Tooby's California Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

(A)

Reasons a Client May Answer the Question Incorrectly.  Some clients will conceal noncitizen status in the mistaken belief that – as noncitizens – they would not qualify for public defender services or would suffer other adverse consequences at your hands if they revealed their status to you.

            Other clients may honestly believe they are U.S. citizens, since all their brothers and sisters automatically became citizens when both parents naturalized, but the client was the only one who did not because s/he was married, or over 18 or not a lawful permanent resident at the time of the parents’ naturalization.

            Still other clients may erroneously believe they were born in the United States, and are therefore U.S. citizens.

            Many noncitizens assume if you ask whether they are a citizen, that you are really asking whether they are in the United States legally, and answer “yes” since they have a green card.  In many communities, “citizen” and “green card holder” are seen as equivalent.  It is very important, therefore, not to accept a client’s statement s/he is a citizen without careful verification.

            You can ask where they were born.  The arrest report will often indicate the suspect’s “place of birth.”  If they were born in another country, they can become a U.S. citizen only upon completing the full naturalization process.[34]  Make sure this actually happened before you accept a client’s quick answer “yes” to a citizenship question.

Some clients may be U.S. citizens and be unaware of it.[35]  Does the client have a parent or grandparent, living or dead, who may have been born in the U.S. or who may have acquired U.S. citizenship?  Did one or both of their parents naturalize when they were still under 18 years old?   Were they adopted?  If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” refer the person to competent immigration counsel for analysis of citizenship.[36]

[34] See § 3.16, infra.

[35] See § § 3.14-3.17, infra.

[36] See § 3.43, infra, for referral suggestions.