MIGRATION, REFUGEES, AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: A PERSPECTIVE FROM AMERICA

This article argues that a right to travel or migrate for religious reasons is an inherent element of freedom to manifest one's religion or belief. The article begins by tracing the historical background of religiously motivated travel, illustrating that travel has been a prominent and essential feature of religious practice since ancient times. The analysis then shifts to American and international legal precedents. Countries have significant and appropriate authority to regulate their borders, but these legal precedents show that as a matter of international law a country must not use religion or belief as the basis for denying entry to or deporting a person. In practice the right to religiously motivated travel is not consistently recognized or enforced. However, sound legal arguments exist that, in the hands of good lawyers, will undoubtedly make this right more concrete and explicit over time.