US citizen born in refugee camp seeks court order to marry

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana man who was born in an Indonesian refugee camp is asking a federal judge to immediately block enforcement of a state law that prevents him and other immigrants from getting married because they can’t produce birth certificates.

A court filing Friday by attorneys for Lafayette resident Viet “Victor” Anh Vo asks for a preliminary injunction that would allow him and others to obtain marriage licenses.

Vo originally sued in November to challenge recent changes in the state’s marriage laws. The legislation’s Republican sponsor said it was designed to crack down on people using sham marriages to gain visas and citizenship.

But Vo’s suit claims the law violates his constitutional rights and discriminates against foreign-born people. Vo, a U.S. citizen, doesn’t have any official record of his 1985 birth. TVJ