Chinese Immigrants and the United States Constitution

Being in the United States without papers is a civil infraction, not a crime. This means that the protections of the US Constitution do not apply to people facing deportation, as determined by the Supreme Court. Chinese immigrants were specifically affected by this ruling as they were not granted protection against indefinite detention or cruel and unusual punishment. Deportation is also not considered a punishment for crime, meaning that those deported cannot be criminally punished for being undocumented.