Adoptions of Guatemalan babies in limbo

Then came the horrible day last August when Mary Ball received an e-mail at work from Casa Quivira. Authorities had raided the agency, seizing Luciany and 45 other babies.

Casa Quivira's notary and attorney were arrested on charges of illegally processing paperwork. Since then, prosecutors also have built a case against the owner, Clifford Phillips of Deland, Fla.

Phillips, who owns the agency with his Guatemalan wife Sandra Gonzalez, an attorney, has denied any responsibility for fraud. The couple has handled hundreds of adoptions since it opened in 1996, and outside adoption experts said their record was spotless.

Phillips told the AP he has been made the "whipping boy" for a system in which corrupt officials have for years supplied and signed off on adoption documents.

"I have nothing to do with documents. I don't touch documents," Phillips said. "They want me to be responsible for making sure the process is not fraudulent? I'm not equipped to do that. I have faith that the Guatemalan attorneys did all they could to check it out."

Defense lawyers for Casa Quivira's attorney and notary, in turn, blamed birth mothers and others for fraud, telling the judge at the Monday hearing that they can't be responsible for confirming that the documents they present are legitimate.

But Solicitor General Mario Gordillo told the AP that somebody had to have walked the women through the process of falsifying documents, and that Phillips and his lawyer and notary must be held to account.

"These biological mothers many times can't read nor write, much less falsify IDs or birth certificates," Gordillo said.

10 babies did go to U.S.
Thirty-six of the babies seized in the August raid are still being held at Casa Quivira.

Ten more, including Luciany, are now in the United States, with families in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But their fate is uncertain.

Luciany finally arrived in Indiana in September, days before Mary Ball gave birth to daughter Isabella. But their uncertainty continues.

If fraud is proven, whatever the reason, Guatemala would invalidate the adoption and try to recover the child, even one that has already become a U.S. citizen.

"We would have to do that, according to the law," Gordillo said.

Custody disputes with Guatemala for babies already in the United States would eventually land before a judge in the adoptive family's hometown, according to the U.S. Embassy. But if document fraud is discovered for babies still in Guatemala, their cases will have to start all over again. A false identity for whatever reason would be a "strong indicator" that the child may not qualify for an immigrant visa, said U.S. Consul John Lowell.

Guatemala, for its part, says it will give priority to U.S. parents who have to restart their adoptions. But these cases will come under the country's new adoption law, which took effect Jan. 1, to comply with an international treaty to prevent human trafficking. The law puts adoptions before Guatemala's notoriously sluggish courts and a new National Adoptions Council, which still does not have an office, a budget or a staff.

The result: U.S. parents could face a very long wait before they know whether they will get their babies.

Mary Ball is ready to fight for Luciany, who has her own room in the family's home west of Indianapolis and a flood of toys from her two doting grandmothers.

"I couldn't give up without a fight because I love Luciany," she said. "I feel she's going to have a great life with us."

More from msnbc.com NYT: Adviser sharpens McCain message Discovering the secret of slow Cosmic Log: No post-convention bounce? How smart are you? Take our news quiz Red Tape: Was Palin's SSN published on Web?   Week in Pictures: Natural disasters, political moments

MORE FROM AMERICAS

Americas Section Front

Venezuela to host Russia navy exercise Canada PM calls Oct. 14 election Cuba declines U.S. disaster team Haitians fear next round of heavy rain U.S. offers aid to Gustav-blasted Cuba Wave drowns American tourist in Mexico Huge ice shelf breaks loose in Canada Americas Section Front   Add Americas headlines to your news reader: