SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- At only 6 years old, Esai Reed has endured three emergency evacuations from orphanages across Haiti as gangs pillage and plunder their way through once peaceful communities.

He is currently in northern Haiti under the care of an American organization following the director of Esai’s previous orphanage fleeing the troubled Caribbean nation where gangs control 80% of the capital .

Almost five months have passed since the last evacuation, and during that time, Esai, a soccer enthusiast with a mischievous streak, hasn’t been able to connect with his adoptive mother in the U.S. or his two older brothers who live with her due to unreliable internet access and other logistical hurdles.

"It's clear we're in a crisis," stated Michelle Reed, a 51-year-old educator and single mother residing in Florida.

Reed's family is one of 55 families from Tennessee to California seeking humanitarian parole from the U.S. government for approximately 70 children they're adopting. The U.S. offered this opportunity to more than a dozen other children earlier this year when violent gangs disrupted crucial government services and forced Haiti's main international airport to close for nearly three months , resulting in the evacuation of numerous U.S. citizens and 39 children between March and May who had final adoption decrees.

Reed and other families shared that they were originally informed they would be part of the evacuation group, but the U.S. government later conveyed that “despite extensive efforts,” they had not found a solution to enable children without official adoption decrees to leave Haiti and enter the U.S., according to a letter from The Office of Children’s Issues at the Department of State.

"We understand that this update may be disheartening for both you and your child(ren),” the office communicated.

Reed and other families raised concerns that completing the adoption process in Haiti instead of in the U.S. as requested necessitates the children traveling to Port-au-Prince, which is largely under the control of gangs, to obtain a visa, passport, and medical examination.

“Why are they not doing the same for our children?” questioned Emmerson, who resides in the U.S. and requested anonymity for safety reasons, as he and his wife, who are adopting his niece and nephew, have family in Haiti.

Reed highlighted that the Haitian Central Adoption Authority has granted permission for the children to leave the country and finalize the adoption in the U.S.

However, a State Department spokesperson told The Associated Press that other Haitian officials responsible for the adoption process hold a different view. They also mentioned that they are collaborating with the Haitian government “to progress adoptions as swiftly as possible” while ensuring that all laws, regulations, and obligations are met.

“The Department is working to expedite the final stages of processing for additional children,” they stated, adding that all Haitian government offices involved in adoptions are operational, “although some offices might be temporarily closed or operating with limited capacity due to localized violence.”

The department expressed its “understanding and empathy for the concerns and difficulties faced by U.S. families adopting children from Haiti.”

Stéphane Vincent, head of Haiti’s Directorate of Immigration and Emigration, did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security informed the Associated Press that parole consideration applies “to a very small number of Haitian adoptees” who have progressed to a specific stage in their adoption process. The agency stated that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “is working diligently” with U.S. government partners “to navigate the current circumstances.”

Beyond the perilous situation in Port-au-Prince, families express concerns that their cases could be further delayed due to the ongoing strike by Haitian judges, with some judges having fled the country due to the violence.

The U.N. recently reported that since Haiti's judicial year commenced in October 2023, “courts have been functioning for a mere ten days.”

Lawmakers, including U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scott, are advocating for the families and urging the U.S. Department of State and Department of Homeland Security to grant humanitarian parole.

Haiti has been under a state of emergency for several months, and the Department of State has long maintained a “do not travel” advisory, warning of kidnappings, murders, sexual assault and other criminal activities, adding that “the U.S. government is very limited in its ability to provide assistance to U.S. citizens in Haiti.”

From April to June, the U.N. documented at least 1,379 individuals killed or injured, along with 428 kidnappings. Notably, 88% of these incidents occurred in Port-au-Prince.

Meanwhile, gang violence has resulted in at least 700,000 people being displaced in recent years, half of them children, William O’Neill, the U.N. independent human rights expert on Haiti, said Friday.

“All indicators remain extremely concerning,” he stated during his visit to Haiti. “The primary and most troubling issue is insecurity.”

Meanwhile, Kenyan police, who arrived in late June as part of a U.N.-supported mission to help quell gang violence, have only recently started joint operations with Haiti’s police and military. This comes as the U.S. considers a U.N. peacekeeping operation after expressing concerns that the current mission lacks sufficient resources.

“These children are in grave danger,” stated Diane Kunz, executive director of the New York-based nonprofit Center for Adoption Policy. “The State Department acknowledges they cannot guarantee the safety of their own citizens.”

In Florida, Reed is deeply concerned about Esai as she tries to comfort his younger brothers, aged 8 and 10, who endured physical and sexual abuse at the orphanage and were in poor health and severely malnourished when she adopted them almost two years ago.

“The boys are scared for him, and they are reluctant to discuss it,” she mentioned, adding that no one informed her about their brother when she adopted them.

Reed recalled how, after arriving in the U.S., her two older sons shared a single twin bed despite having two available, clinging to each other throughout the night.

“The nights were frightening for them,” Reed shared. “They had nightmares for a considerable amount of time.”

Standing alongside Reed is Emmerson and his wife, Michelle, who also requested anonymity for safety reasons.

Emmerson's mother was in Haiti caring for his niece and nephew when she experienced a heart attack following a gang attack in their neighborhood, an area close to where a young U.S. missionary couple was tragically killed earlier this year .

“They were firing guns, and she lost her life,” he said. “The children were deeply affected.”

After discussing the situation with his brother, who faces health problems and finds it difficult to care for his five other children, they decided adoption was the best course of action. However, Emmerson and Michelle haven't been able to travel to Haiti in almost a year due to the ongoing violence.

Gangs compelled the children to relocate to southwestern Haiti, where their family is struggling to secure adequate food and essential supplies. Armed gangs control the main thoroughfares leading to and from Port-au-Prince, occasionally firing on those who dare to pass.

The boy is 6 years old and outgoing, and his sister is “like a little old lady in a 3-year-old’s body,” Michelle said. They are concerned about what will happen to them if they’re forced to travel to Port-au-Prince to finalize the adoption, with Emmerson recalling how his brother’s twins were abducted in the capital and later freed, with the boy’s face injured by gangs.

“We just don’t want that for our kids,” he said.

Angela, who resides in California and requested that her last name not be disclosed for safety reasons, said she and her husband are trying to adopt a 5-year-old girl who — like Reed’s youngest son — has been evacuated from orphanages three times.

Angela recounted how she was on the phone with an orphanage worker and her daughter when gunfire broke out.

“Frankly, I didn’t know if she was going to be killed right there,” she said. “Gunfire was piercing the walls.”

She shared that it’s frightening to imagine her daughter, who is timid and loves to read, will have to travel to Port-au-Prince to complete the necessary paperwork after violence forced them to leave the city.

“It’s simply not right for these children to be sent into the dangerous situation to fulfill requirements that could be easily waived,” Reed said. “We are not attempting to circumvent any part of the adoption process. We want our children safely evacuated so we have children to adopt. We don’t want them to lose their lives in Haiti.”