Mapping Immigration Policy at the Southern Border: An Administrative and Judicial Analysis

Abstract

Presidents are increasingly relying on a mode of governing—presidentialism—that produces radical shifts in public policy through the administrative state, rather than through Congress. Most recently, using the tools of the administrative state rather than legislative action, the Trump Administration has reinterpreted the laws governing asylum, especially as to citizens from Central America seeking refuge from violence and dire poverty. Through a legal analysis of the judiciary’s response to these reforms, this article examines the limits and constraints of presidential administrative power.