The New Era of Presidential Immigration Law

At the dawn of the Obama Administration, Professors Adam Cox and Cristina Rodríguez wrote: “[T]he inauguration of a new President can bring with it remarkable changes in immigration policy.” At the time they wrote that, this proposition was in some ways more a matter of advocacy than a description of reality. As we approach the election of a new president in 2016, we finally live in the world that Professors Cox and Rodríguez advocated. The election of a new President will likely carry significant immediate consequences for immigration policy. My goal in this short space will be to focus on how this new role of the presidency in setting immigration policy will change the practice of immigration law. I hope to do three things. First, I will attempt to articulate the historically significant change that I believe has occurred. Second, I will outline how, in this new era, it is possible for immigration lawyers to assist many people who until recently were entirely out of luck. Third, I will highlight the reality that presidential immigration policy is inherently unstable, which has important implications for the practice of immigration law