Why Does the INA Require That Illegal Migrants Be Detained?
The 119-year law that undermines Biden’s border arguments
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By Andrew R. Arthur on May 15, 2022
I was long a lone voice in the wilderness in noting that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) mandates that aliens who have entered the United States illegally be detained. That point has subsequently been taken up in the halls of Congress and in the Supreme Court. Some version of that mandate has been in the immigration laws for more than 119 years, and reviewing the roots of that mandate underscores why it makes more sense every day, and why it undermines the administration’s argument that it is free to release illegal migrants.
The Immigration Act of 1903. The Immigration Act of 1903 is among the oldest U.S. immigration laws. It’s also known as the “Anarchist Exclusion Act”, because it was passed partially in response to the assassination of President William McKinley by an anarchist in September 1901.
Section 2 of that act includes some of the earliest grounds of what was then referred to as “exclusion”, barring the admission to the United States of aliens who were public charges, criminals, polygamists, prostitutes and procurers, anarchists, and who suffered from mental health issues.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Why-Does-INA-Require-Illegal-Migrants-Be-Detained
