Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Research paper required.

Writing credit available.

This seminar will focus on current issues of immigration law and policy. We will study our immigration laws, examine how they work in practice, and analyze proposals for reform. We will also consider the rights of noncitizens under the immigration laws, as well as under general constitutional principles.

Among the issues the seminar will address are the rights of immigrants to due process, equal protection, and judicial review; the economic impact of immigrants on U.S. workers and businesses; the current system and proposed alternatives for admitting employment-based and family-based immigrants; business immigration visa categories and policy issues; employer sanctions, immigration-related discrimination protections, and the rights of immigrants to public benefits; the preemption doctrine and the constitutionality of state and local government efforts at immigration enforcement; asylum law; deportation grounds and relief from removal; and birthright citizenship, loss of citizenship, and consular nonreviewability.

We will also analyze recent legislative proposals to legalize the undocumented immigrant population, to create temporary guestworker programs, to increase workplace and border enforcement, and to reconfigure the family and employment-based immigration categories. The seminar will include a visit to the Immigration Court to observe an asylum hearing.

A research paper will be required. A prior course in immigration law is helpful, but not required.