CA9 on Derivative Citizenship: Brown v. Holder

"Mark Brown, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal from an order of removal. In the administrative proceedings, Brown argued that he was or should be deemed a United States citizen, because the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) had wrongly prevented him from deriving citizenship through his parents and then from applying for citizenship on his own account. He also claimed that the government should be estopped from denying his citizenship and that he had, in fact, fulfilled the statutory requirements for citizenship set down in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) found that Brown had not sustained his burden of showing that he was a citizen and ruled that he had no power to grant Brown citizenship or estop the government from denying his citizenship. Brown now renews his claim to citizenship.

Because the record reflects disputed issues of fact relating to the government’s alleged mishandling of naturalization applications by Brown and his mother, we transfer this matter to the District Court for the Central District of California for evidentiary findings. If the district court finds that the INS acted unconstitutionally, it may order the agency to grant Brown citizenship as a remedy." - Brown v. Holder, Aug. 18, 2014.