Law360 Runs Charles Johnson Op-Ed on Protection of the Stateless
Contact:
“Federal Law Should Recognize And Protect Stateless People,” an op-ed co-written by Akin lobbying & public policy partner Charles Johnson with Samantha Sitterley of United Stateless, has been published by Law360.
The authors use a recent example of more than 300 people being stripped of their citizenship by the Nicaraguan government as a springboard to discuss the problems faced by those who are stateless, noting that “U.S. law currently offers no specific remedy to fix the problem of statelessness, which affects over 200,000 people living in this country.”
They sketch out the challenges, including the fact that “the legal profession, along with the general U.S. population, is mostly unaware of statelessness. Even experts in immigration law can miss the issue. Stateless clients are often met with disregard and misunderstanding.”
The op-ed then provides a definition of statelessness, surveys the nature and extent of U.S. government action, and provides a possible solution by way of legislation, the Stateless Protection Act, introduced in December 2022.
To read the full article, click here.
