Understanding the Constitution: How States May Respond to Illegal Immigration—Part IV
By Rob Natelson | SOURCE: INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE
This essay was first published in the Jan. 12, 2024 Epoch Times.
Part I of this series showed that the unauthorized mass migration into states at the Southern border qualifies as an “invasion” as the Constitution uses the term. That Part also pointed to a constitutional canard—the false claim that federal power over war, immigration, and foreign commerce is “exclusive,” and that the states have no authority over those subjects whatsoever.
But as Part II and Part III demonstrated, the Constitution explicitly recognizes state authority to wage defensive war when invaded. This Part IV examines a particularly thorny problem: To what extent may the federal government interfere when states exer...









