The Historical Amnesia of Contemporary Immigration Federalism Debates

Abstract

This article explores competing interpretations of American federalism and immigration authority during the 18th century. I argue that the 1787 Constitution did not clearly place the authority to manage migration with the national government. In fact, the Constitution did not discuss entry and exit policy, including the power of deportation. The debates over the Alien and Sedition Acts illustrate the diversity of opinions about the proper balance of authority between the national and subnational governments with regard to migration policy. Debates over the potential expansion of national power were particularly heated in the antebellum period because migration policy and slave policy were inextricably linked. In the end, whatever guidance the Constitution provided on migration policy was tainted by the document’s endorsement of slavery.