“Congress reasonably determined that the only way to prevent aliens convicted of felonies from repeating their crimes is to lock them up until they can be deported. In refusing to uphold that law, the lower courts forgot that the Constitution entrusts the regulation of immigration to Congress and the President, and assigns only the narrowest of roles to the Courts.”
—Richard Samp, WLF Chief Counsel
WASHINGTON, DC—Acting on behalf of a group of 15 Members of Congress, Washington Legal Foundation today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of a 1996 federal statute that requires the detention of several classes of aliens (including convicted felons) while they contest the government’s efforts to deport them. In a brief filed in Jennings v. Rodriguez, WLF argues that aliens being detained pending removal have an easy way of winning their immediate freedom: they can agree to leave the country.
WLF filed its brief on behalf of 15 Members of Congress: Robert Goodlatte, Andy Biggs, Scott DesJarlais, Trent Franks, Sam Graves, Lynn Jenkins, Walter Jones, Steve King, Doug Lamborn, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Roger Marshall, Michael McCaul, John Ratcliffe, Dana Rohrabacher, and Kevin Yoder. The Members’ brief argues that Congress reasonably concluded that unless criminal aliens are detained while they await removal, there exists too great a danger that they will abscond and/or commit new felonies. The brief asserts that courts ought to defer to that conclusion in light of their very limited role in immigration matters.
When the Supreme Court initially heard oral argument in this case in November 2016, it focused on whether the lower courts had misconstrued federal immigration statutes when they read into the law limitations on the detention of criminal aliens and newly arriving aliens who lack authorization to enter the country. The Court later expanded its inquiry to include the constitutionality of those statutes. It directed the parties to file supplemental briefs focused on whether prolonged detention of aliens pending completion of removal proceedings violates their constitutional rights to due process of law.
Upon filing its brief, WLF issued the following statement by Chief Counsel Richard Samp: “Congress reasonably determined that the only way to prevent aliens convicted of felonies from repeating their crimes is to lock them up until they can be deported. In refusing to uphold that law, the lower courts forgot that the Constitution entrusts the regulation of immigration to Congress and the President, and assigns only the narrowest of roles to the Courts. Such detention is always of limited duration: it ends as soon as the removal proceedings are completed.”