Section 3: Removal Proceedings: Addressing Statelessness during the Master Calendar Hearing Many stateless individuals will not seek legal support until they are in removal proceedings. In fact, some may not realize that they are stateless until they are placed into proceedings and begin to unpack their experiences and the legal situation they find themselves in. Ensuring that the fact of their statelessness is identified and reflected in removal proceedings as early as possible will better ensure their rights are protected and their circumstances fully represented. The following sections examine some of the key ways in which statelessness may be considered and reflected on the record in a client’s case during the various stages of removal proceedings: the master calendar hearing(s), and hearing on the merits. A. The Charging Document: Notice to Appear A Notice to Appear (an “NTA,” Form I-862), is the charging document that signals the initiation of removal proceedings. The NTA lists the factual allegations against the respondent. Typically, the allegations will be: 1. You are not a U.S. citizen or national of the United States. 2. You are a native and citizen of [identifies country of origin or last habitual residence]. 3. You entered the country on a certain date and through a certain city and whether or not your entry was authorized and if so, for what period of time. 4. [The alleged reason(s) why the respondent is removable.] These factual allegations will form the basis for the charge of removability in the next section of the NTA. During a Master Calendar Hearing in Immigration Court, the respondent will need to either admit or deny each of these factual allegations. Given that the pleadings to the NTA form a key basis to the record moving forward, the fact of statelessness will factor into a stateless person’s pleadings to the charges in the document. For instance, when responding to the second charge (“You are a native and citizen of”) a stateless person would want to indicate her lack of citizenship. Practice Point Resolution of a claim to statelessness in response to the charge of a respondent being a “native and citizen of” a particular State may require a legal finding on the issue of statelessness. As such, having prepared legal arguments based on Section 2 of this manual, “Identifying and Proving Statelessness,” would be valuable at this stage. B. Designating a Country of Removal129 1. Overview This sub-section on Designating a Country of Removal draws significantly from Adam L. Fleming, Around the World in the INA: Designating a Country of Removal in Immigration Proceedings, IMMIGR. L. ADVISOR, (May 2013), at 1-4, 10-14, available at https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/06/03/vol7no5.pdf. 129 29