Citizenship Harder To Prove Through Fathers
Recent Cases
An immigration law that extends citizenship to children whose mothers are naturalized does not violate due process by not following the same rule for fathers, the 2nd Circuit ruled.
Otis Grant, a Jamaican citizen, was convicted in 1996 of second-degree murder. He challenged the Board of Immigration Appeals' ruling that he should be deported, arguing that his father was naturalized before Grant's 18th birthday and that he should have derivative citizenship. The immigration judge disagreed, stating that Grant was not entitled to citizenship because his father did not have legal custody of him.
A three-judge panel decided not to focus on the custody issue. Instead, it ruled that in order for a father to confer citizenship on his child, the father must legitimize him, acknowledge him or prove paternity.
"A mother's parental status is verifiable from the birth itself," the court ruled. "There is no such obvious or compelling proof of a father's status."
Using that reasoning, the court ruled that Grant's rights to equal protection and due process were not violated. The court denied Grant's petition to review his deportation.
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New York Adoption, Foster Care Litigation and Family Law
Rosin Steinhagen Mendel is a law firm dedicated to serving our clients in New York City, the surrounding counties in southern New York State, and in New Jersey, in the areas of adoption, foster care litigation, and family law.
We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights, permanency hearings, custody hearings, guardianship, administrative proceedings, and adoption. Our goal is to provide each of our clients with the best possible representation in all aspects of their cases, and clients appreciate our careful analysis of individual cases, through preparation and attention to detail. For over 35 years, our attorneys have represented adoptive parents, birth parents, foster parents, children, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies. We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights, permanency hearings, custody hearings, guardianship, administrative proceedings, and adoption.
Our goal for our lawyers is to provide each of our clients with the best possible representation in all aspects of their cases, and clients appreciate our careful analysis of individual cases, through our preparation and attention to detail.