Published September 22, 2026 at 3:30 PM ET · Updated September 22, 2026 at 5:20 PM ET
Opinion: The immigration fight is about who, not whether
1 independent outlet is covering this story, first reported here by HotAir. Verification: Watching (how we verify). Every headline links to the original reporting.
HotAir published an opinion piece arguing that the immigration fight is about who, not whether. The piece frames the immigration debate as turning on which people it concerns rather than whether it occurs.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 8 d ago, when HotAir reported it. So far this remains a single-source report. The most recent report came 8 d ago from HotAir.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
The who question is where the Court draws its lines. Kaoru Yamataya v. Thomas M. Fisher held that an alien who has entered the country, lawfully or not, cannot be removed without notice and a meaningful chance to be heard. Shaughnessy v. Mezei held an alien stopped at the border can be excluded with no hearing. Who the government faces, and where, fixes the process owed; the power to remove is settled.
Kaoru Yamataya v. Thomas M. Fisher, Immigrant and Chinese Inspector (The Japanese Immigrant Case) 189 U.S. 86 (1903)
Vote: Majority for the Court (Harlan); Brewer and Peckham dissenting. Exact 7-2 tally not… · Opinion: Harlan
Although Congress may commit exclusion and deportation to executive officers without judicial trial, an alien who has landed and become part of the U.S.
Shaughnessy, District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, v. United States ex rel. Mezei 345 U.S. 206 (1953)
Vote: 5-4 · Opinion: Justice Tom C. Clark
An alien stopped at the border seeking initial entry may be excluded without a hearing on the basis of confidential information the Attorney General declines to disclose, and his continued exclusion — even where it means indefinite detention on Ellis Island because no other country will take him — does not violate due process. 'Harborage at Ellis Island is not an entry into the United States': Mezei remained legally 'an entering alien' despite his prior residence in Buffalo from 1923 to 1948, because he had departed for 19 months behind the Iron Curtain and was seeking readmission.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
