ABSTRACT
Congressional delegation to the attorney general of authority to suspend deportations of aliens goes back to the 1930s. On June 23, 1983, by a vote of 7 to 2, the Supreme Court ruled the congressional veto in the Immigration and Naturalization Act unconstitutional. The first congressional response to loss of the veto came less than a week after the Supreme Court decision. Congressional delegation to the attorney general of authority to suspend deportations of aliens goes back to the 1930s. At that time Congress was besieged by private immigration bills, and faced with frequent suggestions from the press that some members were receiving payments for sponsoring bills to allow certain aliens to remain in the country. Justice Powell that when Congress finds that a particular person does not satisfy the statutory criteria for permanent residence in the country, it has assumed a judicial function in violation of the principle of separation of powers.
