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14th Amendment to the United States Constitution (1868) The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. The Equal Protection clause drastically amended the Constitution and has been used by the Supreme Court to justify expansion of rights. The amendment was passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868.
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Alien Enemies Act (1798)
This is one of four acts known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the U.S. They were highly controversial and contributed to the Federalist defeat in the election of 1800. After 1802, only the Alien Enemies Act remained in force, and has continued to be invoked during times of war. In 2025, the President invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the exportation of Venezuelan suspected gang members.
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Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
The Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States, with exceptions granted for merchants, students, or diplomats.
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Dred Scott was owned by Dr. John Emerson. Emerson took Scott into Wisconsin, a free state. While living in a free territory, Scott got married and had children, believing he and his family were free. He was later taken back to Missouri where he sued for his freedom. The Supreme Court ultimately decided in the case that Black people could not sue in federal court and that they were never meant to be included in the body politic. Dred Scott was later central to the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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Executive Order 14160 - Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship (2025)
This executive order by President Donald Trump aims to end birthright citizenship if a mother is in the United States illegally or the mother is in the U.S. temporarily and the father is not a citizen.
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Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
This act made significant changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which aimed to reduce undocumented immigration and enhance border security.
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Immigration Act of 1924
Also known as the Johnson–Reed Act, this federal law stopped immigration from Asia and set strict quotas on immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. This law slowed major immigration to the US until the 1965 Hart-Celler Act.
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Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
The Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, amended the 1924 Immigration Act, to remove immigration quotas based on country of origin. This act started the categorization of refugees, but continued the U.S. pattern of defining refugees by geography or politics, and not adopting United Nations terminology.
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Latina/os and Criminal and Immigration Law Enforcement
This teaching module discusses the history of criminal and immigration law enforcement of Latina/os in the U.S., featuring a webinar with Kevin R. Johnson, Professor of Law and of Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Davis.
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Noem v. Abrego Garcia (2025)
In this case, the Supreme Court agreed with a lower court's order for the government to "facilitate and effectuate" the return to the U.S. of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia who had been deported to El Salvador and detained in the Center for Terrorism Confinement.
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Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo (2025)
The Supreme Court's decision in this case allows federal agents to continuing using factors such as apparent race or ethnicity, spoken language or accent, presence at a specific location, and type of employment in conducting stops and making arrests.
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United States v. Brignoni-Ponce (1975)
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the Fourth Amendment for law enforcement to stop a vehicle solely on the basis of the driver appearing to be of Mexican descent. Appearance of ethnicity did not constitute reasonable suspicion for the stopping and interrogation of a vehicle and its passengers.
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Webinar - Latina/os and Criminal and Immigration Law Enforcement (2025)
In this webinar, Professor Kevin R. Johnson of the University of California, Davis, discusses the history of criminal and immigration law enforcement of Latina/os in the U.S with Dr. Donna D. Anderson and her And Justice For All class.