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 the new Ukrainian government. 4 Soviet officials had taken and institutionalized Tatianna’s eldest son for speaking out against the government and although the Soviet Union had collapsed, the new Ukrainian government was controlled by many of the same people who had been in charge under the Soviets. 5 When Tatianna arrived in the United States, she filed for asylum but was denied by United States immigration authorities who did not find her fears of oppression credible. 6 After an appeal process that lasted a decade, her final appeal was denied in 2002. 7 During that decade, Tatianna established a life in Springfield, Massachusetts where she made a living as a piano teacher and certified nurse thanks to a special work permit that was renewed once a year. 8 One morning, Tatianna and her son were handcuffed, shoved in a van, and detained for nearly three months by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 9 She had not committed a crime. 10 She was just simply without legal status. 11 United States immigration officials tried to deport Tatianna and her son, but they found that she was not given citizenship by Ukraine because she and her family left Ukraine before they fulfilled the residency requirements necessary for citizenship. 12 Because she does not have legal status in any country, she was deemed non-deportable and released after months of detainment. 13 This experience left her traumatized and left the country with an alien who was not entitled to be here but had nowhere to go. 14 4. Dulai & Mendoza, supra note 3. 5. Id. 6. Id. 7. Id. 8. Id. 9. Id. 10. U.N. High Comm’r for Refugees & Open Soc’y Just. Initiative, supra note 3, at 1; see Stateless People: Protection of the Rights, ANTI-DISCRIMINATION CTR. (Jan. 7, 2020), https://adcmemorial.org/en/strategy_cases/stateless-people-protectionof-the-rights/ [https://perma.cc/B4CK-Z94M] (“Detention of stateless persons . . . in Russian Federation can not be considered legitimate as deportation is not feasible in such cases.”). 11. U.N. High Comm’r for Refugees & Open Soc’y Just. Initiative, supra note 3, at 1. 12. Id. 13. Id. 14. Statelessness in the United States, supra note 3. 359