David Rodriguez, a citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspecti

Question

David Rodriguez, a citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspection at El Paso, Texas, on or about July 22, 1996. During his time in the United States, he lived in Minnesota and fraudulently obtained a Texas birth certificate, a Minnesota driver’s license and a social security card in the name of Oscar Martinez, and a social security card and legal resident card in the name of David Rodriguez Silva. He sought to obtain employment with a private employer by checking a box on a Form I-9 indicating that he was a “citizen or national of the United States” and by submitting the fraudulent Martinez driver’s license and a social security card in support for his claim. On April 19, 2001, Rodriguez married Veronica Vasquez, a U.S. citizen. On April 24, 2001, he submitted an immediate relative immigrant visa petition, which the immigration and naturalization service (now the USCIS) approved. The INS informed Rodriguez that he would be considered for lawful permanent residence status subject to his application for adjustment of status. On February 26, 2002, Rodriguez and his wife appeared for n interview with a district adjudications officer as part of the process to adjust his status. Rodriguez brought the fraudulent documents. After the interview, the adjudications officer prepared a sworn statement that included questions and answers from the interview. Rodriguez reviewed and signed the statement. In the interview and in his resulting sworn statement, Rodriguez admitted that he knew that with the use of fraudulent documents he had made a claim to a government agency that he was a citizen of the United States. The INS denied Rodriguez application for adjustment of status because he had made a false claim that he was a U.S. citizen. On appeal of the agency’s decision, the court can either affirm the decision in which case Rodriguez would be deported back to Mexico or overlook his earlier employment history and order his change of status based upon his marriage to an American citizen. What are the ethical considerations favoring each of these outcomes? What would you do, if you were the judge and had discretion to rule either way?

Explanation / Answer

The ethical consideration which favors David’s deportation is that he had used illegal ways to enter USA. He also used fraudulent documents to sustain in the country. These aspects are highly amoral and unethical and hence he must be deported back to Mexico.

The ethical consideration which favors David’s stay in USA is that though he had entered the country through illegal means and was living with a false identity, he married a USA citizen and has realized his fault. He had applied for adjustment in his legal status and wants to be verified legally. Also after marriage, he has responsibilities towards his wife. So, the court can make the decision in his favor.

If I were a judge, I would have deported David back to Mexico and would have asked him to enter USA with legal approval. If David’s initial acts were ignored, he would have got encouragement to conduct such illegal acts in future as well. So, his deportation would be the most appropriate. The court will not ban his entry in USA as he had married a USA citizen and hence has the spousal rights to enter the country. So his re-entry must be conducted following the legal and ethical procedures.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse D
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.