Dependents of H-1bs and students; Social Security numbers; Nonworking numbers; Illinois drivers' licenses

The Social Security Administration now refuses Social Security cards and numbers to almost all persons lawfully in the United States, but without permission to work. This includes families of students and of H-1b workers. In Illinois, this means the person cannot get an Illinois driver's license, and other states have similar rules.

Three years ago, G.T. Hunt brought a suit which temporarily ameliorated this problem, Iyengar v. Barnhart , 233 F.S. 2d 5 (D.C., 2002). In that suit Hunt got the ban on nonworking SSNs postponed till after the Social Security administration would go through a formal rulemaking. That has been done, and the formal rule went into effect October 27, 2003, 68 FR 55304-55308, despite almost unanimous opposition in the comments submitted.

Hunt is preparing further litigation on behalf of those refused Social Security numbers and licenses, and would like to hear from anyone caught in that Catch-22 bind, in Illinois or elsewhere. Meanwhile, he is largely preoccupied with a habeas corpus trying to free a Pakistani businessman from Guantanamo.

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Literature:

Read Hunt's father's 1943 manuscript, City of Masterless Men by Gaillard Hunt (1903-1949), a story of Washington in the 1930s, a slice-of-life novel in the manner of John Dos Passos.

And Halcyon Days by Susan Hunt, a novel of the home front in World War II, and of childhood in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Nuclear Policy:

Read Hunt's comments on the cancellation of the Enola Gay exhibit at the Air and Space Museum, titled "Massacre at the Smithsonian," in four segments, 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The World Court, the International Court of Justice at the Hague, the ICJ, has ruled that use of atomic or nuclear weapons would be generally illegal under international law. Here is G. T. Hunt's analysis of that ruling.

Hunt believes that nuclear weapons were not perceived to violate international law as it stood when they were first used. Subsequent developments -- most dramatically, the irradiation of the Lucky Dragon in 1954 -- changed that perception. Hunt's history of this change provides the background to the ICJ ruling.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Memories and Questions: Congregational Resources for the Anniversary of the Atomic Destruction of Two Japanese Cities, by G.T. Hunt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishers, 1995). Contains a church skit in which Einstein, Oppenheimer, and others debate the use of the bomb; an order of service; and materials for Sunday schools or discussion groups.

Text of the Court's Opinion, "Legality of the Use of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflicts."

"Judgment Day at World Court: Nuclear Weapon States Brought to Book," by Commander Robert Green, RN (Retired), World Court Project UK.

International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Gewaltfreie Aktion Atomwafen Abschaffen, Kornwestheim, Germany.

WorldCourt Project, UK.

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Vietnam era history:

From 1969 to 1972, Hunt litigated for Selective Service and military objectors. Here is a summary of the papers from that practice, which he has deposited with the Swarthmore College Peace Collection.

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Other Matters:

Hunt is attempting to gather statistics on the actual ordination rates of various denominations, and to post the information on a web page, for the benefit of seminarians and anyone considering investing time and money in a theological education.