Permanent Resident Alien under Color of Law: The Opening Door to Alien Entitlement Eligibility
![handle is hein.journals/geoimlj1 and id is 239 raw text is: PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIEN UNDER COLOR
OF LAW: THE OPENING DOOR TO ALIEN
ENTITLEMENT ELIGIBILITY
DANIEL STEIN*
STEVEN ZANOWIC**
I. INTRODUCTION
The term permanent resident alien is defined statutorily by Con-
gress, and its scope as a class is well known to practitioners of immigra-
tion law. A potentially more expansive term, however, has appeared on
the legal horizon - permanent resident alien under color of law.
What is meant by the phrase? Which classes of aliens does it include?
How does this new phrase affect the numbers of aliens eligible for ben-
efits under the various federal entitlement programs?
This article will explore these questions and will argue that an im-
provident expansion by the courts of the classes within the reach of the
term permanent resident alien under color of law unduly threatens
congressional prerogatives to establish alienage classifications and ex-
tends coverage under entitlement programs in a manner clearly not
contemplated by Congress.
A. The Changing Migratory Phenomenon
The significance and implications of the evolving view of the term
permanent resident alien under color of law can be understood more
clearly by noting immigration patterns in the United States. The prob-
lem of illegal immigration into the United States has become especially
troublesome in recent years. In 1965, the Immigration and Naturaliza-
tion Service (INS) apprehended only 110,371 aliens who were found to
be unlawfully present in the United States.' For the three years 1983
to 1985, the INS reports that over three million aliens were appre-
hended and either deported or required to depart the country. While a
* Daniel Stein is Director of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, Washington, D.C.; B.A.
1977, Indiana University; J.D. 1984, Catholic University School of Law.
** Steven Zanowic is a law clerk for the Immigration Reform Law Institute; B.A. 1983,
Pennsylvania State University; J.D. 1986, George Washington University, The National Law
Center.
I. U.S. DEP'T OF JUSTICE, 1983 STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATU-
RALIZATION SERVICE, Aliens Apprehended, Aliens Deported and Aliens Required to Deport, Fis-
cal Years 1982-1983 (ENF 1.1) [hereinafter cited as Aliens Apprehended].
2. Id. Total for 1983: 1,251,357. Final data for 1984 and 1985 are not yet publicly available.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/geoimlj1&div=18&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Permanent Resident Alien under Color of Law: The Opening Door to Alien Entitlement Eligibility
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