Enforcing the Treaty Rights of Aliens

Abstract

been stymied by a wave of political opposition. Critics argue that giving these treaties the force of domestic law would be inconsistent with constitutional values like sovereignty, democracy, federalism, and separation of powers. This Note analyzes these four critiques and demonstrates that the values critics seek to protect are not jeopardized by the extraterritorial application of treaty-based rights or the domestic enforcement of treaties that guarantee rights specific to aliens. With that discovery in mind, this Note proposes to incorporate such treaties into U.S. law in a way that both affirms constitutional values and promotes the rule of law in foreign affairs. A U T H O R. J.D. Yale Law School, 2007; A.M. Harvard University, 2000; B.A. Yale University, 1998. The author wishes to thank Paul Kahn, Bruce Ackerman, Oona Hathaway, Murad Hussain, Harold Koh, Reva Siegel, and her editor, Saumya Manohar, for their valuable input and support at various stages of this project.