Stranded by Law: The Deportation of a Naturalized U.S. Soldier’s Son
When Jermaine Thomas was deported to Jamaica in 2025, it raised questions about how someone born on a U.S. Army base in West Germany and raised in Texas could lack U.S. citizenship. The case has drawn public attention due to the assumption that children born to U.S. soldiers abroad are automatically citizens. However, U.S. citizenship law imposes strict criteria, and Thomas was never legally a U.S. citizen.
Under 8 U.S.C. § 1401(g), in effect at the time of Thomas's birth in 1986, a child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one non-citizen parent could only acquire U.S. citizenship at birth if the U.S. citizen parent had been physically present in the United States for at least 10 years prior to the child’s birth, including at least 5 years after the age of 14. These years do not need to be consecutive, but they must be cumulative and lawfully present. Time spent serving abroad, including military service, does not count toward this requirement.
Thomas’s father was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the U.S. in 1977. He joined the U.S. Army in 1979 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in May 1984. Jermaine Thomas was born in August 1986. Because his father had only been physically present in the U.S. for about seven years prior to Jermaine’s birth, he did not meet the 10-year threshold required to transmit U.S. citizenship.
Had Thomas's father been born in the United States or immigrated earlier and lived in the U.S. for at least 10 cumulative years (with 5 after age 14), Jermaine would have acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. The distinction between native-born and naturalized citizens in this context is significant under the law.
Several hypothetical scenarios clarify this rule:
A U.S.-born parent who lived in the U.S. from birth to age 20 would meet the requirement.
An immigrant who came to the U.S. at age 5 and lived there through age 25 would also qualify.
A naturalized citizen who immigrated at 18 and had a child abroad 8 years later, as in Thomas's case, would not meet the requirement.
Jermaine Thomas entered the U.S. legally in 1989 as a lawful permanent resident. Despite growing up in Texas, he never acquired U.S. citizenship. Following multiple felony convictions, he became deportable under U.S. immigration law. In 2025, courts confirmed he had no legal claim to citizenship, and he was removed to Jamaica, his father's country of origin.
This case highlights a strict interpretation of U.S. nationality law, which applies uniform standards regardless of military service or upbringing. While some may view the outcome as harsh, the legal framework is based on measurable criteria established by statute. Whether or not reforms should be considered to address similar cases remains a matter of policy debate.