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-~ -The Rio Rico Defetzseby Andy NoguerasiM,: i\'ogrterns hns been nnAssistmt Feder~~lP~ibIicDefe~ider for thepost 12yenrs, the Inst three iniMcAilen, fe,~(s. As (1 defeuderof imiige~~t i~~diuiii~iflls, be isresponsible for defendi~~gP"aofls ciWFdlvit~, f l j j / Wothers, illegril re-eutries,drugs, cn~j~ickirrgs,l~nk robberies nrrdfini~d 1111: i\'og~ierns is feotiirednbowli~it his benritiJid ruif, t?nrb(ir(i, (lnd thq8 h~il:e three childre~n.II. HISTORY 01 RIO RICO.In 1884, the United Srates and hlerico ratified the fieay ofGuadah~pe Hidalgo wluch establisl~etl the Rio G~mde riw as the internationalboonda~y line behveen both countries. It \vas agreed Illatboundaly lines could change if the river ch:o~ged in a i~atulxl n~a~~nerHistorical records dating back to 1848, establish that tl~e Rio Grande hasReent~y cases are the bread and butter of publicdefenders and many defense cou~~sel in the private seclor withi~~~lnigratiol~ experience. \Ve see tl~em by tl~e thossa~~ds to thepoint of monotosy in the i\lcrica~~-A111erica11 bordels. The caseI;w is scarce and usually bad. In spite of this, defe~~se cou~~selshould be alert to a son~ctin~es overlooked and not well kno~vndefense Illat can defeat this lye of cliarge. I call it the Rio Ricodefense.I. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIPArticle 14, scctio~~ 1 of the United States Co~~stitutionstates in part Illat "All pcrso~is bur11 or natur;diletl in the UnitedSrates, and subject to the jurisdiction tl~ereof, are citizens of theUnited States and of the State wl~erein they reside."The first part of section 1 seems quite sia~ple. If you are bornUI any one of the fifty states, yo11 are a United States citizen Aperson n ~ also q l~are a derivative clai~u to United States citizenslup bywayof his parents or grandparents if they were borl~ in the United States orxere i~aturalized. See 8 U.S.C. § 1401. Ilo\vever, nliat I~appens NIICII).our client is bon~ south of the Kio Grnndein what appears to be Mesicansoil, and ludter birth certificate is issued by the Kepublic of Mexico, butyou are told that it is United Stites territoly? \Veil, this is eaactlywlllat 11appenedto lile recentlywl~en I ~vas appointed to represent hll: Juan Garcia-Guerrero, w11o had beell cl~argcd under 8 U.S.C. $ 1325 (a misdemeanor)with entering the United States (Hidalgo Cueor); Texas) thmugha place lot tlesig~~ated by the 1111nugratio11 and Nahlrlizatio~l Senice (hecrossed the river). You see, according lo Mr. Garcia-Guerrero's 11irtl1certiGcale, he \\as born in "R~ncho El Ilorco~~", Tmaulipns, blesico, in1946. Ho\\wer, since 1884 lltis 413 acre parcel of land south of the KioGmde has bee11 in fact part of Texas a~td the United Slates.shifted its course continuo~~sly Some parts of the river cut into Texas,wl~ile anotl~er portio~l c11b tl~rougl~ Ta~~maulipxs, hlesico.l\w~ty-tw (22) years later, in 1906, a private krigntion conpangin Texas k11o\\'11 as he Kio Gnnde Land and lrrigatio~~ Compan~ illegallyaltered the ~nateral course of the river in order lo il~stall an irrigntionPIIIII~ station As a result of this illegal act, a pa11 of United States territo~y(about 413 acres) was cut off RII~ was accessible only tl~rougl~hiesican territol): This part of land is know as "Rancl~o El Horcolt". TheDeparln~ent of Justice sued the irrigation compmy 011 bel~alf of the affectedblesican fanners and obtained a judgment $17,500.00, wl~ich ll~econlpatty pud. All said and done, evel-jone went their sepamte \vqs and11ot11ing was done to rectily the illegal act xtd reestal~lisl~ the origi11:rl nat-~iral course of tlie river,