IMMIGRATION AGENCY OPPOSES CITIZENSHIP FOR VIJAI RAJAN
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
June 23, 2000

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA--The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service is
formally opposing moves to grant citizenship for a young woman because of
her developmental disabilities.

In a legal brief filed June 16 the INS said Vijai Rajan should not be made a
citizen because she "has failed to meet the statutory requirements of the
oath of allegiance ... essential to naturalization."

Vijai, 24, has cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, seizures and Crohn's
disease, uses a wheelchair and receives 24-hour care. She cannot recite or
raise her hand to take the oath that the INS requires. Officials also
believe she cannot understand the oath.

Vijai was born in India and brought to the United States as an infant. When
she turned 18, her parents, who both are U.S. citizens, helped her apply for
citizenship. But the application and an appeal were denied by INS officials
who cited the "applicant's inability to comprehend the oath of allegiance
due to medical certified condition" as the reason for rejecting the case.

The woman's family filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the agency
in April. Rajan's attorney, Philip Abramowitz, told the Associated Press on
Thursday, "I think Congress, when it passed the law, didn't realize that it
was discriminating against a number of individuals so disabled that they
can't take the oath. I am asking the INS to make an exception and naturalize
her."

In May, Senator Diane Feinstein, D-California, introduced legislation in the
Senate that would allow Vijai to become a U.S. citizen. Representative
Christopher Cox, R-California, submitted a similar bill in the House of
Representatives. Both bills are pending.
----
Dave Reynolds, Editor
Inclusion Daily Express
Disability Rights Email News Service
[log in to unmask]
Sign up for a two-week free trial at
http://www.InclusionDaily.com