21/06/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 21/06/2024 19:55
Plaintiff Sandra Muñoz lives in Los Angeles County
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Supreme Court ruledin a 6-3 decision in Department of State v. Muñozthat U.S. citizens do not have a constitutional liberty interest in their non-citizen spouses being admitted to the country. The plaintiff in the case, Sandra Muñoz, married her husband in 2013, and she and her son have been separated from him since 2015. Muñoz is a constituent of Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA-38) and previously was a constituent of Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), who sent a letter to the Department of State on Munoz's behalf in December 2015 requesting information as to why a consular officer barred her husband from returning to the U.S. from El Salvador. Reps. Sánchez and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, led an amicus briefto the Supreme Court ahead of oral arguments in this case in April 2023, which Rep. Chu joined. In response to today's decision, Reps. Chu and Sánchez released the following joint statement:
"For almost a decade, we've fought for Sandra's right to make her family whole once again and will continue to do so not only for her family, but also for all the other American citizens similarly situated around the country. We will continue to work with affected families and advocates to determine all the consequences of this decision and fight for comprehensive, humane immigration reform that finally fixes our broken system."