Jermaine Thomas, who was born in 1986 on a U.S. Army base in Germany to a father who had become a naturalized U.S. citizen, was deported to Jamaica last month, according to The Austin Chronicle.
Newsweek has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and several immigration legal experts for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Thomas’ deportation comes amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, with people residing in the country illegally as well as immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, having been detained, and many deported.
The Trump administration has deported multiple individuals to countries where they did not hold citizenship, despite family ties in those nations.
Ending automatic birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment has been a focus for the Trump administration. The president signed an executive order restricting birthright citizenship, but the policy was initially blocked by a nationwide injunction.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal judges cannot issue national injunctions, clearing the way for some states to move forward with measures limiting birthright citizenship. The ruling did not address the legality of the executive order itself.
What To Know
Thomas’ citizenship status has been in question for decades, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) having issued a “Notice to Appear and Additional Charges of Inadmissibility/Deportability” in 2013, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.
He was born to an active-duty member of the U.S. Army stationed on a U.S. base in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1986. Court documents from 2015 state that “Thomas’s father first entered the United States in September 1977, enlisted in the United States Army in 1979, and became a United States citizen in May 1984.” Thomas’ mother, who was married to his father at the time of birth, was a citizen of Kenya.
Margaret Stock, a lawyer who specializes in immigration and military law, told Newsweek in a phone interview Saturday that citizenship status for babies born on overseas military bases can be “really complicated” and depend on a range of factors including marriage status, parental citizenship status and length of residency, paperwork, and more.
Children born on U.S. military bases overseas do not get automatic citizenship, but they typically acquire citizenship through their parents if eligibility requirements are met and proper paperwork is filed. Stock said typically they have to go to the State Department and file certain applications to obtain a “Consular Report of Birth Abroad.”
“Thomas was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in July 1989. His visa form listed his nationality as Jamaican,” the 2015 court filing noted. Thomas moved around the U.S. a bit from bases and ended up settling in Texas when he was older.
The Fifth Circuit ruled against Thomas, finding that he was not born “in the United States” and therefore the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause did not apply to his case. The Supreme Court declined to review the decision, leaving the deportation order in place.
The court documents also note that “Petitioner has been convicted of several crimes in the United States, including theft and domestic assault causing bodily injury.” The filing notes that due to his criminal background, the DHS initiated removal proceedings.
Thomas does not hold citizenship in Germany or Jamaica, The Austin Chronicle reported. With the U.S. also denying his claim to citizenship, he is effectively stateless.
“There’s going to be a lot of people getting deported who are stateless, and a lot of people born on military bases overseas,” Stock told Newsweek.
Thomas told The Austin Chronicle that he was arrested earlier this year after he was evicted from his apartment and moving stuff onto the lawn with his dog. Killeen police said he was arrested for suspected trespassing. He says he spent a month in jail and then was transferred to ICE detention centers.
He told The Austin Chronicle he was deported to Jamaica in late May.
What People Are Saying
Jermaine Thomas told The Austin Chronicle: “If you’re in the U.S. Army, and the Army deploys you somewhere, and you’ve gotta have your child over there, and your child makes a mistake after you pass away, and you put your life on the line for this country, are you going to be okay with them just kicking your child out of the country?”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday: “Coming to America and receiving a visa or green card is a privilege. Our laws and values must be respected. If you advocate for violence, endorse or support terrorist activity, or encourage others to do so, you are no longer eligible to stay in the U.S.”
What Happens Next?
It is unclear if there will be any other legal proceedings in Thomas’ case, which brings birthright citizenship to the forefront. The Court’s ruling allows the Trump administration to issue guidance on how the executive order on birthright citizenship can be implemented, which can now happen in 30 days.
The executive order could still face challenges, with at least two attempts at class action lawsuits filed later Friday.
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