The Rights of aliens and refugees: the basic ACLU guide to alien and refugee rights

499 Pages·1990·1.1 MB·English

by  David Carliner

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David Carliner practices law in Washington, D.C., specializing in
immigration and nationality matters. He is the author of the original
edition of the Rights of Aliens, published in February 1977. He is the
former General Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union and
was Chairman of the Immigration and Nationality Committee of the
Administrative Law Section of the American Bar Association. He
currently serves on the ABA Coordinating Committee on Immigration
Law.
Lucas Guttentag is Director of the National Immigration Rights
Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. He teaches
immigration law at Columbia Law School and has litigated numerous
cases in the area of immigrants' rights, employment discrimination,
and criminal justice reform. He is a cum laude graduate of Harvard
Law School and served as a law clerk to Federal Judge William
Wayne Justice.
Arthur C. Helton is Director of the Refugee Project of the Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights, and Chair of the Advisory Committee
to the New York State Inter-Agency Task Force on Immigration
Affairs. He teaches immigration and refugee law at the New York
University School of Law, and he has authored numerous articles,
testified in Congress and federal court, and litigated several cases
concerning immigration and refugee issues.
Wade J. Henderson is the Associate Director of the Washington
National Office of the American Civil Liberties Union. For the last six
years, he has worked as a lobbyist primarily in the areas of
immigration and refugee policy and human rights. He is the author of
numerous articles on immigration policy and civil rights issues.
Also in this series
THE RIGHTS OF AUTHORS AND ARTISTS
THE RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS
THE RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES
THE RIGHTS OF GAY PEOPLE
THE RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS
THE RIGHTS OF PATIENTS
THE RIGHTS OF PRISONERS
THE RIGHTS OF SINGLE PEOPLE
THE RIGHTS OF STUDENTS
THE RIGHTS OF TEACHERS
THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN
THE RIGHTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE
YOUR RIGHT TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY
AN AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION HANDBOOK
The Rights of Aliens and Refugees
THE BASIC ACLU GUIDE TO
ALIEN AND REFUGEE RIGHTS
SECOND EDITION
Completely Revised and Up-to-Date
David Carliner
Lucas Guttentag
Arthur C. Helton
Wade J. Henderson
General Editor of the Handbook Series:
Norman Dorsen, President, ACLU
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS
CARBONDALE AND EDWARDSVILLE
Copyright © 1990 by the American Civil Liberties Union
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Edited by Teresa White
Production supervised by Linda Jorgensen-Buhman
93 92 91 90 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The rights of aliens and refugees: the basic ACLU guide to alien and
refugee rights / David Carliner. . . [et al.].2d ed., completely
rev. and up-to-date.
p. cm.(An American Civil Liberties Union handbook)
Rev. ed. of: The rights of aliens and refugees / David Carliner.
1977.
Bibliography: p.
1. AliensUnited States. I. Carliner, David. II. Carliner,
David. Rights of aliens and refugees. III. American Civil
Liberties Union. IV. Series.
KF4800.R54 1990
342.73'083dc20
[347.30283] 89-11570
ISBN 0-8093-1598-X CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of American Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
I.Aliens, Citizens, and Nationals 1
II.The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 8
III.The Right to Refugee Protection 46
IV.The Rights of Aliens to Enter the United States, and in 55
Exclusion Proceedings
V.The Right of Aliens to Remain in the United States 90
VI.The Rights of Aliens in Deportation Proceedings 116
VII.Registration, Criminal Laws, and Extradition 163
VIII.The Rights of Alien Students 170
IX.The Right of Aliens to Work 179
X.The Right of Aliens to Own Property 191
XI.Aliens and Taxes 201
XII.Aliens and Military Service 210
XIII.The Right of Aliens to Receive Government Benefits 214
XIV.The Right of Aliens to Become Citizens 225

Page vii
Preface
This guide sets forth your rights under the present law and offers
suggestions on how they can be protected. It is one of a continuing
series of handbooks published in cooperation with the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU).
Surrounding these publications is the hope that Americans, informed
of their rights, will be encouraged to exercise them. Through their
exercise, rights are given life. If they are rarely used, they may be
forgotten and violations may become routine.
This guide offers no assurances that your rights will be respected. The
laws may change, and in some of the subjects covered in these pages
they change quite rapidly. An effort has been made to note those parts
of the law where movement is taking place, but it is not always
possible to predict accurately when the law will change.
Even if the laws remain the same, their interpretations by courts and
administrative officials often vary. In a federal system such as ours,
there is a built-in problem, since state and federal law differ, not to
speak of the confusion between states. In addition, there are wide
variations in the ways in which particular courts and administrative
officials will interpret the same law at any given moment.
If you encounter what you consider to be a specific abuse of your
rights, you should seek legal assistance. There are a number of
agencies that may help you, among them ACLU affiliate offices, but
bear in mind that the ACLU is a limited-purpose organization. In
many communities, there are federally funded legal service offices
that provide assistance to persons who cannot afford the costs of legal
representation. In general, the rights that the ACLU defends are
freedom of inquiry and expression; due process of law; equal
protection of the laws; and privacy. The authors in this series have
discussed other rights (even though they sometimes fall outside the
ACLU's usual concern) in order to provide as much guidance as
possible.
These books have been planned as guides for the people directly
affected; thus the question-and-answer format. (In
Page viii
some areas there are more detailed works available for experts.) These
guides seek to raise the major issues and inform the nonspecialist of
the basic law on the subject. The authors of these books are
themselves specialists who understand the need for information at
"street level."
If you encounter a specific legal problem in an area discussed in one
of these handbooks, show the book to your attorney. Of course, he or
she will not be able to rely exclusively on the handbook to provide
you with adequate representation. But if your attorney hasn't had a
great deal of experience in the specific area, the handbook can provide
helpful suggestions on how to proceed.
Norman Dorsen, President
American Civil Liberties Union
The principal purpose of this handbook, as well as
others in this series, is to inform individuals of their
legal rights. The authors from time to time suggest
what the law should be, but their personal views are
not necessarily those of the ACLU. For the ACLU's
position on the issues discussed in this handbook the
reader should write to Public Education Department,
ACLU, 132 West 43d Street, New York, N.Y. 10036.