Gorbach, et al. v. Reno, et al.: District Court Permanently Enjoins INS Administrative Denaturalization

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Naturalization and Citizenship

GORBACH, ET AL. V. RENO, ET AL.: DISTRICT COURT PERMANENTLY ENJOINS INS ADMINISTRATIVE DENATURALIZATION
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 2, Mar. 29, 2001

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has issued a nationwide permanent injunction of the regulations of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that purport to authorize the agency to reopen naturalization cases and revoke citizenship. The ruling follows last year's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which upheld the district court's preliminary injunction in this case, finding that the INS has no authority to denaturalize. Gorbach v. Reno, 219 F.3d 1087 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (see "9th Circuit Upholds Challenge to INS Administrative Denaturalization Procedure," Immigrants' Rights Update, Aug. 31, 2000, p. 9). The Ninth Circuit's decision establishes that, once citizenship has been conferred through naturalization, it may be revoked by the government only by means of a formal proceeding in federal court.

The district court's permanent injunction requires the INS to reinstate and return certificates of citizenship to the naturalized citizens who lost their citizenship as a result of the administrative denaturalization procedure before it was preliminarily enjoined by the district court in 1998. The injunction also requires the INS to send notice of the permanent injunction of administrative denaturalization to the several thousand naturalized citizens who previously were served with notices of intent to revoke citizenship.

Counsel for the plaintiffs include the law firm of Hogan and Hartson, Washington, DC; the law firm of Perkins Coie, Seattle, WA; attorney Robert Gibbs, Seattle, WA; attorney Daniel Levy, Los Angeles, CA, and NILC. Also of counsel are the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and One-Stop Immigration and Education Center, Inc.

Gorbach, et al. v. Reno, et al., No. C98-0278R (W.D.Wash. Feb. 14, 2001).