From Guantánamo to Syria: The Extraterritorial Constitution in the Age of "Extreme Vetting"

Authors

Shawn E. Fields, University of San Diego School of Law

Abstract

This Article examines for the first time in scholarly literature whether and to what extent the Constitution applies extraterritorially to immigrants abroad. In particular, it explores whether non-detained immigrants and refugees outside the territorial boundaries of the United States can claim constitutional protection to challenge immigration policies and orders. The Supreme Court's recent willingness to reconsider the limits of the political branches' "plenary power" over immigration law and policy, coupled with the Court's recent extension of the Constitution to certain classes of extraterritorial noncitizens, suggests that a future role may exist for extraterritorial jurisprudence to inform constitutional immigration law. Using the Trump Administration's inchoate doctrine of "extreme vetting" as a case study, this Article explores how and in what circumstances the Court might make available avenues for constitutional challenge to immigrants residing abroad. It concludes by proposing a unified theory for extraterritorial constitutional immigration jurisprudence.

Disciplines

Constitutional Law | Immigration Law | Law | Law and Race | Legal Education | Religion Law

Recommended Citation

Shawn E. Fields, From Guantánamo to Syria: The Extraterritorial Constitution in the Age of "Extreme Vetting", 39 Cardozo L. Rev. 1123 (2018).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol39/iss4/2