The President recently suggested that due process does not apply to immigrants coming to the United States of America. The 14th Amendment states that: “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; 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.”
The language of “any person” has been well-established to include not only United States Citizens but also immigrants, including those here with documentation and those without proper documents.
The U.S. Supreme Court most recently addressed this topic when the Court ruled in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) that “due process” of the 14th Amendment applies to all aliens in the United States whose presence may be or is “unlawful, involuntary or transitory.” This built upon previous Supreme Court cases such as Plyler v. Doe (1982), Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886), and Wong Win v. United States (1896), all which establish precedent that due process is applicable every person in the United States and not just to U.S. Citizens.
Plyler v. Doe held that a Texas statute withholding state funds from local school districts for the education of children who were not “legally admitted” into the United States, and authorizing local school districts to deny enrollment to such children, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Wong Win v. United States held that the United States must provide for a judicial trial to establish guilt before subjecting aliens to infamous punishment at hard labor, or by confiscating their property.
Yick Wo v. Hopkins held that the guarantees of protection contained in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution extend to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, without regard to differences of race, color, or nationality.
Immigrants (both documented and undocumented) are entitled to Due Process under the United States Constitution.
If you are an immigrant (or anyone) and you encounter any government official, you have the right to remain silent and can refuse the search of yourself, your car or your residence. You have the right to leave if you are not under arrest and any government agent cannot enter your property without a warrant. You have the right to an attorney.
The recent rhetoric of the President does not negate the United States Constitution or hundreds of years of case law.
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