deportation
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 342 U.S. 580 - Harisiades v. Shaughnessy · 1952Most cited · 1,967 citing opinions
Deportation, however severe its consequences, has been consistently classified as a civil rather than a criminal procedure.
How the Supreme Court has restated “deportation”
Each Supreme Court definition of “deportation,” 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 “deportation”
Court decisions citing the 8 opinions that defined “deportation” — 5,754 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 8 definitions, chronological · 1913–1966
- ORIGINAL
It is thoroughly established that Congress has power to order the deportation of aliens whose presence in the country it deems hurtful. The determination by facts that might constitute a crime under local law is not a conviction of crime, nor is the deportation a punishment; it is simply a refusal by the government to harbor persons whom it does not want.
not punishment
Deportation can be the equivalent of banishment or exile.
Deportation is a drastic measure and at times the equivalent of banishment or exile. It is the forfeiture for misconduct of a residence in this country. Such a forfeiture is a penalty.
Deportation' means the moving of someone away from the United States, after his exclusion or expulsion
the word 'deportation' appears also in Chapter 4 to refer to the return of excluded aliens from the country, but its use there reflects none of the technical gloss accompanying its use as a word of art in Chapter 5
word of art
deportation is a drastic measure and at times the equivalent of banishment or exile... It is the forfeiture for misconduct of a residence in this country. Such a forfeiture is a penalty. To construe this statutory provision less generously to the alien might find support in logic. But since the stakes are considerable for the individual, we will not assume that Congress meant to trench on his freedom beyond that which is required by the narrowest of several possible meanings of the words used.
deportation is a drastic measure and at times the equivalent of banishment or exile. It is the forfeiture for misconduct of a residence in this country. Such a forfeiture is a penalty.