Murphy v. Wilkinson

In Murphy v. Wilkinson, U.S. Army veteran Patrick Murphy, born in Mexico to an American citizen mother, challenged an order to deport him after he served prison time for criminal convictions. The Ninth Circuit held that he had never derived U.S. citizenship under the applicable statute, and that a criminal ground of deportability lawfully barred him from relief. Murphy petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision. On May 3, 2023, the Supreme Court denied his petition for a writ of certiorari, leaving the removal order intact. The decision cleared the way for the government to deport Murphy, drawing renewed focus on the intersection of criminal law, citizenship, and veterans’ rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on May 3, 2023, effectively upholding the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that Murphy is not a U.S. citizen and is removable to Mexico.

Whether Patrick Murphy acquired derivative U.S. citizenship at birth through his citizen parent, and whether applying a post-conviction statutory bar on citizenship to a veteran with a criminal record violates due process or retroactivity protections.

The case spotlighted the harsh immigration consequences faced by non-citizen military veterans, galvanizing advocacy for legislative remedies that would protect deported veterans and reconsider the relationship between criminal convictions and loss of citizenship rights.