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Immigration – Asylum

By: Derek Hawkins//March 12, 2018//

Immigration – Asylum

By: Derek Hawkins//March 12, 2018//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: John Doe v. Eric Holcomb

Case No.: 17-1756

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and FLAUM and KANNE, Circuit

Judges.

Focus: Immigration – Asylum          

John Doe, whose legal name is Jane Doe, is a transgender man residing in Marion County, Indiana. Though Doe is originally from Mexico, the United States granted him asylum in 2015 because of the persecution he might face in Mexico for being transgender. But this suit arises out of Doe’s treatment in the United States. He alleges that he faces harassment and discrimination in the United States when he gives his legal name or shows his identification bearing it to others. Consequently, Doe seeks to legally change his name from Jane to John so that his name conforms to his gender identity and physical appearance, which are male.

Doe asserts that the Indiana statute governing name changes is unconstitutional because it requires name‐change petitioners to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Ind. Code § 34‐28‐2‐2.5(a)(5) (2016). As an asylee, Doe can’t provide such proof. He brought this case against the Governor and Attorney General of Indiana, the Marion County Clerk of Court, and the Executive Director of the Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration in their official capacities. He seeks a declaration that the citizenship requirement violates his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and an injunction to prevent the defendants from enforcing it.

The district court dismissed Doe’s case against all the defendants for lack of standing after the defendants filed motions to dismiss for lack of subject‐matter jurisdiction. Doe appeals. We review the district court’s dismissal de novo, accepting well‐pleaded allegations as true and drawing reasonable inferences in favor of Doe. See Lewert v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., 819 F.3d 963, 966 (7th Cir. 2016); Evers v. Astrue, 536 F.3d 651, 656 (7th Cir. 2008). We affirm.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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