There’s a lot of confusion these days about what rights immigrants to this country have if they aren’t U.S. citizens (and even if they are). When immigrants don’t have valid visas or are here without any documentation, there’s a widespread belief that they have no constitutional rights at all. A lot of people think that constitutional rights are only for U.S. citizens.
However, everyone who lives in this country does indeed have certain constitutional rights. The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has made a number of rulings on this subject, including those introduced below.
Key Supreme Court rulings
Back in 1903, SCOTUS ruled that “an alien who has entered the country, and has become subject in all respects to its jurisdiction” couldn’t be deported without an “opportunity to be heard upon the questions involving his right to be and remain in the United States.”
In a later ruling, SCOTUS determined that anyone who enters the U.S. legally and takes up residence here “becomes invested with the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all people within our borders.”
The high court has also ruled that even if someone enters the U.S. illegally, they “may be expelled only after proceedings conforming to traditional standards of fairness encompassed in due process of law” under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Ties to family and community may be considered
Yet, oftentimes, the practical effects of the rights of immigrants – particularly those who are undocumented – rest in the hands of individual judges who make decisions based on an immigrant’s ties to the U.S. and to their own community. Those with spouses and children who are U.S. citizens are often given greater leniency, for example. However, nothing is guaranteed.
Former President Joe Biden sought to implement a program that let undocumented people in long marriages to U.S. citizens seek legal status without having to leave the country and then return. However, it didn’t hold up to legal challenges.
Now more than ever, it’s crucial for everyone who has relocated to the U.S. from another country to know and protect their legal rights. It’s also important for their loved ones who are U.S. citizens (whether by birth or naturalization) to know and stand up for those rights. An important first step in protecting yourself or a loved one is to get experienced legal guidance.
