Immigration and Naturalization Service et al. v. Delgado et al.

Decided April 17, 1984. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-1271 · 466 U.S. 210 (1984) · Cited 1,950 times

Holding

The factory surveys did not result in the seizure of the entire work forces, and the individual questioning of the respondent employees by INS agents concerning their citizenship did not amount to a detention or seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Martinez-Fuerte · 428 U.S. 543 (1976)
• United States v. Brignoni-Ponce · 422 U.S. 873 (1975)
• Terry v. Ohio · 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
• Florida v. Royer · 460 U.S. 491 (1983)
• Brown v. Texas · 443 U.S. 47 (1979)
• United States v. Mendenhall · 446 U.S. 544 (1980)
• Davis v. Mississippi · 394 U.S. 721 (1969)
• Delaware v. Prouse · 440 U.S. 648 (1979)
• Adams v. Williams · 407 U.S. 143 (1972)
• Almeida-Sanchez v. United States · 413 U.S. 266 (1973)
• Allee v. Medrano · 416 U.S. 802 (1974)
• Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
• Schneckloth v. Bustamonte · 412 U.S. 218 (1973)
• Carroll v. United States · 267 U.S. 132 (1925)
• United States v. Cortez · 449 U.S. 411 (1981)
• Rizzo v. Goode · 423 U.S. 362 (1976)
• Dunaway v. New York · 442 U.S. 200 (1979)
• Camara v. Municipal Court of City and County of San Francisco · 387 U.S. 523 (1967)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Ybarra v. Illinois · 444 U.S. 85 (1979)
• Michigan v. Summers · 452 U.S. 692 (1981)
• Kleindienst v. Mandel · 408 U.S. 753 (1972)
• Fiallo Ex Rel. Rodriguez v. Bell · 430 U.S. 787 (1977)
• Mancusi v. DeForte · 392 U.S. 364 (1968)
• United States v. Ortiz · 422 U.S. 891 (1975)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Florida v. Bostick · 501 U.S. 429 (1991)
• United States v. Drayton · 536 U.S. 194 (2002)
• Michigan v. Chesternut · 486 U.S. 567 (1988)
• California v. Hodari D. · 499 U.S. 621 (1991)
• Kentucky v. King · 563 U.S. 452 (2011)
• Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Assn. · 489 U.S. 602 (1989)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Lopez-Mendoza · 468 U.S. 1032 (1984)
• Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev., Humboldt Cty. · 542 U.S. 177 (2004)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• United States v. Sokolow · 490 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Alabama v. White · 496 U.S. 325 (1990)
• Brendlin v. California · 551 U.S. 249 (2007)
• Brower Ex Rel. Estate of Caldwell v. County of Inyo · 489 U.S. 593 (1989)
• Muehler v. Mena · 544 U.S. 93 (2005)
• Schall v. Martin · 467 U.S. 253 (1984)
• Kaupp v. Texas · 538 U.S. 626 (2003)
• Torres v. Madrid · 592 U.S. 306 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).