said Paul Lee, President of Divided Families USA.
“The challenges on the Korean Peninsula have never just been abstract foreign policy issues happening ‘over there’ – they have touched the lives of thousands of American families. By establishing a national registry of Korean American divided families, this bill makes it possible to lay the important groundwork to ensure we are prepared if and when reunions can be possible for Korean Americans who have been separated from their families in North Korea for far too long,” said Esther Im, Senior Peace and Security Policy Advisor at Foreign Policy for America.
Wexton participated in a bipartisan congressional delegation visit to South Korea including the Korean Demilitarized Zone in July 2022, where she saw firsthand some of the lasting consequences families have faced as a result of the war and displacement.
The full text of the Divided Families National Registry Act can be found here .
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