Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4: Naturalization and Bankruptcy Clause

To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

The Naturalization and Bankruptcy Clause has been uncontroversial, at least until recently. A citizen of any State was understood to be a citizen of the United States, and the Constitution implicitly recognizes a right to relocate from one State to another, so long as one is not fleeing justice or other legal obligations. It would not do for each state to have its own rules for naturalization (the legal process of making a non-citizen a citizen.) Thus Congress was granted the power to determine the rule of naturalization.

Though the power of Congress to determine the rule of naturalization has not directly been challenged, a number of local governments have challenged the power of the federal government to enforce immigration laws by deporting illegal immigrants. This has generally taken the form of local governments ordering their local law enforcement officers to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Such practices have not yet resulted in any significant legal rulings, but are likely to remain a legal “hot spot” in the near term.

Bankruptcy law is also determined at the federal level. The concern over bankruptcy reflected the economic turmoil following the Seven Years’ War and the Revolutionary War. This resulted in a surge of both public and private debt, which in turn led to debt being viewed less as a moral failing than as a consequence of hard times and bad luck. The power given Congress to enforce a uniform bankruptcy code across the United States reduced the potential for debtors fleeing one jurisdiction for another with more lenient bankruptcy laws.