100 Americans Making Constitutional History: A Biographical History presents 100 profiles of the key people behind some of the most important U.S. Supreme Court cases. Edited by Melvin I. Urofsky, a respected constitutional historian, each 2,000-word profile delves into the social and political context behind landmark Court decisions. For example, while a case like Brown v. Board of Education is about an important idea—the equal protection of the law—at its heart it is the story of a little girl, Linda Brown, who wanted to go to a decent school near her home. The outcome is accessible and objective “stories” about the individuals—heroes and scoundrels—who fought their way to constitutional history.

Jagdish Chadha

Jagdish Chadha

Tortuous Path to Citizenship

“Law Students will all Study my Case”

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha 462 U.S. 919 (1983)

In many ways, Jagdish Chadha's story was typical of many immigrants: a young man wanting an education and greater opportunities sought them in America. His journey to American citizenship, on the other hand, is far from typical. It is a story that winds its way through the U.S. immigration bureaucracy, to the U.S. House of Representatives, and ends up in the U.S. Supreme Court. The result was that Chadha became an American citizen and, in the process, left his stamp on U.S. constitutional law.

Jagdish Rai Khiali Ram Nathod Ram Chadha was born in 1944 in Kenya to immigrant parents from East India. Chadha's formative years ...

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