About the Program
From the Mexican border to the halls of Congress, the controversy over immigration law has intensified and become more critical to U.S. policymakers. Virginia's Immigration Law Program allows students to explore the key legal and public policy issues affecting this debate, including whom the United States should admit, who should qualify for political asylum, what should be done about the undocumented, the impact of immigration on the economy or on national security, the role of the states and the challenges of building an effective immigration management system. Building on the strengths of an experienced faculty, Virginia's program benefits students preparing for careers in the immigration field, as well as those pursuing careers in criminal law, business law, family law, administrative law or public policy, or who simply have an interest in immigration issues. The Law School provides an ideal setting for considering philosophical and theoretical issues posed by immigration, including the meaning of national membership and cultural identity, the ethics of international relations, or the link between policy and international human rights. Students also build practical skills through an immigration clinic and several pro bono programs offering aid to clients. The program also brings in expert speakers on immigration law, including leading attorneys and policy advocates, immigration judges and government officials.
The nascent field of comparative migration law can do more than classify different approaches to migration law; it is well-positioned to address...
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Over the past twenty-five years, a growing number of European countries have enacted laws granting citizenship to individuals and their descendants...
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A growing experimental literature suggests that international law appears to have a larger impact on public opinion than constitutional law. Because...
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Human rights discourse has become central to the global debates about treatment of and solutions for refugees and displaced persons. Following the...
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In theory, birthright citizenship has been well established in U.S. law since 1898, when the Supreme Court held in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that...
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Denaturalization is back. In 1967, the Supreme Court declared that denaturalization for any reason other than fraud or mistake in the naturalization...
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Faculty Director
Amanda Frost
John A. Ewald Jr. Research Professor of Law
Kevin Cope
Associate Professor of Law
Associate Professor of Law and Public Policy, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Affiliated Faculty, Department of Politics