Department of State v. Munoz

Sandra Muñoz

U.S. citizen who sued after her husband’s visa was denied under a gang-related inadmissibility ground

Luis Asencio-Cordero

Salvadoran husband of Muñoz, accused of gang affiliation (MS-13) based on tattoos

8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(A)(ii)

Excludes those believed to intend to engage in unlawful activity

Facially legitimate and bona fide reason

Standard reaffirmed from Mandel—visa denial needs only a valid statutory basis and no bad faith

Consular nonreviewability

Principle that visa decisions made abroad by consular officers are not subject to judicial review

Glucksberg test

Due process rights must be deeply rooted in the nation’s history and tradition to be protected

No fundamental liberty interest

Court held Muñoz had no constitutional right to have her noncitizen spouse admitted

“Of favor, not of right”

Historical quote (James Madison, 1800) showing that admission of noncitizens is a privilege

Indirect harm

Muñoz’s harm from denial did not give her a due process right to intervene in the visa process

Procedural due process claim

Rejected because the spouse’s visa denial did not trigger any protected liberty interest

Majority by Barrett

Declined to expand constitutional protections to spousal visa applicants

Sotomayor dissent

Argued that denial without explanation harmed constitutional values