Frequently Searched

Equal Protection for Native American Children

In re. A.L.M.

Case Status

Date Filed

October 31, 2017

Last Step

Filed friend of the court brief in the Texas Court of Appeals.

Next Step

VICTORY! After our brief was filed, the parties reached a settlement that allowed the adoption to proceed.

Case Overview

Two-year-old Andy* is a Texan child who’s lived most of his life with his foster parents, Charles and Janet.* They want to adopt him—and his birth parents support that. If Andy were white, or black, or of nearly any other race, that adoption would probably be approved swiftly. But because Andy is part Navajo and part Cherokee, a different law applies to him: the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) which imposes race-based restrictions on adoption. Those rules require that Indian children be adopted by “Indian families”—even if they’re of different tribes—rather than by adults of other races.

When Navajo tribal officials objected to the adoption in this case, a Texas trial judge agreed, and rejected it. Within hours, Texas officials announced plans to send Andy to New Mexico to live with a Navajo family he’s met only once, for three hours—and who have not filed an adoption request for him. Charles and Janet want to give Andy the permanent family he needs—but their skin is the wrong color.

As part of its Equal Protection for Indian Children project, the Goldwater Institute has filed a friend of the court brief in support of Charles and Janet’s appeal.

*-not their real names

Donate Now

Help all Americans live freer, happier lives. Join the Goldwater Institute as we defend and strengthen freedom in all 50 states.

Donate Now

Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.

We Protect Your Rights

Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Need Help? Submit a case.

Get Connected to Goldwater

Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.

Wait! Don’t close this yet!

We are grateful for your support of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to advance and defend liberty throughout the United States. For over 36 years, we’ve been defending the rights of Americans to live their lives free from government interference.

And Goldwater is unique in that we direct our efforts to the 50 states where we introduce and advance innovative ideas that expand freedom. And we fight in courtrooms and capitals nationwide to defend individual liberty.

In 2024 alone, we scored over 50 policy and litigation victories defending liberty!

And that’s just the beginning.

Our plans for 2025 include:

  • Stopping pernicious DEI and other woke programs in America’s universities.
  • Ensuring that patients suffering from rare and terminal diseases have access to cutting-edge, lifesaving medical treatments, without having to first seek permission from the government.
  • Defending parental rights across the United States so that parents can send their kids to the school that best fits their needs, free from leftist indoctrination.
  • Eliminating government interference in the fundamental right of individuals to own property and use it as they see fit.
  • And much, much more

We seek to restore the presumption of liberty; that people are free to act without first asking permission from the government.

But we cannot do this without you. Will you join us as we fight to preserve and advance liberty throughout the country? As we seek new and innovative ways to defend freedom in all 50 states?

And there’s great news: Thanks to a generous Goldwater supporter, your donation today will be doubled!

So please, join us in fighting to advance liberty and score real wins for freedom from coast to coast!