Frost on Weil on Denaturalization and the Supreme Court: Maslenjak v. United States
Amanda Frost on SCOTUSBlog looks at Maslenjak v. United States, in which the Supreme Court will decide whether the government can revoke naturalization based on immaterial false statements made during the naturalization process. She states that “[a]lthough the issue is primarily one of statutory interpretation, major constitutional questions lurk beneath the surface. As Patrick Weil explains in his fascinating book, “The Sovereign Citizen: Denaturalization and the Origins of the American Republic,” 50 years ago the Supreme Court put a stop to the government’s once-common practice of denaturalization, and in the process `redefin[ed] the country’s understanding of sovereignty and citizenship.’ The court’s decision in Maslenjak is likely to be informed by this legal and historical precedent.”
KJ