Plenary Power: Should Judges Control U.S. Immigration Policy?
Feere, John
Center for Immigration Studies, March 3, 2009, 20p
"Federal policy on immigration has been founded on the “plenary power doctrine,” which holds that the political branches — the legislative and the executive — have sole power to regulate all aspects of immigration as a basic attribute of sovereignty. But despite the fact that the courts have affirmed the plenary power doctrine countless times since the 19th century, there is a movement underway to erode political-branch control over immigration in favor of a judge-administered system based on the implicit idea that foreigners have a “right” to immigrate. This Backgrounder examines the history of the doctrine, the challenges to it launched by supporters of mass immigration, and some possible responses."
John Feere is a legal policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Go to the report at:
http://www.cis.org/articles/2009/back209.pdf
E7/02-09, Posted March 18, 2009 |
