Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Immigration and Citizenship

Using the Constitution’s text and history to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens and immigrants
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Eastern European Jewish war orphans arrive in the United States | American Jewish Joint Distribution Center

Summary

The Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause is one of the most important provisions of the Constitution, guaranteeing birthright citizenship. CAC uses this and other constitutional provisions, along with federal statutes, to ensure that the rights of all are secured.

Immigration and Citizenship in Brief

Naturalization ceremony in Atlanta, GA | David Lienemann, White House Archives

CAC fights in the courts and in the public square against continuing attacks on immigrants and their rights, the power of the federal government to regulate immigration, and the Constitution’s protection of birthright citizenship.

Featured Case

Immigration and Citizenship May 2, 2022

Keisy G.M. v. Decker

A provision of the immigration laws, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), directs immigration authorities to detain noncitizens with certain criminal convictions while their deportation proceedings are pending, regardless of whether the particular person detained actually can be shown to pose any risk of flight or danger to others. The deportation process can take months or years to carry out, particularly when individuals seek relief from deportation on the grounds that they will be persecuted or tortured if deported. After spending more than fourteen months in this type of immigration detention, the plaintiff in this case filed suit to challenge the constitutionality...

Case Timeline

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  • CAC files amicus curiae brief

Related Issue Areas

Civil and Human Rights See More
Criminal Justice See More