Practical Strategies for Immigration Relief: Family-Based Immigration and Executive Actions

Description

In light of the continued failure of the U.S. Congress to pass meaningful immigration reform and the continued dysfunction of our immigration system, former President Obama announced a series of immigration policy changes though executive action during his presidency. The use of executive action to implement immigration policy is by no means new. Every President since Eisenhower issued an executive action on immigration in some capacity. 1 Nevertheless, the breadth and impact of the changes President Obama sought to implement were unprecedented. As of January 2017, some of the changes outlined by the 2014 executive action have been implemented; others have been blocked indefinitely. Even the policies that have been enacted may be vulnerable to change. Those that were enacted by executive action only can be changed or canceled by the new administration; those implemented by regulation could be changed, but only under the processes outlined by the Administrative Procedures Act. All immigration law evolves; the law covered in this manual only more so. This manual seeks to explain the parts of former President Obama’s executive action that have been implemented as of the time of this writing. These new changes, even if short-lived, can help many. They can provide individuals with much-needed immigration relief, and also provide a blueprint for future immigration policy and legislation.