The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees all the equal protection of federal law, and courts will hold unconstitutional those federal laws that passed with discriminatory intent. The Unconstitutionality of the Illegal Reentry Statute A century later, those original racist intentions continue to align exactly with how the statute is still used today-with Latinx people making up 99 percent of those convicted today. When enacted in the 1920s, that statute was explicitly intended to advance white supremacist eugenics goals. Under that statute, a person may be sentenced to federal prison for as many as 20 years for the mere act of returning to the U.S. One of the most striking examples of that residual racism is the statute criminalizing returning to the U.S. While some prior racist policies have ended, today’s immigration law remains rife with racially targeted restrictions and punishments. Notoriously, the Chinese Exclusion Act – an infamous law brought about by white nativists in the late 1800s –was one of the first immigration restrictions the United States enacted. Modern immigration law has its roots deeply intertwined with openly racist sentiments. Even as the government’s lawyers refrain from using offensive language, they continue to pursue numerous prosecutions against immigrants by relying upon a criminal law with undeniably racist origins and impact. Unbeknownst to many, the Muslim and African Bans, for example, continue to harm tens of thousands of people as the Department of Justice continues to defend their lasting impacts.Ī particularly disheartening contradiction is currently taking place in courtrooms across America. While the administration has made important progress, it has also taken a number of steps backward. Initially, the Biden administration took some positive pro-immigrant first steps, such as ordering a review of federal immigration policy to develop “welcoming” policies, directing federal agencies to cease using dehumanizing terms, and rescinding the discriminatory Muslim and African Bans.

N.y. courts seek root out racism