Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (March 11, 2025)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led Judiciary immigration leaders in challenging the constitutional basis of President Trump’s sham “invasion” proclamation, which the President has argued would allow his Administration to circumvent domestic immigration law.

In a letter to the President, the legislators begin by putting this proclamation in context of Trump’s broader, radical immigration initiatives, writing: “Since you came into office, you have attempted to expand the scope of presidential power beyond that which is permitted by the United States Constitution and applicable federal laws. This Proclamation is no different.”

The legislators continue by characterizing the President’s desperate attempts to use emergency authorities as a pretext to avoid complying with immigration laws passed by Congress, writing: “These statements, and your Proclamation, appear to be a part of a larger attempt to invoke any available authority—including extraordinary wartime, public health, and counterterrorism authorities—to circumvent domestic immigration laws and the U.S. Constitution, without factual or legal basis. For example, experts have found no connection between increased migration and crime, and studies have shown that for the past 150 years, immigrants have been convicted of crimes at a far lower rate than U.S.-born citizens. Prior attempts by your previous Administration to apply Title 42 authorities to migrants had no basis in public health. Similarly, there is no factual basis for the statements in your Proclamation.”

The legislators then analyze the President’s incorrect interpretation of the term “invasion,” which is contradicted by long precedent from previous executives involving Presidents Roosevelt, Polk, and Lincoln, writing: “As a legal matter, migration is not an invasion.’ As courts have consistently held, an ‘invasion’ under the Constitution requires ‘armed hostility from another political entity, such as another state or foreign country that is intending to overthrow the [] government.’ Courts’ requirement of an armed attack is consistent with how the term ‘invasion’ is used throughout the Constitution, alongside language like ‘insurrection’ and ‘rebellion.’ Proclaiming a rhetorical ‘invasion’ would degrade protections throughout the Constitution—lowering the bar for suspending the writ of habeas corpus and even expanding the circumstances in which states may ‘engage in War’ without the approval of the federal government. Under our constitutional design, these exceptional powers are reserved for times of armed conflict; they are not available to respond to migration or other non-military matters.”

The legislators then refute the President’s incorrect statement that he can suspend or disregard the laws Congress passed, writing: “[T]he idea that the president has broad inherent power over immigration that allows him to override duly-enacted laws is unfounded and damaging. Congress, not the president, has the authority to make laws, including our immigration laws. And as the courts have long recognized, Congress has created a ‘comprehensive scheme governing all aspects of immigration and naturalization.’ The president has no authority to abandon or rewrite this comprehensive scheme; to the contrary, the president’s constitutional role is to take care that our immigration laws are faithfully executed.”

The legislators conclude with a call to rescind his sham proclamation and instead work toward bipartisan immigration reform in Congress, writing: “The United States is not being invaded, it is not at war with migrants, and you must uphold our duly-enacted immigration laws. We have full faith that the courts will stand firm in the face of your attacks on the separation of powers. We call on you to rescind your Proclamation and work with Congress to pass much-needed, overdue bipartisan immigration reform that respects immigrants’ dignity and the rule of law.”

In addition to Raskin and Durbin, the letter is signed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration.

Click here to read the letter to President Trump.