The Mexican Power to Expel Aliens in Light of Its International Limitations and the Dimensional Theory of Law : with Some Comparative References to U.S. Immigration Law)

The power to expel aliens is one of the two fundamental pillars of immigration law. To be sure, the other is the power of the host State to admit them into its territory. The expulsion of aliens might inflict an enormous harm not only upon them but also upon other persons, e.g., their family members. When aliens are forced to leave their host State, their fundamental human rights are often at stake. Yet, Article 33 of the Constitution of Mexico vests the President with a discretionary power to expel undesirable aliens without a prior trial and immediately. In this dissertation I refer to this power as the power of expulsion. Even though said power is the main threat against the rights of aliens, it is not clearly regulated. The wording of Article 33 of the Constitution is controversial. Legal literature is vague and scant with regard to the power of expulsion. Scholars discuss whether Article 33 requires the President to comply with procedural and substantive due process of law. The Supreme Court has held both sides. Under Mexican law, aliens may also be expelled through a different power that has been granted to Congress and is exercised by the Executive. In this dissertation, I refer to this power as the power of deportation My dissertation is aimed at analyzing the scope and limits of the powers of expulsion and deportation; discussing the interrelation with each other; determining their limitations under international law; and proposing a way in which the power to expel aliens from Mexico (which includes expulsion and deportation) may be integrated into a general theory of law