Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition

Kent v. Dulles

by Thomas Tandy Lewis

Citation: 357 U.S. 116

Announced: June 16, 1958

Issue: Right to travel

Relevant Amendment: Fifth

Brief Summary: The Supreme Court ruled that the right to travel was part of the liberty guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and that Congress had not authorized the secretary of state to deny passports because of beliefs or political affiliations.

In 1948 the Department of State established a policy of not issuing passports to communists, communist sympathizers, or individuals considered security risks. When Rockwell Kent was denied a passport, he argued that the policy was unconstitutional.

Speaking for a 5-4 majority, Justice William O. Douglas held that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 did not authorize the secretary of state to withhold passports from citizens because of their beliefs or political activities. Although the Executive may regulate the travel of citizens by requiring them to obtain valid passports, it may not condition the fulfillment of such requirements with the imposition of rules that abridge basic constitutional notions of liberty, association, and personal autonomy. In order to get Justice Felix Frankfurter to join the majority, Douglas did not discuss whether Congress had the constitutional powers to restrict travel with statutes.

As a result of the decision passport application forms ceased to ask questions about Communist Party membership. Expanding on Kent, the Court limited the authority of Congress to restrict travel in Aptheker v. Secretary of State (1964).

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Kent V. Dulles." The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition, edited by Thomas Tandy Lewis, Salem Press, 2017. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=BOR2e_0338.
APA 7th
Lewis, T. T. (2017). Kent v. Dulles. In T. T. Lewis (Ed.), The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Kent V. Dulles." Edited by Thomas Tandy Lewis. The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2017. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.