Legal Definitions - Immigration Law: Key Supreme Court Cases

Immigration law is a complex area of law that deals with the rules and regulations governing the entry, stay, and exit of foreign nationals in a country. The following are some of the major Supreme Court cases in the field of immigration law:

• US v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898)
• Kwong_Hai_Chew v. Colding, 344 U.S. 590 (1953)
• Shaughnessy v. US ex rel Mezei, 345 U.S. 206 (1953)
• Graham v. Department of Pub. Welfare, 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753 (1972)
• Matthews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67 (1976)
• Fiallo v. Bell, 430 U.S. 787 (1977)
• Toll v. Moreno, 441 U.S. 458 (1979)
• Vance v. Terrazas, 444 U.S. 252 (1980)
• Landon v. Plasencia, 459 U.S. 21 (1982)
• Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982)
• INS v. Lopez-Mendoza, 468 U.S. 1032 (1984)
• INS v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210 (1984)
• INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421 (1987)
• INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478 (1992)
• Vartelas v. Holder, 566 U.S. 257 (2012)

These cases have dealt with various issues related to immigration law, such as citizenship, deportation, and the rights of non-citizens. For example, Plyler v. Doe (1982) dealt with the issue of whether undocumented children have a right to attend public schools. The Supreme Court held that denying such children access to education would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This case illustrates how the Supreme Court has played a crucial role in shaping immigration law and protecting the rights of immigrants.