[USA] A Constitutional Roadmap for Immigration Federalism / University of Colorado [via SSRN], 6 March 2007
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=968716
CLARE HUNTINGTON
University of Colorado Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07-06
"Although the federal government is traditionally understood to enjoy exclusive authority over immigration, states and localities are increasingly asserting a role in this field. This essay outlines the contours of such a theory by drawing a roadmap of the constitutional issues raised by immigration federalism. In particular, it argues that the central constitutional issue is whether immigration exceptionalism - the view that immigration stands apart from the rest of public law and therefore is subject to different constitutional rules - should continue to hold sway. Challenging the conventional wisdom, this essay argues that immigration exceptionalism should be abandoned and instead state and local involvement should be assessed through the lens of traditional federalism debates."