人兽性交

After being deported, Kelvin Silva said he sometimes finds himself lying on the floor of his apartment, crying. He鈥檚 lonely 鈥� and alone. He鈥檚 scared, knowing that he鈥檚 fighting an uphill battle to gain U.S. citizenship and return home to North Carolina.

Silva 鈥� who identifies as Black and Latino 鈥� was returned to the Dominican Republic on Feb. 15 under an archaic law known as the Guyer Rule, which disproportionately affects nonwhite immigrants, especially Black fathers.

The Guyer Rule did not allow U.S. citizenship to pass from fathers to their biological children if the parents were unmarried, even though citizenship automatically passed to the children of other citizen parents who came to the country under the same circumstances. Were it not for the Guyer Rule, Silva, 45, would have automatically gained citizenship at age 11, his age when his father became a naturalized citizen.

Silva鈥檚 legal team 鈥� the and the Southern Poverty Law Center 鈥� filed a brief this week in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging this law that prevented Silva鈥檚 citizenship and resulted in his deportation to a country completely unfamiliar to him.

鈥淭hroughout his battle in the immigration court system and now the federal court, Mr. Silva has shown unswerving commitment and inspiring resilience in the face of this sexist and racist law,鈥� said Peter Isbister, senior lead attorney for the 人兽性交鈥檚 Immigrant Justice Project. 鈥淭he Guyer Rule is yet another part of the U.S. immigration system that unfairly targets Black and Brown people.鈥�

Kelvin Silva holds his daughter. (Credit: Kelvin Silva)

Meanwhile, Silva鈥檚 entire family 鈥� including his children and grandchildren 鈥� resides in the U.S. But changing immigration law through the courts is a difficult process, even when a law like the Guyer Rule results in a grave injustice such as the one Silva is facing.

To cope with the uncertainty of his immigration case, Silva maintains an attitude of optimism. But he admits his smile is a fa莽ade concealing his sadness.

鈥淔rom the beginning, it was rough,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just put a smile on my face, but I don鈥檛 talk to too many people. This is really, really hard. But I鈥檓 alive. I breathe every day. It鈥檚 up to me how I鈥檓 going to tackle these obstacles, and I try to be happy.鈥�

It鈥檚 been a shocking experience for Silva. Before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated deportation proceedings against him, he believed he was a U.S. citizen because of his father鈥檚 citizenship. So, when Silva was deported, he was stunned.

鈥淚 was scared, worried and nervous,鈥� he said. 鈥淣obody believed [deportation] would happen. Even I can鈥檛 get over it.鈥�

Before being deported, Silva had spent 30 months in ICE detention, most recently at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, He said that while some give up on their immigration claims, he decided to fight. He doesn鈥檛 want to give up.

鈥淚 always have high hopes,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t will take time and it might be a long process, but I know there will be a good outcome for me 鈥� and for the other men in my situation.鈥�

Betting on Congress

The Guyer Rule prevented U.S.-citizen fathers, but not U.S.-citizen mothers, from passing their citizenship status to foreign-born, nonmarital children. The rule disproportionately restricted how nonwhite parents could secure citizenship for their children 鈥� and for decades was maintained for just that reason. In short, U.S.-citizen fathers were discriminated against by the unfair denial of U.S. citizenship for their children born 鈥渙ut of wedlock.鈥�

The Guyer Rule from an 1864 Maryland court decision, Guyer v. Smith, in which the court ruled that two sons born overseas of a white U.S.-citizen father and a Black mother from St. Barth茅lemy were 鈥渘ot born in lawful wedlock鈥� and thus were not U.S. citizens. The Guyer Rule was subsequently incorporated into federal nationality laws, first through administrators鈥� policies and practices, and later by Congress through the

Although Black immigrants were eligible for naturalization starting in 1870, historical and legislative records show that lawmakers nevertheless worked to limit the number of people of color who could become U.S. citizens. Administrators and legislators accomplished this goal in a variety of ways, including , a racially discriminatory quota system and immigration preference categories that prioritized the 鈥渕arital鈥� family over other forms of familial arrangement, notably at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in most states.

In treating marriage as a prerequisite for fathers, but not mothers, to pass on their U.S. citizenship status to their foreign-born children, lawmakers were relying on the outdated stereotype that mothers have closer bonds with their nonmarital children than fathers.

Silva, however, only met his mother when he was 13 years old. His father and grandmother took care of him his entire life 鈥� not his mother. Simply put, because his parents never married, the law stopped Silva from becoming a U.S. citizen.

鈥淸The Guyer Rule] is not fair,鈥� Silva said. 鈥淚 went to school in the U.S., grew up over there, made friends, family. But here I know no one. It鈥檚 weird, it鈥檚 hard, it鈥檚 rough.鈥�

Congress partially remedied the unfairness of the Guyer Rule by passing the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, or CCA, which repealed the Guyer Rule. However, the CCA did not apply to people over the age of 18 when it passed 鈥� people like Silva.

Silva鈥檚 supporters and legal team hope that Congress will take swift action to make the CCA retroactive, which would allow him and other immigrants affected by the Guyer Rule to obtain citizenship.

鈥淭he goal of a nation鈥檚 citizenship laws should be to keep families together, not tear them apart,鈥� said Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Advancing Justice-Atlanta. 鈥淎s Congress implicitly recognized by passing the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, a parent鈥檚 marital status has nothing to do with the bond they have with their child.

鈥淪ilva asks the court to rectify the harm done by the Guyer Rule by extending him full U.S. citizenship. By doing so, the court would take one small but crucial step toward undoing the inequities, including the systemic racism, that plague this nation鈥檚 immigration laws.鈥�

鈥業鈥檓 a fighter鈥�

Silva is trying to find employment in the Dominican Republic as he hopes for his return to the U.S.

鈥淚鈥檓 a human being just like everybody else, and everybody deserves second chances,鈥� he said.

Silva truly misses his family. But, he said, 鈥渢hey belong in the U.S.鈥� Because of that 鈥� being separated from his children and grandchildren 鈥� Silva feels 鈥渞obbed.鈥�

鈥淭he ripping away of the families and lives of people who came to the U.S. as children simply because their parents were unmarried is an antiquated and immoral act of which all of us should be deeply ashamed,鈥� said Bacardi Jackson, interim deputy legal director for the 人兽性交鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Rights Practice Group. 鈥淪uch a cruel and unjust punishment for the crime of being born outside of European norms is all the more despicable for its uneven effect on Black and Brown families.鈥�

In the end, Silva knows he must persevere. As he tries to adapt to living in a country unknown to him, he leans on the support of members of his legal team, who reach out regularly to update him on his immigration case.

鈥淚鈥檓 taking it day by day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a fighter; I have to do what I have to do. 鈥� Everything is in God鈥檚 hands, and things happen for a reason.鈥�

Photo at top: The Stewart Detention Center, where Kelvin Silva was held, is seen through the front gate on Nov. 15, 2019, in Lumpkin, Georgia. (Credit: AP Photo/David Goldman)