Brigham Young University Prelaw Review
Keywords
Immigration; Corpus Linguistics; Commerce Clause; Constitution; Original Meaning; Federal Regulation; Power
Abstract
This paper challenges two assumptions about the basic framework of immigration law: first, that the Constitution authorizes the federal government to regulate immigration, and second, that this power is afforded via interpretation of the Commerce Clause. By utilizing corpus linguistics analysis, this paper finds the original meaning of the Commerce Clause to refer narrowly to trade, and alongside relevant literature argues that no other basis supports federal power to regulate immigration. In summary, this paper describes the deeper problem at hand, of which all other immigration-based issues are symptomatic – an absence of constitutionally defined federal power to regulate immigration.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
May, Garrett
(2019)
"Immigration Law on the Line: Corpus Linguistics and the Commerce Clause,"
Brigham Young University Prelaw Review: Vol. 33, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byuplr/vol33/iss1/9