l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Court: Spouse can't protest husband's visa denial
By the Associated Press | June 15, 2015 | 2:25 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — A California woman can't challenge the government's
decision to deny a visa to her spouse from Afghanistan, the Supreme Court
ruled Monday.
Split along ideological lines, the justices ruled 5-4 that Fauzia Din, a
naturalized U.S. citizen, had no basis to protest after the visa petition
she filed for her husband was rejected in 2009 due to concerns about
terrorism.
Din's husband, Kanishka Berashk, had worked as a clerk in the Afghan
government when it was controlled by the Taliban. But the U.S. Embassy in
Pakistan offered no factual explanation for refusing his visa request, other
than to cite a law giving officials broad discretion to deny visas based on
"terrorist activities."
Din argued that the rejection triggered her spousal rights under the
Constitution and that she deserved to know the specific reason for the
denial.
But Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for three justices, said even assuming
that marriage is a fundamental right, Din has not been forbidden from
getting married.
"Those right-to-marry cases cannot be expanded to include the right Din
argues for — the right to live in the United States with one's alien spouse
," Scalia said.
Justices Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito agreed with the outcome, but wrote
separately to say that it was not necessary to decide whether marriage is a
right protected by the Constitution. He said the government satisfied due
process when it notified Din's husband he was denied under the law's anti-
terrorism ban.
A dissent from the court's four liberal justices said Din should have
prevailed on her constitutional claims. Justice Stephen Breyer said Din had
"the kind of liberty interest" that deserves protection under the
Constitution.
A decades-old legal doctrine gives the government broad power to deny visas
and courts have long held that noncitizens have no constitutional right to
seek an explanation. Din was trying to get around that legal barrier by
asserting that her marriage was affected by the decision.
A federal judge threw out Din's case, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals reversed, finding that Din had a right to get a fuller explanation
for the visa denial based on her marital rights.
The government said visa rejections are confirmed with an advisory opinion
from the State Department and all denials are reported to Congress, which
provides additional oversight.
Chuck Roth, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center,
called the ruling a disappointment.
"To the thousands of Americans who are waiting on visa approvals to reunite
with their loved ones, this ruling sends a message that their families do
not matter." Roth said.
At the end of his opinion announcement, Scalia mistakenly referred to his
longtime colleague and friend, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as Justice
Goldberg. After colleagues alerted Scalia to his mistake, he apologized to
Ginsburg. "Sorry about that, Ruth," Scalia said. |
|
