Immigration, Citizenship, and Rights

Catalog description

This course will delve into some of the U.S. laws and policies governing immigration and citizenship. It is designed for students who have taken the basic immigration course or have equivalent academic or work exposure to immigration law. The class will focus on four major topic area: 1) immigration policing (including the bureaucratic bonds between the criminal and immigration law enforcement systems, the evolving nature of border enforcement and asylum processes, state and local efforts to criminalize migration, and the role of race in immigration policing); 2) the immigration consequences of criminal legal system contact (including the effect of citizenship status on criminal legal processes and outcomes, and the immigration consequences of criminal convictions); 3) citizenship and political participation (including limits on noncitizen access to education and voting); and 4) citizenship exclusions and loss (including historic and ongoing exclusions from citizenship, and denaturalization). Course coverage may change depending on unfolding events and student interest. Elements used in grading: Class participation and attendance; writing assignments; and an in-class final examination.