The Privileges and Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that the "Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." This was essentially fleshed out in the United States Supreme Court case of Paul v. Virginia, where the Court defined freedom of movement as the "right of free ingress into other States, and egress from them." See Paul v. Virginia, 75 U.S. 168 (1869). The fundamental right to travel dates back to the birth of our country, and has been discussed in great detail in court cases throughout the history of the U.S.

The United States Supreme Court was confronted with the a case of Saenz v. Roe, a 1999 case that issued a decision with respect to our fundamental right to travel. See Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489 (1999). In this particular holding, the Court further fleshed out the right to travel into three different sub-categories: (i) the right to enter one state and leave another; (ii) the right to be treated as a welcome visitor rather than a hostile stranger; and finally, (iii) the right to be treated equally to native born citizens when you relocate your permanent residence from one state to another.

Next, we’ll look at some of the restrictions that were placed on the fundamental right to travel.