Immigration and Denaturalization

An Atlanta appeals court has upheld government efforts to strip Lionel Jean-Baptiste of his American citizenship and deport him to Haiti. Jean-Baptiste served seven years in prison on drug charges of which he was convicted after gaining citizenship, but the crime was apparently committed while his application was in progress.

Comments

[Rick Barton]

"Mr. Jean-Baptiste they said did not fulfill the "good moral character" requirement for naturalization.

What's also sad about this is that the poor guy spent all that time in prison and has lost his citizenship for an activity that aggresses against no one and shouldn't even be illegal. It's these anti-capitalistic drug laws that are immoral. If lack of moral character were sufficient cause for deportation, we would be rid of much of the federal government. If we can repeal the drug prohibition laws, these senseless tragedies will end.

[A foreign devil]

There are certain decisions a state should stick to. Awarding citizenship is one of them. Otherwise you can just declare people non-persons, and then where would you be? Now, had he lied about who he was and where he came from, it might have been another matter.

[SR]

"There are certain decisions a state should stick to. Awarding citizenship is one of them. Otherwise you can just declare people non-persons, and then where would you be?"

Actually, the US government stripped hundreds of Americans of their citzenship in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries for "subversive" activities. They were deported to other countries that would take them, particularly the Soviet Union after it was established. (The most notorious person so deported was Emma Goldman.) That period should be a valuable lesson in why promises by administration officials that military tribunals, secret detentions, etc. will never be applied to American citizens, aren't worth the toilet paper they're written on. It's also something useful to remember the next time some fool on here begins braying about how constitutional rights should only apply to American citizens.