Opinion ID: 799598
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Absurdity of the District Court's Interpretation of Section 201(g)

Text: In matters of statutory interpretation, we look first to the text and, if the meaning of the language is plain, then `the sole function of the courtsat least where the disposition required by the text is not absurdis to enforce it according to its terms.' Wysocki v. Int'l Bus. Mach. Corp., 607 F.3d 1102, 1106 (6th Cir.2010) (quoting Lamie v. U.S. Tr., 540 U.S. 526, 534, 124 S.Ct. 1023, 157 L.Ed.2d 1024 (2004)). Interpretations of a statute which would produce absurd results are to be avoided if alternative interpretations consistent with the legislative purpose are available. Lockhart v. Napolitano, 573 F.3d 251, 261 (6th Cir.2009) (quoting Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc., 458 U.S. 564, 575, 102 S.Ct. 3245, 73 L.Ed.2d 973 (1982)) (alteration and internal quotation marks omitted). The district court found that Guzman was not eligible for citizenship under section 201(g) because his mother had not lived in the United States for at least five [years] after attaining the age of sixteen years, which was her age at Guzman's birth. Guzman argues that the district court erred in interpreting section 201(g) to mean that foreign-born children of United States citizens younger than twenty-one years old cannot themselves be deemed United States citizens at birth. Guzman claims that the district court's interpretation of the statute is oppressively harsh and utterly absurd. The district court's interpretation of section 201(g) is not absurd, unreasonable, or unjust. The language of the statute is plain: it provides that a foreign-born individual is a United States citizen at birth under section 201(g) if his or her United States citizen parent lived in the United States for ten years, at least five of which were after the parent turned sixteen, prior to the individual's birth. First, under the above analysis, this result is not absurd because it is rationally related to a legitimate legislative purpose. Second, because naturalization is a privilege, not a right, Schneiderman v. United States, 320 U.S. 118, 131, 63 S.Ct. 1333, 87 L.Ed. 1796 (1943), it is not absurd to require one parent to have adulthood ties to the United States prior to granting the privilege of citizenship to his or her child. The district court did not err in finding that section 201(g) does not produce an absurd result. While Guzman is not presently faced with an immigration action against him, we note that his ability to defend against such an action by establishing citizenship through alternate routes may be in question because his entry to the United States at age two was not recorded. It seems unduly harsh for a two-year-old to be punished for his teenage mother's lack of diligence. This issue, however, is left to future determination if Guzman chooses to raise such a claim.