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 June 23, 2023

United States v. Texas

On September 30, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memorandum to the Acting Director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The memo stated that because it is impossible for ICE officials to seek out all of the “more than 11 million undocumented or otherwise removable noncitizens” in the country, they should prioritize removing those individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety, or border security. The states of Texas and Louisiana filed a lawsuit challenging this guidance. In June of 2022, the Southern District Court of Texas held that the guidance is unlawful, and the Fifth...

Case Timeline

Current
  • Supreme Court issues its decision
    RELEASE: Supreme Court Decision Allows Administration to Prioritize Certain Noncitizens for Immigration Enforcement, as Presidential Administrations...
  • Supreme Court hears oral arguments
  • CAC files amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of a group of former officials of DHS and INS

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