Perez v. Brownell
Encyclopedia
Perez v. Brownell, , was a United States Supreme Court decision which affirmed Congress
's right to revoke United States citizenship as a result of a citizen's voluntary performance of specified actions, even in the absence of any intent or desire on the person's part to lose his or her citizenship. Specifically, the Supreme Court upheld an act of Congress which provided for revocation of citizenship as a consequence of voting in a foreign election.
The precedent established by this case was repudiated nine years later in Afroyim v. Rusk, , in which the Supreme Court — holding that the Fourteenth Amendment
's Citizenship Clause
guaranteed a citizen's right to keep his or her citizenship — overturned the same law that it had upheld in the Perez case.
, Texas
, March 17, 1909, and resided in the United States until 1919 or 1920 when his parents took him to Mexico
. In 1928 he was informed that he had been born in the state
of Texas
.
During World War II
he applied for admission and was admitted into the United States as a Mexican
alien
railroad worker. His application for such entry contained his recitation that he was a native-born citizen of Mexico. By 1947, however, Perez had returned to Mexico and in that year applied for admission to the United States as a citizen of the United States. Upon his arrival in the United States he was charged with failing to register under the Selective Service Laws of the United States during World War II
.
Under oath, Perez admitted that between 1944 and 1947 he had remained outside the United States to avoid military service and had voted in an election in Mexico in 1946.
On May 15, 1953, he surrendered to Immigration authorities in San Francisco as an alien unlawfully in the United States but claimed that he was a citizen of the United States by birth
and thereby entitled to remain. The U.S. District Court, however, found that Perez had lost his American
citizenship, a decision that was affirmed by the court of appeals. The courts held that Congress can attach loss of citizenship only as a consequence of conduct engaged in voluntarily, even if there was no intent or desire to lose citizenship. This law was enacted as the Nationality Act of 1940 (54
Stat
1137, as amended).
Two central holdings of Perez v. Brownell found that
, that section 401 of the Nationality Act of 1940 is unconstitutional because the Fourteenth Amendment prevents Congress
from taking away citizenship without the citizen's assent.
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
's right to revoke United States citizenship as a result of a citizen's voluntary performance of specified actions, even in the absence of any intent or desire on the person's part to lose his or her citizenship. Specifically, the Supreme Court upheld an act of Congress which provided for revocation of citizenship as a consequence of voting in a foreign election.
The precedent established by this case was repudiated nine years later in Afroyim v. Rusk, , in which the Supreme Court — holding that the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
's Citizenship Clause
Citizenship Clause
The Citizenship Clause refers to the first sentence of Section 1 in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This clause represented Congress's reversal of that portion of the Dred Scott v...
guaranteed a citizen's right to keep his or her citizenship — overturned the same law that it had upheld in the Perez case.
Background
Clemente Martinez Perez was born in El PasoEl Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, March 17, 1909, and resided in the United States until 1919 or 1920 when his parents took him to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In 1928 he was informed that he had been born in the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he applied for admission and was admitted into the United States as a Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
alien
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
railroad worker. His application for such entry contained his recitation that he was a native-born citizen of Mexico. By 1947, however, Perez had returned to Mexico and in that year applied for admission to the United States as a citizen of the United States. Upon his arrival in the United States he was charged with failing to register under the Selective Service Laws of the United States during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Under oath, Perez admitted that between 1944 and 1947 he had remained outside the United States to avoid military service and had voted in an election in Mexico in 1946.
On May 15, 1953, he surrendered to Immigration authorities in San Francisco as an alien unlawfully in the United States but claimed that he was a citizen of the United States by birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
and thereby entitled to remain. The U.S. District Court, however, found that Perez had lost his American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizenship, a decision that was affirmed by the court of appeals. The courts held that Congress can attach loss of citizenship only as a consequence of conduct engaged in voluntarily, even if there was no intent or desire to lose citizenship. This law was enacted as the Nationality Act of 1940 (54
54
Year 54 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Marcellus...
Stat
STAT
STAT may mean:*STAT protein, the Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription protein*Special Tertiary Admissions Test, a set of tests aimed at assessing the critical reasoning abilities of university applicants who lack other formal qualifications...
1137, as amended).
Decision of the Court
In 1958, a divided United States Supreme Court upheld these decisions because Perez "became involved in foreign political affairs and evidenced an allegiance to another country inconsistent with American citizenship, thereby abandoning his citizenship."Two central holdings of Perez v. Brownell found that
- The provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States," sets forth the two principal modes (but not the only ones) for acquiring citizenship, but nothing in the terms, the context, the history, or the manifest purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment warrants the inference of a restriction upon the power otherwise possessed by Congress to withdraw citizenship.
- Congress, acting under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Art I, 8, cl 18, of the Federal Constitution, may attach loss of nationalityNationalityNationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
to voting in a foreign political election, since the means, withdrawal of citizenship, is reasonably calculated to effect the end that is within the power of Congress to achieve, the avoidance of embarrassment in the conduct of foreign relations attributable to voting by American citizens in such elections, and the importance and extreme delicacy of the matters sought to be regulated demand that Congress be permitted ample scope in selecting appropriate modes for accomplishing its purpose.
Subsequent history
The court reversed itself in 1967 with its decision, in Afroyim v. RuskAfroyim v. Rusk
Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 , was a United States Supreme Court decision that set an important legal precedent that a person born or naturalized in the United States cannot be deprived of his or her citizenship involuntarily. The U.S. government had attempted to revoke the citizenship of a man...
, that section 401 of the Nationality Act of 1940 is unconstitutional because the Fourteenth Amendment prevents Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
from taking away citizenship without the citizen's assent.