A Federal Court in the United States has Struck Down a Statute Prohibiting Deported Migrants from Re-entering the Country

A Federal Court in the United States has Struck Down a Statute Prohibiting Deported Migrants from Re-entering the Country

As a breach of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment, Chief Judge Miranda Du of the District of Nevada struck down 8 USC 1326 (a) &(b), which criminalizes the re-entry of migrants who have previously been deported from the US.

The court held that Section 1326 was enacted with a discriminatory intent and had a disparate impact on Latinx people, and the government failed to show that the statute would have been passed if it hadn't been for racial animus. The court determined that Section 1326 was created with a discriminatory purpose after reviewing the historical backdrop, legislative history, and other circumstances in Arlington Heights, a previous immigration case.

Finally, the court held that later changes to Section 1326 did not mitigate the discriminatory aim of the legislation, but rather served to strengthen its deterrent impact by gradually raising criminal penalties for migrants who re-entered the US after being deported. Former President Donald Truman rejected the 1952 revisions because he was worried about their racial connotations.