POL 344 The Law and Politics of Immigration

(Formerly POL 244) 

3 hours 

Debates over immigration in the United States are often heated and contentious. Students will learn the full range of positions in these debates, and will be able to develop and clearly articulate their own position on contemporary immigration politics. Students will trace the development and impact of immigration law and policy in the U.S., explore historical political debates over immigration, and analyze the contemporary politics of immigration in the United States, including debates over border militarization, unauthorized (illegal) immigration refugees and asylum seekers immigration enforcement amnesty and the shifting balance of power between federal state and local governments. Students will read a variety of scholarly and popular texts as well as key Supreme Court decisions.