The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution guarantee immigrants the right to due process of law and equal protection of laws of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment specifically provides that “[No state shall] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Equal Protection Clause contained in the Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
Both Amendments make the point to specify that these rights are available to “person[s]”, and not only available to United States citizens or any special class of people. Thus, these rights are available to aliens residing in the United States whether documented or undocumented. Based on this, aliens are given access to United States Courts in order to bring suit, alternatively, they can also be sued in U.S. Courts.
Louisiana’s State Constitution provides that its State Courts are available to all people regardless of their citizen or immigration status. This means that non-citizens can sue or be sued, enter into contracts, and have those contracts enforced. Additionally, Louisiana Courts have also held undocumented immigrants are also eligible to receive Worker’s Compensation benefits or sue for lost wages.
Whether you are a documented or undocumented immigrant, you can file suit for violations of rights, discrimination, or personal injury, possibly be able to receive relief or compensation for damages you have suffered.
