Opinion ID: 771476
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Expiration of the DPA and Jurisdiction

Text: 20 Tittjung next argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider his unlawful entry in 1952 because the Immigration Act of 1924 and the DPA (the laws pursuant to which he was granted his visa) were no longer in effect at the time of his naturalization in 1974. Specifically, Tittjung claims that because these statutes did not exist and were not considered when the Milwaukee court entered its citizenship order in 1974, it was nonsensical for the district court to reference and apply those laws during the denaturalization proceedings. 6 In support of his position, Tittjung cites to Ex Parte McCardle, where the court determined that the passage of a bill repealing the portion of a statute that conferred appellate jurisdiction on the Supreme Court over habeas proceedings meant that the Court no longer had jurisdiction to hear McCardle's appeal. 74 U.S. 506 (1868). 21 What, then, is the effect of the repealing act upon the case before us? We cannot doubt as to this. Without jurisdiction the court cannot proceed at all in any cause. Jurisdiction is power to declare the law, and when it ceases to exist, the only function remaining to the court is that of announcing the fact and dismissing the cause. And this is not less clear upon authority than upon principle. 22 Id. at 514. 23 Tittjung's position lacks merit. Throughout his argument, Tittjung goes to great lengths to suggest that his naturalization should not be tied to whether he lawfully procured his visa. Rather, he suggests the relevant factor to be that he complied with the statutory prerequisites to naturalization. While we have noted that the district court had jurisdiction to revoke Tittjung's certificate of naturalization after determining that he was visa ineligible as a matter of law, we have never wavered from our understanding that the basis for the determination that Tittjung was removable was that he was never lawfully admitted to this country, a required prerequisite to naturalization under 8 U.S.C. sec. 1427. That statute, which is ultimately the relevant one for purposes of determining naturalization, was in effect in 1974 when Tittjung was naturalized as well as when this denaturalization case was brought and decided. 7 24 In addition, the Supreme Court's analysis in Fedorenko makes clear that lawful admission is based on circumstances as they existed at the time of initial entry. The Court, in denaturalizing Fedorenko, looked to the law that existed when he first entered the United States. Lawful admission for permanent residence in turn required that the individual possess a valid unexpired immigrant visa. At the time of petitioner's initial entry into this country, sec. 13(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1924, ch. 190, 43 Stat. 153, 161 (repealed in 1952), provided that '[n]o immigrant shall be admitted to the United States unless he (1) has an unexpired immigration visa . . . .' Fedorenko, 449 U.S. at 514-15. Applying Tittjung's present argument would mandate the conclusion that the Court in Fedorenko erred by revoking a naturalization because the law that allowed for the initial entry of the defendant was no longer in effect at the time of the denaturalization. We do not believe it would be proper to reach such a conclusion. 25 Not only would granting Tittjung's argument require us to challenge Supreme Court precedent, but doing so would also erode a large portion of 18 U.S.C. sec. 1451(a). The DPA was in existence for four years from 1948-1952. The statutory prerequisite for naturalization is five years of continuous legal residence in the United States. 8 U.S.C. sec. 1427. Therefore, no person could have been admitted to the United States under the DPA and been naturalized within the period of the law's existence. As such, according to Tittjung's position, denaturalization proceedings under 8 U.S.C. sec. 1451(a) could never be brought against one who entered under the DPA. Given that the DPA was intended to prevent those who contributed to the Nazi persecution of innocent civilians from obtaining visas to enter the United States as refugees, Schmidt, 923 F.2d at 1259, it would seem anomalous that the law provides uncontestable permanent residence for those who illegally circumvented it. For these reasons, we conclude that the district court committed no error in cancelling Tittjung's naturalization which was based on illegal entry under the DPA. 26