AALS Hot Topic Program

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Session Type: AALS Hot Topic Programs

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: New York Hilton Midtown

Room: Murray Hill East

Floor: Second Floor

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been making a splash on the topic of immigration since he announced his campaign on June 29, 2015, famously stating: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

While quick with incendiary language, Donald Trump took more time to craft his campaign stance on immigration. He released a formal policy paper on August 16, 2015. In the wake of that paper, whether they were prepared to or not, other presidential hopefuls were forced to begin discussing immigration and to put forth their own proposals for change. Indeed, the past two months have witnessed a myriad of proposals from candidates including revoking birthright citizenship, increasing border fencing, legalization, guest worker programs, mass deportations, and even using a "FedEx" style tracking system to monitor non-citizens. These proposals have spurred political and legal discourse about the constitutional parameters within which immigration reform might take place, and the practical effect that executive branch officials can have on the direction of immigration policy.

This early focus on immigration policy suggests that it will remain central throughout the 2016 election cycle both for intraparty contests and the general election. One key question is how immigration talk will affect constituencies
necessary for primary and general election victory. This latter question is even more pressing as federal courts, including the Supreme Court, consider several state regulations and constitutional interpretations that could seriously affect the representation and voting opportunities for those key constituencies.

The primary goal of our program is to explore the legal and political ramifications of these various immigration platforms, considering both the way in which electoral politics and voting restrictions will affect the outcome of the election, and the potential for candidates to institute their immigration policy preferences once in office. In addition, we seek to explore what effect election politics are having on the national conversation surrounding immigration.