The Supreme Court batted down a challenge Thursday from non-Indian families hoping to adopt American Indian children, with the justices backing a federal law that says Indian children should generally be placed with their tribes.
The 7-2 ruling rejected claims that the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was drafted to protect tribal children from being taken outside their communities, violates the Constitution’s 10th Amendment by forcing states to place children with tribes even when judges don’t believe it’s in the best interest of the child.
“Congress’s power to legislate with respect to Indians is well established and broad. Consistent with that breadth, we have not doubted Congress’s ability to legislate across a wide range of areas, including criminal law, domestic violence, employment, property, tax, and trade,” Justice Barrett wrote.
Justice Alito said in his dissent that federal law is subverting the best interest of the child and intervening in state court proceedings. In ordinary circumstances, state courts or governments consider the best interests of the child, but Zachary’s birth mother is Navajo. So under the Indian Child Welfare Act, decisions by courts about adoptions of American Indian children shift to tribal hands and away from states.
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