Immigration Clinic Successful in U.S. Nationality Claim

David King '07 and Immigration Clinic Supervising Attorney Holly Cooper '98 successfully convinced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in San Francisco to stipulate to a motion to terminate. Their client was detained at Yuba County Jail for a series of petty theft convictions. After the initial intake, it was discovered by King that the client, born out of wedlock, had a claim to U.S. Nationality through her American Samoan-born mother. Although the client was unaware of her potential right to a claim to U.S. nationality, King was able to prove through extensive research that the client's mother had one year of residence in American Samoa prior to the client's birth and that there was no record of marriage in Western or American Samoa. Working closely with the Samoan Office for Vital Statistics, King gathered evidence, including old school records and baptismal certificates that showed the requisite proof to transmit the mother's U.S. nationality to the client.

ICE and the immigration judge had never seen a U.S. nationality claim before, but both conceded that the evidence cast doubt that the client was an alien and therefore, was exempt from removal. The client was freed from custody on August 22, 2006.