Rico-Ibarra

MEMORANDUM **

Following the initiation of removal proceedings, Petitioner Juan Rico-Ibarra sought to establish derivative citizenship through his mother. The immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals found that Petitioner was not eligible for derivative citizenship and was removable. Before this court, Petitioner argues that the two derivative citizenship provisions at issue — Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 301(g), 8 U.S.C. § 1401 (g) (1956), and INA § 309(c), 8 U.S.C. § 1409 (c) (2004) — violate the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. We deny the petition for review.

The relevant version of INA § 301(g) grants citizenship to the foreign-born child of a citizen mother who, at the time of the child’s birth, had been physically present in the United States for a period of ten years, at least five of which had been after the age of fourteen. 1 Petitioner fails to *696 qualify for citizenship under this provision because his mother was fifteen at the time of his birth and therefore had not been physically present in the United States for at least five years after the age of fourteen. Petitioner contends that this provision violates his and his…