A sad Christmas for the stateless

“I’m disappointed and somewhat sad,” said Randy Mendoza in a dispirited voice over the telephone yesterday.

Mendoza, who represents a group of so-called “stateless” persons who have been clamoring for American citizenship, said obtaining a U.S. passport could have been a great Christmas gift for them.

Had the federal government finally decided not to take any further action to appeal the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that ruling would have become final today, Dec. 16, making the grant of U.S. citizenship to some 300 stateless persons executory.

“Everyone was thinking that if this thing pushes through, this will be a great Christmas gift,” Mendoza said. “We just hope that we get our U.S. passports and no one files an appeal.”

The U.S. State Department, however, had asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an extension of time within which to file a petition for a writ of certiorari, the filing deadline of which should have expired yesterday.

The High Court granted the request made by the State Department through the Department of Justice, extending the deadline from Dec. 15, 2004 to Jan. 14, 2005.

Acting Solicitor General Paul D. Clement filed the request before the Supreme Court on Dec. 2. The High Court, through Justice O’Connor, granted the request the following day.

The High Court issues a writ of certiorari to review and inspect the proceedings in an inferior court and determine if there have been any irregularities.

The U.S. Court of Appeals earlier overturned Saipan federal court’s ruling, which declared that stateless persons are not U.S. citizens. Later, the appellate court denied the State Department’s request for a rehearing on the case.

Stateless persons are those born in the Northern Marianas between Jan. 1, 1974 to Nov. 4, 1986—the intervening period between the adoption of the Covenant and its ratification.

The move by the federal government to oppose American citizenship for the CNMI’s stateless persons came about even as the Commonwealth government remained vocal on its support to the cause of the stateless individuals. Gov. Juan N. Babauta earlier stressed that their political and immigration status unintentionally resulted from their birth in the Northern Marianas between Jan. 1, 1974 to Nov. 4, 1986.

Babauta earlier said he would like a citizenship swearing in for the stateless persons once the appellate court’s ruling becomes final. His administration has also advised stateless persons to file their applications for U.S. passports with the U.S. Passport Office.

Mendoza said majority of the stateless persons have already filed their respective passport applications. He said he and other colleagues would like to join the U.S. military, as well as pursue higher education in the United States.