Fourteenth Amendment Commons^™

Decoupling 'Terrorist' From 'Immigrant': An Enhanced Role For The Federal Courts Post 9/11, Victor C. Romero

Victor C. Romero

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft has utilized the broad immigration power ceded to him by Congress to ferret out terrorists among noncitizens detained for minor immigration violations. Such a strategy provides the government two options: deport those who are not terrorists, and then prosecute others who are. While certainly efficient, using immigration courts and their less formal due process protections afforded noncitizens should trigger greater oversight and vigilance by the federal courts for at least four reasons: First, while the legitimate goal of immigration law enforcement is deportation, Ashcroft's true objective in targeting …

Congruence Principle Applied: Rethinking Equal Protection Review Of Federal Alienage Classifications After Adanrand Constructors, Inc. V. Peña, Victor C. Romero

Victor C. Romero

This article suggests that the Supreme Court's 1995 decision in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña constitutes a starting point for a renewed dialogue on the intersection of race, noncitizens' rights, and immigration law. Part I of this Article examines the historical foundations of the plenary power doctrine up to the current dichotomy between judicial review of state and federal alienage classifications under equal protection. Part II reviews the Adarand decision, arguing that Justice O'Connor's congruence principle provides the bulwark for a revision of judicial review of federal legislation, especially in light of the historical and continuing perception of Asian- and …

Equal Protection Held Hostage: Ransoming The Constitutionality Of The Hostage Taking Act, Victor C. Romero

Victor C. Romero

This Article contends that, following the Supreme Court's lead in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña and City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Centers, Inc., the continuing maltreatment of noncitizens in this country requires that federal alienage classifications be reviewed with the same strict, or at least heightened rational basis, scrutiny applied to state legislation. Part II of this Article describes the 1979 Hostage Taking Convention and sets forth some of its provisions in an effort to better understand the impetus for the HTA. Part III examines the legislative history of the HTA and briefly describes the Yunis case as the …

Elusive Equality: Reflections On Justice Field’S Opinions In Chae Chan Ping And Fong Yue Ting, Victor C. Romero

Victor C. Romero

For immigration scholars, Justice Field is perhaps best remembered for his majority opinion in Chae Chan Ping v. United States, the Supreme Court’s decision upholding Chinese exclusion, and credited for introducing the plenary power doctrine to immigration law. Yet, despite the opinion’s xenophobic rhetoric reflecting his personal views of the Chinese, Justice Field dissented in Fong Yue Ting v. United States, reasoning that, once they became lawful residents, the Chinese were entitled to be treated as equals under the law regardless of citizenship, a position supported by his earlier federal circuit court opinion in Ho Ah Kow v. …

Punitive Injunctions, Nirej S. Sekhon

Nirej Sekhon

No abstract provided.

Preemption By Fiat: The Department Of Labor's Usurpation Of Power Over Noncitizen Workers' Right To Unemployment Benefits, Irene Scharf

Irene Scharf

This Article starts with the premise that the right to unemployment insurance benefits is a property right protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which apply to noncitizen unemployment applicants as well as to United States citizens. Given this assumption, certain actions being taken by the United States Department of Labor ("DOL") violate both procedural and substantive due process as well as the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). The challenged actions involve the DOL's issuance of internally-created missives, termed Unemployment Insurance Program Letters ("Program Letters"), that purport to interpret the meaning of a requirement under federal …

Foreign In A Domestic Sense: American Samoa And The Last U.S. Nationals, Sean Morrison

Sean Morrison

Citizenship is part of the foundation of being American. Yet the United States treats some of its own as second class citizens. Deep in the South Pacific, forgotten amidst the vast ocean and coconuts, is a small series of islands that represent the only U.S. jurisdiction below the Equator. American Samoa remains the last American territory that does not recognize its inhabitants as citizens. For more than a century, American Samoans have fought American wars, pledged allegiance to the American flag, and played a significant amount of American football, yet are categorized as U.S. nationals rather than citizens.

Recently, some …

Wrongs Against Immigrants' Rights: Why Terminating The Parental Rights Of Deported Immigrants Raises Constitutional And Human Rights Concerns, Rachel C. Zoghlin

Rachel Claire Zoghlin

Since President Barack Obama first took office in January 2009, his administration has made immigration enforcement a top priority. In 2012, the U.S. government spent more money to deport immigrants – $18 billion – than on the FBI, Secret Service, DEA, U.S. Marshal Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms combined. Since January 2009, the Obama administration has removed over 2.2 million immigrants. Of the over 211,000 individuals deported between January and June of 2011, nearly 22% (over 46,000) are parents of U.S.-citizen children. One collateral consequence of these deportations is that over 5,100 children have been placed …

From Plyler To Arizona: Have The Courts Forgotten About Corfield V. Coryell?, John Eastman

John C. Eastman

The U.S. Constitution assigns plenary authority to determination naturalization policy to the Congress. Yet increasingly the Courts have undermined Congress's policy judgments with invented constitutional rights. This article explores how the Courts have enhanced the three principal magnets to illegal immigration and thereby undermined congressional policy: employment; education and other social services; and citizenship itself.

The Reactionary Road To Free Love: How Doma, State Marriage Amendments And Social Conservatives Undermine Traditional Marriage, Scott Titshaw

Scott Titshaw

Much has been written about the possible effects on different-sex marriage of legally recognizing same-sex marriage. This article looks at the defense of marriage from a different angle: It shows how rejecting same-sex marriage results in political compromise and the proliferation of “marriage light” alternatives (e.g., civil unions, domestic partnerships, or reciprocal beneficiaries) that undermine the unique status of marriage for everyone. In the process, it examines several aspects of the marriage debate in detail. After describing the flexibility of marriage as it has evolved over time, the article focuses on recent state constitutional amendments attempting to stop further development. …

Judicial Re-Use:«Codification» Or Return Of Hegelism? The Comparative Arguments In The “South” Of The World, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.

Idee Di Giustizia E Tradizioni Giuridiche, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.

Circolazione Coloniale Del Costituzionalismo, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.

Semantica Storica Dei Formanti Giuridici, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.

Draconian Discrimination: One Man's Battle With U.S. Immigration Law For Fairness, Justice, And American Citizenship, Rachel C. Zoghlin

Rachel Claire Zoghlin

“I was born into my father’s arms,” David responded emphatically when I asked him about his relationship with his mother. David’s father, Ronald, has been his teacher, his guardian, his provider, and his support for his entire life. He taught David to be strong and gentle, proud and humble. David inherited Ronald’s kind eyes, his honest nature, his palpable presence, and his immovable strength. The first, last, and only time David met his mother was on January 23, 1965 – the day he was born. Ronald raised two children, David and his sister Roxanne, as a single parent.

When David …

The Central American Constitutional Identity. A Study Of The Constitutional Imitation Phenomenon In The Integration Process Of The Region, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.

The Central American Constitutional Identity, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.

Is “Transnational” Constitutional Law Possible?, Prof. Michele Carducci

Michele Carducci Prof.

No abstract provided.