Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law 53 (2021)
Ghosts in America: Working Towards Building a Legal Framework for
Stateless Individuals in the United States
a futile endeavor. 246 In the meantime, a stateless individual is eligible
for work authorization and able to legally work in the United States—
provided that they complete the yearly application and pay the annual
processing fee. 247 Orders of supervision are also cost effective
alternatives to detention. Whereas detention costs an average of $122
per day per detainee, alternatives to detention range in cost from $0.30
to $14 per day per individual. 248
Although stateless individuals under order of supervision may seem
more fortunate than others who are not under order of supervision,
order of supervision is nowhere near a perfect solution and is fraught
with problems. 249 First, there is no cognizable end date to orders of
supervision. 250 For stateless individuals with no means to gain lawful
status, order of supervision could last their entire lifetime. 251 Stateless
individuals have challenged these conditions under a variety of
constitutional theories but have been unsuccessful. 252 Second, the
regular reporting requirements impose psychological and emotional
hardships on stateless individuals. 253 Many stateless individuals fear
they may be taken into immigration custody each time they report to
the immigration office for having inadvertently failed to comply with
the terms of the order, for having run out of consulates or embassies to
contact in order to request travel documents, or in some cases for no
apparent reason at all. 254 Other psychological effects of check-in
requirements include insomnia, loss of appetite, anxiety, stress,
paranoia, and general lack of willpower to continue with one’s
immigration proceedings. 255 Further, there are extra psychological
burdens placed on families with mixed immigration status because there
is a threat of family separation due to removal every time an individual
goes for a check-in. 256 Third, travel restrictions under order of
246. Corgan, supra note 18; Baluarte, supra note 20, at 364–365.
247. Corgan, supra note 18.
248. FREED BUT NOT FREE, supra note 243, at 10.
249. Corgan, supra note 18.
250. See Baluarte, supra note 20, at 365.
251. Citizens of Nowhere, supra note 3, at 26.
252. Baluarte, supra note 20, at 365 (citing Berry v. Adducci, No. 10-10969,
2010 WL 2105130 (E.D. Mich. May 25, 2010); Abusheikh v. Attorney
General of United States, 225 F. App’x 56 (3rd Cir. 2007)).
253. Citizens of Nowhere, supra note 3, at 26.
254. Id.
255. FREED BUT NOT FREE, supra note 243, at 17.
256. Id.
384