Describe your understanding of what citizenship is.

Apply that to the following hypothetical factual scenario:

a.Antonia "Toni" Shehu is a nineteen-month-old girl who was born in Texas to Albanistanian parents who legally entered the United States (US) while they both attended university. Unfortunately, Toni's parents forgot to renew their visas in their excitement as new first-time parents. As a result, they unintentionally overstayed their authorized time in the US. To make matters worse though, Toni's mother was recently killed in a car accident.

b.Toni is presently being cared for by her father, Alix, who recently received notice that he is scheduled for a deportation hearing next month. Scared, Alix came to your law firm to find out what to do.

c.Your boss, the attorney who met with Alix, has asked you to do some quick legal research to determine the very narrow question of whether either Alix or Toni qualify as citizens of the United States. What answer would you provide to your boss? What is the basis for your explanation?

Explain what access to justice issues are related to this sort of modern citizenship question, and make suggestions about how to reduce the legal burdens associated with such problems.