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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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 Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:42 pm Post subject: Court denies US Citizenship to US Father's Son |
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Court denies US Citizenship to US Father's Son, dismissing the challenge that it violated the equal protection of the laws by allowing children born of US mothers automatic citizenship while requiring US fathers of children born abroad to take specific steps to establish paternity to make such children US citizens.
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| The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that a man who was born in Mexico of a Mexican mother and an American father is not entitled to US citizenship, even though the law discriminates on the basis of gender. |
Gender classifications are quasi-suspect, and upon a prima facie challenge, the burden shifts to the gov't to establish that the discrimination is justified by an important gov't interest which is substantially related to the means chosen.
SCOTUS already ruled on a very similar case in Nguyen v. INS, 533 US 53 (2001). It upheld the gender discrimination. The court agreed with the gov't that the distinction promoted the important gov't interest of avoiding proof of paternity problems, which are more difficult to resolve for fathers.
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[I]n his appeal, Flores-Villar argued that the law on citizenship for a child born outside of the United States treats American mothers much differently than American fathers.
An American woman can transfer citizenship to her child if she has lived for a full year in the United States. A man on the other hand must prove he has lived at least five years in the United States after his 14th birthday.
In Flores-Villar's case, however, his father was only 16 years old when his son was born.
So Flores-Villar appealed on the basis that the law violated his constitutional right to equal treatment under the law. |
I think a legislative fix is in order. If the father was 16 years old when the son was born, but had lived in the United States for at least five years, then his son should get a pass. But that's me arguing with justification for the law, and not challenging its Constitutionality. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:16 am Post subject: |
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| I'm an absolutist on this one. If one parent is American, whether he or she has ever lived in the US should be irrelevant. The kid should hold dual citizenship until it comes of age and can choose. If paternity tests are good enough to assign child support, they should be good enough to determine citizenship. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:03 am Post subject: |
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I'm curious as to whether my time spent in university in Canada would count against me on this one. If it did, I'd be right on the edge.
On edit: as an aside, I don't really see how anyone on either side of the aisle could be against giving this guy citizenship. Born of an American father, raised in the States, this guy wasn't hiking through the desert to take American jobs.
Last edited by northway on Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:58 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| This is also about having a certain amount of time on US soil after a certain age and not only about gender, but the discrimination based on gender is unacceptable, IMHO. |
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