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 within their borders. 292 Identifying and addressing the risks of statelessness could have a positive impact in allowing for larger parts of society to participate fully in a country’s economic and social development. 293 And finally, by acceding to the statelessness conventions, the United States demonstrates a commitment to human rights and its cooperation with the international community to reduce and eliminate statelessness and respect the dignity of all individuals in need of protection. 294 But ascension by itself is not enough. More should be done to meet the needs of stateless individuals and it is more feasible that one may think. First, unlike other migration issues, the challenge is not as overwhelming 295 because the population is relatively small. 296 The number of stateless persons, although hard to determine, 297 is unlikely to be in the hundreds, or even tens of thousands. 298 Second, stateless individuals are vulnerable in ways that both political parties have been concerned about in recent years. 299 Stateless individuals, especially women without access to status, employment, or education are more susceptible to trafficking. 300 Third, causes of statelessness are often linked to human rights violations that resonate with both political parties. 301 Lastly, the need for a legal framework for stateless individuals has previously come up in Congress. 302 The first legislative proposal that would provide a pathway for stateless individuals in the United States to obtain legal status was introduced in 2010 and again in 2011 as part of a larger bill known as the Refugee Protection Act (RPA).303 The provisions pertaining to statelessness authorized the Secretary of DHS and the United States Attorney General to provide conditional lawful status to certain stateless individuals who are otherwise inadmissible or deportable from the United States. 304 The proposal would have also made stateless applicants eligible for work 292. Id. 293. Id. 294. See id. 295. Schwartz, supra note 287. 296. Baluarte, supra note 20, at 357. 297. See Corgan, supra note 18. 298. Schwartz, supra note 287. 299. Id. 300. Id. 301. Id. 302. Citizens of Nowhere, supra note 3, at 28–29. 303. Id. 304. Id. at 29. 389