How a Post–Civil War Supreme Court Decision Dismantles Sanctuary Cities

American Thinker:

Introduction

Shortly after the Civil War and the passage of the 14th Amendment, the US Supreme Court decided the Slaughter-House cases.  Historically, many people have looked at these decisions as severely limiting the ability of the federal government and federal courts from interfering with state government functions by using the Privileges and Immunities clause of the 14th Amendment.  Regardless of your position on that debate, this article looks at how the decisionby Justice Miller in 1873 actually provides a strong precedent for using the Privileges and Immunities clause of the 14th Amendment against all sanctuary states, counties, and cities.

Privileges and Immunities of all United States citizens

In the Slaughter-House decision, Justice Miller writes :

Having shown that the privileges and immunities relied on in the argument are those which belong to citizens of the States as such, and that they are left to the State governments for security and protection, and not by this article placed under the special care of the Federal government, we may hold ourselves excused from defining the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States which no State can abridge, until some case involving those privileges may make it necessary to do so.

In layman’s terms, Justice Miller was saying that states and cities have a wide latitude to regulate their internal affairs such as where to allow Slaughter-Houses to be setup around New Orleans.  He leaves open the issue as to what Privileges and Immunities all citizens of the United States have that can’t be infringed upon by the State.  Using the analogy of a Members Only Recreation Club, this paper lays out a strong case for privileges that the Founders and writers of the 14th Amendment would have presumed to be obvious.

Members Only Recreation Club

This club has been in existence for over 200 years.  It started as a phenomenal Golf Course, and has grown to include a Swimming Complex, Rock-Climbing, and Tennis Courts.   The members have made major sacrifices to constantly improve the club and make it world class.  Due to its reputation, there is a waiting list of 10 years for new members to join the club.  All new members, who are not related to existing members, must pay a $20,000 one-time fee.  Members are allowed to bring guests for a $50/day fee, and must pay $2,000/year to maintain their membership.

As the Recreation Club grew over time, the specialties and complexities of managing the club became extensive.  To divide management responsibilities, members select their favorite sport: golf, swimming, rock-climbing or tennis.  Members become voting members for the operation of their favorite sport.  For instance, all of the golf voting members vote to hire the staff to manage the golf course, and set the rules specific to the golf course.  When a Recreation Club member’s interests change, they are free to change their voting membership to any one of the other sports.

There are a number of common needs for all areas of the Recreation Club that are handled by a Club Management that is voted on by all members.  First and foremost is the need to provide protection against the use of the club by non-members, and to protect against outside threats such as bears, wildcats and snakes.  The water, lighting, locker-rooms, rest-rooms, parking, walkways and internet access are all shared between the various sports areas.  To protect the members of the club, the Central Management is responsible for checking in all members at the front desk upon arrival.  In addition, the Central Management walks through all areas at noon and 4PM to verify membership each day.

Problems at the Swimming Complex

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