Immigration is one of the key controversies dividing the United States. The branches of government have varying duties in relation to immigration within their domains. The Executive is in charge of enforcing the laws made in relation to immigration. The Legislature is responsible for making laws that guide how immigration should take place. Judiciary helps in the interpretation of the constitutions and the laws made concerning immigration. These three branches agree to immigration to a certain extent and differ in some cases. The work below will compare and contrast the roles of the legislature, executive and judiciary branches on immigration.
The United States has been open to immigrants from different parts of the world, offering them refugee from their states. However, more people have been moving to America, creating excess population. There are rules implemented to determine how immigration will be done, to ensure that America is helping refugees and same time maintaining manageable populations in the states. The Declaration of Independence has addressed immigration directly. The executive branch is in charge of interpreting these laws. According to the Declaration, immigration should be limited due to the excess population United States may end up accumulating, and thus, the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners has been obstructed (Stock, 2015). The Constitution has not addressed immigration sufficiently as the only thing indicated is limiting the power of Congress in limiting the migration of slaves. However, Congress has also been given the power of so that it can create a uniform rule of naturalization. Since Congress is found in the Executive branch, it means that it has the power to set the standards that should be met by the immigrants to be granted citizenship.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Supreme Court was placed in charge of establishing the way immigration power should be allocated among Judiciary, Executive and Legislature branches after the Constitution was ratified. Absolute power over immigration was awarded to the Executive and Congress, as indicated in the “plenary power” doctrine. However, the doctrine is not found in the Constitution, but according to the Supreme Court, Congress can make discriminatory immigration laws. After various years, the Court indicated that Congress could delegate immigration authority to Executive Branch. The Executive branch can make decisions on different cases such as whether a person can reside in the United States when they do not qualify for a visa. The other power is determining where deportation of certain individuals should be deferred. Executive can also make decisions on temporary protection of foreigners and whether certain persons are allowed to work in the United States.
Congress has been able to delegate its power to the president. President Obama and Trump have been using their powers in making immigration decisions. Trump, for instance, created an immigration ban from seven Middle East countries citing security reasons. Many people disagreed with Trump, indicating that such a ban could affect business, tourism and education. President Obama also made an immigration policy, where he indicated that deporting of undocumented people under the age of thirty would be stopped. Most Americans have always been against immigrants, which mean Obama faced criticism from political sides. The presidents made immigration decisions which they feel are best suited for the nations. These immigration powers can only be removed if Congress were to amend the “plenary power” document that grants authority to other branches (Cox & Rodríguez, 2009).
The legislature has been involved in making laws used in regulating immigration. The laws are made in a way that they are uniform with the state laws to avoid confusion that would be associated with each state deciding to offer citizenship to the immigrants. The laws made by the legislature, however, are universal and each state can make decisions on their own regarding how to handle the immigrants. The reasons for immigration also determine how Congress will regulate immigration. However, this reason was applied in the past when the slave trade still existed, and slaves were imported in America for commercial purposes, thus had to settle in the states. Congress was granted this power over migration and importation by the Constitution in Article 1 and 9, clause 1 (Pillard & Aleinikoff, 1998). The Congress has also been granted the War Power by Article I, § 8, clause 11, where it can decide on exclusion and expulsion of alien enemies.
The federal government has been awarded specific powers to regulate immigration. There clauses which make it possible are Naturalization, Commerce and War, which state that the federal government has the right to regulate non-citizens. Since the federal government is in charge of the welfare of the states, it is thus in charge of regulating international affairs, immigration being one of them. The federal power in the regulation of immigration has been made possible through the combination of constitutional and international legal principals. One of the cases is the Chinese Exclusion Case, where the federal government was allowed to exclude the immigrants in case of national sovereignty, as a way of protecting national public interests (Pillard & Aleinikoff, 1998). The Fong Yue Ting v. United States case allowed the federal government to deport or excel from the states.
The Legislature was in charge of internal affairs. Some affairs, however, such as immigration can be looked into from different angles. Since Judiciary interprets the Constitution, the importance of regulating immigration, to ensure that a certain number of immigrants are allowed in the state is done. According to the Constitution, a nation should be self-preserved so that it can be sovereign, and it is only possible through creating and protecting borders from external interference. The states are required to vet the immigrants to establish their importance and values they will be bringing to America, to ensure that only the beneficial immigrants are given a pass.
Immigrants have been considered both essential and harmful to American society. They are associated with readily available labor, thus boosting the economy. However, they create a struggle for available resources such as healthcare and education, and that reduces the quality of the services (Jiménez, 2017). The Legislature, Judiciary and Executive branches working together is a way of solving the issues of illegal and excess immigrants, regulating it in a way that immigration has limitations.
The Legislature, Executive and Judiciary have the main goal of protecting the interests of Americans in regards to immigration. Powers have been delegated to the Congress, which in turn empowers the president to make immigration decisions best suited for the states. The three branching working together in regulating immigration is meant to achieve national identity. The Legislature makes the laws which will promote the welfare of the Americans; the Judiciary interprets the laws such as on the conditions that the immigrants must meet while the Executive see to it that the laws are implemented. Combination of efforts of these branches ensures that America does not experience overpopulation and the same time the public interests are served.
References
Cox, A. B., & Rodríguez, C. M. (2009). The president and immigration law. Yale LJ, 119, 458.
Jiménez, T. R. (2017). From newcomers to Americans: An integration policy for a nation of immigrants.
Pillard, C. T., & Aleinikoff, T. A. (1998). Skeptical Scrutiny of Plenary Power: Judicial and Executive Branch Decision Making in Miller v Albright. The Supreme Court Review, 1998, 1-70.
Stock, M. D. (2015, September 14). Immigration and the Separation of Powers. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://fedsoc.org/commentary/blog-posts/immigration-and-the-separation-of-powers
