naturalization
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 283 U.S. 605 - United States v. Macintosh · 1931Most cited · 789 citing opinions
Naturalization is a privilege, to be given, qualified, or withheld as Congress may determine, and which the alien may claim as of right only upon compliance with the terms which Congress imposes.
How the Supreme Court has restated “naturalization”
Each Supreme Court definition of “naturalization,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “naturalization”
Court decisions citing the 6 opinions that defined “naturalization” — 2,029 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 7 definitions, chronological · 1810–1931
- ORIGINAL
The oath, when taken, confers upon him the rights of a citizen, and amounts to a judgment of the court for his admission to those rights.
oath as judgment of admission
On this subject of relation, the authorities are so ancient, so uniform and universal, that nothing can raise a doubt that it has a material bearing... naturalization in Maryland was equivalent to naturalization in Kentucky.
relation back
As James Spratt arrived within the United States after the passage of the act of 1802, he is embraced by the second section of that act, and was under the necessity of reporting himself to the clerk, as that section requires... The law does not in terms require it. The third condition of the first section provides, 'that the court admitting such alien shall be satisfied that he has resided within the United States five years at least;' but does not prescribe the testimony which shall be satisfactory.
1802 act, report requirement
while a proceeding for the naturalization of an alien is, in a certain sense, a judicial proceeding, being conducted in a court of record and made a matter of record therein, yet it is not in any sense an adversary proceeding. It is the alien who applies to be admitted who makes the necessary declaration and adduces the requisite proofs, and who renounces and abjures his foreign allegiance, all as conditions precedent to his admission to citizenship
not adversary proceeding
Section 9 requires a final hearing upon the petition in open court. The term 'open court' is used in contradistinction to a judge sitting in chambers. ... The whole statute indicates a studied purpose to prevent well-known abuses by means of publicity throughout the entire proceedings.
open court requirement
An alien who seeks political rights as a member of this nation can rightfully obtain them only upon terms and conditions specified by Congress. Courts are without authority to sanction changes or modifications; their duty is rigidly to enforce the legislative will in respect of a matter so vital to the public welfare. ... No alien has the slightest right to naturalization unless all statutory requirements are complied with.
strict statutory compliance