Also known as: privileges-or-immunities · Privileges or Immunities Clause · 14th Amendment privileges or immunities
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional provision in the Fourteenth Amendment that bars any state from making or enforcing a law abridging the privileges or immunities of United States citizens. The clause protects rights incident to national citizenship, including the right to travel and resettle in a new state on equal terms with longer-term residents.
Patrick Phan moved from State B to New York and applied for the state health access program six months later. The program granted full mental health coverage only after twelve months of residency and limited new arrivals to crisis services. Patrick sued, claiming the durational restriction violated his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Penelope Price relocated from State B to State A and applied for food assistance. The agency calculated her monthly allotment using State B's lower schedule rather than State A's full amount for identical households. Penelope challenged the policy as an unconstitutional barrier to equal treatment after establishing residency.
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Pavel Petrov faced a murder charge in state court after a grand jury proceeding that did not follow common-law requirements. He argued the state procedure infringed a national citizenship right protected against state action. The court examined whether the Fourteenth Amendment extended that protection.
Perry Pratt's church sought to expand its building but faced a local zoning denial. Congress had enacted legislation purporting to protect religious exercise against state and local rules. Pratt's suit tested whether the statute validly enforced Fourteenth Amendment guarantees.
Patricia Patel received a death sentence under a state statute that permitted unguided jury discretion. She contended the procedure violated a fundamental protection of national citizenship incorporated against the states. The challenge reached the Supreme Court on the scope of that protection.
Phuong Pham contracted to buy a home subject to a private racial restriction. Neighboring owners sued to enforce the covenant in state court. Pham defended on the ground that judicial enforcement would abridge a right secured by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The clause safeguards rights that belong to national citizenship, such as the right to travel freely between states and to receive equal treatment upon establishing new residency. It does not duplicate the protections of the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses.
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The clause was originally understood by some as a vehicle for applying Bill of Rights protections to state action, though the Court has relied primarily on the Due Process Clause for incorporation.
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The right to travel includes the right of new residents to equal access to state benefits without durational waiting periods that penalize interstate movement. State laws imposing such barriers violate the clause.
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…of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal…