Writing
See what else we’ve written about the ideas and issues we explore in the book.
June 22, 2020
The Supreme Court’s Ominous DACA Decision: Perils for Dreamers in What Comes Next
“Last Thursday, the Supreme Court rebuffed the Trump administration’s attempt to unwind DACA–President Barack Obama’s signature immigration initiative that insulates nearly 700,000 young immigrants from deportation while providing them with workpapers. The Court’s decision was initially touted widely as a major victory for the Dreamers and a constraint on an irresponsible executive. For the Dreamers themselves, this celebration makes sense, especially given that this litigation has been a vital part of their struggle for recognition. But the decision is as ominous as it is encouraging.”
April 30, 2020
Trump’s COVID-19 Immigration Proclamation May Be Legal, But It’s Still an Abuse of Power
“Last Monday night, April 20, President Trump tweeted that he was about to sign an executive order temporarily suspending immigration to the United States in response to the “invisible enemy” of the coronavirus. Immediately, the president’s tweet turned into headlines that the United States was about to end all immigration. The formal proclamation he actually issued two days later was considerably narrower—even to the apparent disappointment of some of his conservative allies...”
June 27, 2018
The Radical Supreme Court Travel Ban Decision
In writing the opinion for the Supreme Court in the travel ban case, Chief Justice John Roberts had to decide what to do with Donald Trump’s many statements laying bare his discriminatory reasons for adopting the executive order. Although other analysts say that the Court “balanced” or engaged in “weighing” the president’s comments against the putative national security reasons for the policy, we don’t see it that way.
September 6, 2017
Trump and Sessions Can't Blame the Constitution for their Cruel DACA Decision
On Tuesday, the Trump administration formally announced its decision to end one of President Obama's signature immigration accomplishments—the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA).
Designed to protect Dreamers, that policy has insulated from deportation as many as 800,000 young people who were brought to the United States as children.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions claims that the Obama Administration violated the Constitution when it decided, as a matter of prosecutorial discretion, not to deport Dreamers and instead to invest enforcement resources elsewhere.