Human rights within one state: Dilemmas of personhood in liberal constitutional thought

Although there is little talk of ‘human rights’ in US constitutional law, the rights of ‘persons’ have long been among its core concerns. The constructions of personhood and human rights are, of course, distinct in some crucial ways; they nonetheless share a great deal, not least in their concern with protections of individuals from various forms of political and social harm. It is, therefore, worthwhile to examine whether the use of the legal concept of ‘personhood’ in the national constitutional setting offers insights which are applicable to the legal and social theory of human rights, especially with regard to migrants.