Immigration Law and Policy Lecture

This course provides an introduction to the major issues in U.S. immigration law and policy. We will study the statutes, administrative regulations, court decisions, and policy debates that have shaped our current immigration system, both in the past and today. In particular, we will examine the laws governing the admission of nonimmigrants and immigrants into the United States; the exclusion and deportation of these same groups; refugee and asylum law; the regulation of noncitizen employment; and the acquisition and loss of citizenship. Our focus will be not only the law as written on the books, but also how it operates in practice through observation of immigration hearings, excerpted materials from litigated cases, and lectures from practicing immigration lawyers. We will also discuss major constitutional questions in immigration law, including the source of federal power over immigration; constitutional limits on the government’s authority to arrest, detain, and deport noncitizens; the rights of noncitizens; and the separation of powers among the three branches of government. The goals of the course include not just a mastery of the structure of the U.S. immigration system, but also familiarity with statutory interpretation, administrative law, and constitutional interpretation—skills that are useful for most practicing lawyers. Finally, students will leave the course with an understanding of the major policy debates in immigration.