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 Americans and immigrants are secured.

Immigration and Citizenship in Brief

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

The Trump administration, through its Muslim travel ban, has shown a disregard for the Constitution and a willingness to write discrimination into our laws. CAC, in these cases and elsewhere, fights to ensure that such attacks do not succeed.

Featured Case

Immigration and Citizenship April 25, 2018

Hawaii v. Trump

On January 27, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order that, among other things, banned individuals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – all majority Muslim countries – from entering the United States.  On March 6, 2017, President Trump issued a second order, which made a number of minor revisions, but continued to discriminate against and target Muslims. A federal district court in Hawaii issued preliminary injunctive relief preventing enforcement of Trump’s revised order, and the Trump Administration sued.  CAC filed a friend-of-the court brief on behalf of members of Congress urging the court of appeals to...

Case Timeline

Current
  • The Court hears oral argument
  • CAC files amicus brief in the Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court grants government’s petition for certiorari

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