1875 U.S. Federal Immigration Supremacy Established. Full episode link in bio. #SB4 #Texas

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:03][music] >> In 1875, the Supreme Court decided a case called Chy Lung versus Freeman.

[00:00:09]>> [music] >> California had passed a law giving a state immigration commissioner the power to inspect arriving [music] ships and charge fees for passengers he deemed undesirable.

[00:00:19]The court struck [music] it down unanimously.

[00:00:23]The reasoning was blunt.

[00:00:25]If individual states could set their own immigration rules, the United States couldn't function as a single [music] nation.

[00:00:32]Foreign countries negotiate treaties with the federal government, not with Texas, not with California, [music] not with South Carolina.

[00:00:40]Immigration is inherently national. One government, >> [music] >> one policy, one border.

[00:00:47]That doctrine has held for a century and a half until Texas [music] decided to test it.