Brown Burke shouldn't hold appointment yet

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Dear Editor,

I have noted carefully the response of Senator Angella Brown Burke in regard to her dual citizenship status which, as she has admitted, would put her in breach of the Jamaican Constitution unless she has successfully and completely renounced her US citizenship prior to her appointment to the Jamaican Senate.

According to Brown Burke, having met with the United States Consular Services in Jamaica and completed the paperwork along with the Oath of Renunciation, she effectively renounced her US citizenship on her second meeting with the US Embassy on January 11, 2012, which would have preceded her senatorial appointment.

I am afraid that Brown Burke is either being disingenuous or ill-advised as to the process of renunciation. She has admitted to not yet being in receipt of her Certificate of Loss of Citizenship, and until that certificate is issued/received, after the US State Department adjudication process is successfully completed, she remains a US citizen.

US citizenship renunciation is a three-step process. First, there is the initial interview where the intended renunciant completes the necessary documents to start the renunciation process and is advised as to the effects of her so renouncing. Second, the final interview with the US Embassy is conducted where the formal renunciation process starts, after giving the applicant another opportunity to reconsider renunciation. At that stage, if the applicant decides to proceed, she, among other things, signs the renunciation papers and takes the Oath of Renunciation. Everything up to this point is essentially the application for renunciation and not any decision on renunciation.

Finally, the US Embassy forwards the completed documentation to the US State Department in Washington, DC, which has the final authority to either approve or reject the application for renunciation of citizenship. Approval could take up to several months, but hardly likely in less than three business days in Brown Burke's case (January 11 to 17, considering January 16 was a federal holiday in the United States and the senatorial appointment was made on the morning of January 17).

There have been occasions where the US State Department denied an application because of errors in the paperwork as done at the embassy or consulate, or misinterpretation of the applicant's reasons for renunciation, as found in the cases of Colon v US Department of State and Jose Fufi Santori v United States of America. If one's intentions are not clearly stated, the State Department could refuse to approve the renunciation.

Having regard to the foregoing, Brown Burke, admittedly not yet in receipt of or issued the Certificate of Loss of Citizenship, or the matter not yet being adjudicated by the US State Department, remains a US citizen and was so on the date of her appointment to the Jamaican Senate on January 17, 2012. As such, she has an obligation to demit said post, or Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who was a defender-in-chief of the Jamaican Constitution when Jamaica Labour Party members were so alleged to be in breach, must do the honourable thing and withdraw forthwith Brown Burke's appointment.

Kevin KO Sangster

sangstek@msn.com

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Brown Burke shouldn't hold appointment yet