Jagdish Rai Chadha v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Petitioner, Jagdish Rai Chadha, seeks review of an order of deportation issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Executive branch of the Government, acting by an inquiry officer who conducted an administrative hearing on the record, determined that Chadha, though otherwise deportable, should remain in the United States to avoid extreme hardship. Subsequently the Congress, acting only by the House of Representatives, sought to reverse that determination. If given effect, the congressional action would require Chadha’s deportation. We hold that the statutory mechanism by which the Congress acted to reverse the administrative determination is unconstitutional, and therefore that the deportation order is invalid.

Chadha, a native of Kenya and a holder of a British passport, lawfully entered the United States as a nonimmigrant student in 1966. After he received his bachelor’s and his master’s degrees, his student visa expired in 1972. In 1974, the INS issued an order to show cause why Chadha should not be deported. A special inquiry officer then held a deportation hearing pursuant to Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 242(b), 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b)…