Professor Villazor Publishes CNN Op-ed on Proposed Muslim Immigrant Ban
Professor Rose Cuison Villazor published an essay on the CNN website on whether it would be constitutional to ban Muslim immigration into the United States as proposed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Professor Villazor's article points out that many legal scholars have argued that the proposal would violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which would require the government to demonstrate a compelling interest, such as preventing terrorism, was served in discriminating against Muslims, and also prove the discrimination was tailored narrowly to serve that need. "The problem for Trump is that he has not provided any evidence the exclusion of all Muslims is necessary to serve that compelling interest," writes Villazor.
Other scholars would argue that the proposal is constitutional because Congress has broad power to regulate the admission of noncitizens, Villazor continues. She also notes the "legal precedent for exclusion of a broad category of immigrants," including the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was upheld by the Supreme Court before the Hart-Cellar act abolished the use of "race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence" in U.S. immigration laws. "The question, though, is whether the exclusion of Muslims, albeit a discrimination based on religion, would be sufficiently tied to race or nationality to run afoul of the Hart-Celler Act," writes Villazor.
Villazor ends the essay by condemning Trump's proposal as "repugnant and inconsistent with constitutional principles."
Professor Rose Cuison Villazor joined the UC Davis faculty in 2012 from the Maurice A. Deane Law School at Hofstra University. She has also taught at Columbia Law School and the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Professor Villazor teaches and writes in the areas of property law, immigration law, race, and citizenship.