Supreme Court strikes down citizenship rule

Rules mothers, fathers must be treated equally

WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of an immigration law that treats fathers and mothers differently when it comes to conferring citizenship on children.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the 1940s-era law “stunningly anachronistic” in the way it stereotypes men and women. Her opinion cites several discrimination cases that she argued before the high court for the principle that having one rule for mothers and another for fathers is unconstitutional.

But in a twist, the ruling failed to provide relief to Luis Ramon Morales-santana, the New York resident who challenged the law. The court said tougher standards for attaining citizenship should apply to everyone.

The ruling affects a law that applies to children born abroad to one parent who is an American and one who isn’t.

Under the law, a child born outside the United States to an unwed citizen father and a noncitizen mother can become a U.S. citizen at birth if the father lived in the U.S. for five years, with at least two of those years coming after the age of 14. But an American mother must only have lived in the U.S. continuously for one year.

A challenge came from Moralessantana, who was born in the Dominican Republic to an unwed U.S. citizen father and a Dominican mother. He asserted he was a U.S. citizen after authorities sought to deport him. But his father did not satisfy the five-year requirement.

Ginsburg said the law was based on flawed and outdated assumptions: “In marriage, husband is dominant, wife subordinate; unwed mother is the natural and sole guardian of a nonmarital child.”

Ginsburg said the gender line Congress drew “is incompatible with the Constitution’s guarantee of the equal protection of the laws.”

But Ginsburg said the five-year period should continue to apply to both mothers and fathers until Congress decides on a different length.

In other action Monday, the Supreme Court:

■ Ruled unanimously in favor of generic drug maker Sandoz in its dispute with Amgen over a nearcopy of Amgen’s cancer drug Neupogen. The case involves biologics — drugs made from living cells. The drugs have led to major advances in treating diseases, but come at steep prices.

■ Left in place a lower court ruling that said $18 million gained by former Qwest Communications International Inc. CEO Joseph Nacchio from illegal stock sales was not tax deductible.

Nacchio was convicted in 2007 of selling $52 million in stock of Qwest based on inside information. He was ordered to forfeit $44 million and to pay a $19 million fine. He also was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.