Yesterday, On May 13, the Civil Litigation attorneys in MLFA’s Legal Division filed a federal lawsuit against Marco Rubio, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Department of State, on behalf of Hoda Muthana to protect her right to her birthright citizenship. As the Department of State directed her to do in its previous court filings, Ms. Muthana filed for a Certificate of Identity so that she and her young son can leave Camp Roj, a Syrian refugee camp, and return to the United States. Once at the border, under the laws the Department of State repeatedly cited to the federal courts, Ms. Muthana then has the right to prove her entitlement to birthright citizenship and therefore her son’s as well.
Ms. Muthana was born in the United States, and the government issued her two U.S. passports recognizing her as a birthright citizen. The government revoked her passport only after she went abroad, then claimed she was never a citizen and argued to the Supreme Court that the government only revoked her passport document–not her citizenship status. But the government then denied Ms. Muthana’s application for a Certificate of Identity and outright claimed it had already revoked her status–leaving her and her child stranded in Syria with no home country. The Civil Litigation attorneys in MLFA’s Legal Division file this action to vindicate Ms. Muthana’s right to birthright citizenship, and bring her and her son home to her family.
Christina Jump, Civil Litigation Department Head, Legal Division of MLFA:
“Time for the Department of State to stop playing games with U.S. citizenship rights. The government already told the courts in the first round of litigation that Ms. Muthana simply needed to apply for a Certificate of Identity to establish that her citizenship status never changed. So, she did that. Then, it claimed it didn’t need to recognize her citizenship status after all, because it had already revoked that status– directly contradicting the Department of Justice attorneys’ statements to the United States Supreme Court. This lawsuit requires the government to stand by its word, and its laws, or admit that it won’t follow the Constitution.”
Chelsea Glover, Civil Litigation Senior Staff Attorney, Legal Division of MLFA:
“Birthright citizenship is a cherished principle of the United States, and Ms. Muthana is entitled to return to live in her home country. The government refuses to allow Ms. Muthana and her child to come home even though she has not been charged with any crime whatsoever. The U.S. cannot revoke a person’s citizenship while they’re abroad based on rumors and uncharged allegations. We hope the courts will see through the government’s duplicitous tactics and affirm Ms. Muthana’s right to return home and prove her citizenship.”
