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The Supreme Court Has Already Ruled on Due Process Rights for Illegal Aliens

5/19/2025

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President Trump likes to pretend that he's the first person to ever think of denying due process to illegal aliens, but that's far from the case.  America's history is sadly replete with attempts to deny immigrants the equal protection of the law.  Fortunately, this is one area in which our Supreme Court has a remarkably good track record.  The Court has touched on the question of the rights due to illegal aliens on many occasions, and I've put together a small sample of their findings to help with refuting the claims made by Trump and his supporters.

"Once an alien enters the country, the legal circumstance changes, for the Due Process Clause applies to all "persons" within the United States, including aliens, whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary, or permanent."
- Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 US 678 - Supreme Court 2001

"Aliens who have once passed through our gates, even illegally, may be expelled only after proceedings conforming to traditional standards of fairness encompassed in due process of law."
- Shaughnessy v. U.S. ex rel. Mezei, 345 U.S. 206 - Supreme Court 1953

"The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is not confined to the protection of citizens. It says: "Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." These provisions are universal in their application, to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction, without regard to any differences of race, of color, or of nationality; and the equal protection of the laws is a pledge of the protection of equal laws."
- Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 US 356 - Supreme Court 1886

"Applying [Yick Wo v. Hopkins] to the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, it must be concluded that all persons within the territory of the United States are entitled to the protection guaranteed by those amendments, and that even aliens shall not be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law."
- Wong Wing v. United States, 163 US 228 - Supreme Court 1896

"Whatever his status under the immigration laws, an alien is surely a "person" in any ordinary sense of that term. Aliens, even aliens whose presence in this country is unlawful, have long been recognized as "persons" guaranteed due process of law by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments ... Indeed, we have clearly held that the Fifth Amendment protects aliens whose presence in this country is unlawful from invidious discrimination by the Federal Government."
- Plyler v. Doe, 457 US 202 - Supreme Court 1982

"Although Congress may prescribe conditions for [an alien's] expulsion and deportation, not even Congress may expel him without allowing him a fair opportunity to be heard. For example, he is entitled to a fair chance to prove mistaken identity ... While it may be that a resident alien's ultimate right to remain in the United States is subject to alteration by statute or authorized regulation ... it does not follow that he is thereby deprived of his constitutional right to procedural due process. His status as a person within the meaning and protection of the Fifth Amendment cannot be capriciously taken from him."
- Kwong Hai Chew v. Colding, 344 US 590 - Supreme Court 1953

This is just a tiny sample of a very lengthy list of opinions upholding the fact that even illegal aliens are entitled to the protections guaranteed by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Several of Trump's deportation policies are patently illegal, and the arguments made by Trump's attorneys have already been rejected by the courts multiple times in our nation's history.

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    Bill Fortenberry is a Christian philosopher and historian in Birmingham, AL.  Bill's work has been cited in several legal journals, and he has appeared as a guest on shows including The Dr. Gina Show, The Michael Hart Show, and Real Science Radio.

    Contact Us if you would like to schedule Bill to speak to your church, group, or club.

    "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 9:9)

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