Supreme Court rules 6-2 in Harisiades v. Shaughnessy to uphold deportation of long-term residents for past Communist Party membership

The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 in Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580, on March 10, 1952, upholding the Alien Registration Act of 1940 provision requiring deportation of legal permanent residents who had been members of the Communist Party, even if that membership had ended years before. Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote for the majority, holding that deportation of resident aliens for political associations did not violate the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, or the Constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause because deportation was a civil rather than criminal proceeding. Justices Douglas and Black dissented, arguing the ruling punished people for political beliefs held during a time when Communist Party membership was legal. The decision gave Congress near-plenary power over immigration and explicitly subordinated First Amendment protections for noncitizens to national security concerns.