Rachel Marandett
Volume 27.1 (download PDF)
Abstract
Under a world order defined by nation-states, having one’s rights and dignity protected is inexorably tied to being a citizen of somewhere. Stateless people, who are citizens of nowhere, are thus left without the safeguards of a nation responsible for them. Today, there are over 200,000 stateless people living in the United States. Because the American immigration system is built upon the premise that everyone is a citizen of somewhere, stateless people are consistently trapped in a ceaseless legal limbo. In fact, the majority of stateless people in the United States have already gone through removal proceedings and have final orders of removal. These orders, however, cannot realistically be executed as most states will not accept stateless people. Thus, most stateless people are forced to live out their lives in the United States under Orders of Supervision. Trapped in this legal limbo, stateless peoples must perpetually endure limitations on their movement, persistent surveillance, no pathway to citizenship, and an ever-looming risk of prolonged detention or deportation to somewhere entirely unfamiliar. This ineffective system is as inhumane as it is unsustainable.