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
trafficking, prostitution, police harassment, recruitment into the armed
forces, forced labor, and other abuse. 387 The world is taking steps to
mitigate this problem, 388 and the United States urgently needs to take
part. While there is no perfect solution to solving statelessness in the
United States, we can meet their immediate needs while we wait for a
comprehensive international solution and the passage of domestic
legislation that fully incorporates stateless individuals into the United
States’ immigration legal framework. Through better training from the
DOJ regarding the determination and legal consequences of
statelessness, immigration judges and clerks will be able to make more
informed asylum decisions and we can prevent more stateless
individuals from ending up in legal limbo. Through reducing the
frequency of check-ins with immigration officials under orders of
supervision and timely releases from detainment, we can alleviate the
daily psychological struggles of stateless individuals. Through the
provision of work authorizations, we can give stateless individuals the
opportunity to support themselves and meaningfully contribute to their
local community and the United States’ economy. And finally, through
the provision of travel documents, we can promote family unity and
encourage their career aspirations.
387. Invisible and Vulnerable, World’s Stateless Face Bleak Future, supra note
53.
388. Id.
400