Why the immigration initiative has nothing to do with assertions of executive constitutional power

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November 21, 2014

My quick take here, dispelling some of the more common misunderstandings about the legal bases of the Executive’s new immigration policies. 

Featured Articles

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New Zealand Attacks: A Wake-Up Call to Counter Far-Right Extremist Violence

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Arbitrary Detention of Asylum Seekers Perpetuates the Torture of Family Separation

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National Security at the United Nations This Week

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Trump Investigations and the RICO vs Conspiracy Puzzle

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What Comes Next: After Supreme Court Reduced Obstacles to Suing International Organizations

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Time to Rehabilitate the Legislative Veto: How Congress Should Rein in Presidents’ “National Emergency” Powers

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After Hanoi, What Now?

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Reflecting on the Civilian Casualty Executive Order: What Was Lost and What Can Now Be Gained

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The US-Philippines Defense Treaty and the Pompeo Doctrine on South China Sea

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Citizenship-Stripping and ISIS Members: The Recent UK Experience

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I Helped Write the Exec Order on Public Reporting of Lethal Operations. Here’s What Trump Has Undone.

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Homeland Security’s Intelligence Overreach: Two Cases Illustrate Risks to Civil Society

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The Ripening: The House Judiciary Committee Investigation Will Bear Fruit

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Report of the Independent UN Commission of Inquiry on Gaza Strip – An Initial Evaluation of a Problematic Report

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Can Trump Organization Executives be Prosecuted for Money Laundering?

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BREAKING: United States Supports Germany’s International Arrest Warrant for Accused Syrian War Criminal

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EU ‘Terrorist Content’ Proposal Sets Dire Example for Free Speech Online

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Trump Told Cohen to Lie to Congress About “Collusion” in General—Not just the Moscow Tower deal

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Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Are Not the Same Thing

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The Missing Khashoggi Report: A President Can’t Choose to “Decline” His Constitutional Role to Accommodate Congressional Oversight

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The Seven Step Program for Fighting Disinformation

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Trump’s Invoking Obama Signing Statement as Reason Not to Report to Congress on Khashoggi Murder: A Roundup of Expert Views

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Mueller’s Findings: Why DOJ Non-Disclosure Policy and Grand Jury Secrecy May Not Apply

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What’s the Mission in Syria? The Answer May be Illegal and Without U.S. Allies’ Support

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Power Struggle Over the Wall: Presidential Emergency Powers vs. Congressional Power of the Purse

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About that Trial Balloon on Using the 9/11 AUMF to Authorize U.S. Strikes on Iran

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Unpacking (Some of) the Legal Issues Surrounding Hoda Muthana

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What You Need to Know about the “National Emergency Declaration”

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Who is Richard Burr, Really? Why the public can’t trust his voice in the Russia probe

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The Pentagon’s Latest Report on Civilian Casualties Policy

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Gendered Security and the Right to Life: Analysis of UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment

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Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Does the McConnell amendment provide a justification for military operations against Iran?

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Human Rights, Deprivation of Life and National Security: Q&A with Christof Heyns and Yuval Shany on General Comment 36

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Proportionality and Doubt

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Roger Stone Indictment Implicates Trump Campaign in Election Law Violations

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Saudi Coalition “Admission” of Error in Bombing Cholera Treatment Center Implicates the United States

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A Dangerous Bet on Recognition in Venezuela

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Pentagon’s Climate Change Report Lacks Analysis the Law Requires

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New House Rules Promote Aggressive Congressional Oversight

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The Status of Guantanamo 17 Years In

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Trump Campaign in Legal Jeopardy Over Manafort’s Sharing Data with Russian Agent

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Weapons of Mass Consumerism: Why China Wants Your Personal Information

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Executive Agreements: International Lawmaking Without Accountability?

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Annotation of the Pentagon Report to Congress on Detainee Abuse by U.S. Partners in Yemen

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A Caution to Pentagon Officials Asked to Obligate “National Emergency” Funds

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Terrorists and the Southern Border: Myth and Reality

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Trump’s Plan to Have the Military Build a Wall is Illegal

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Ruminations on RICO and Asset Forfeiture in the Trump Business Empire

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Coming to Terms with the Impeachment Process: The Case for Starting a Formal Inquiry

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Please Support Just Security with a Tax-Deductible Donation

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Trump’s Bookkeeper: How Prosecutors Could Easily Prove Tax Crimes for Hush Money Reimbursements

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Did Trump Organization Executives Cook the Books?–Tax Crimes Explained under Federal and State Law

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Why It Doesn’t Matter Whether It’d Be Constitutional to Indict Trump

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10 Ways the U.S. Can Curb Interpol Abuses

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Mueller’s Roadmap: Major Takeaways from Cohen and Manafort Filings

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Perjury Chart: Trump Associates’ Lies, False, or Misleading Statements on Russia to Federal Authorities

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Yes, Collusion: The Legal Significance of the New Mueller Revelations

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No Clean Hands: Reaction and Counter-Reaction in the Iranian-Saudi Proxy War in Yemen

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Birthright Citizenship for Children of Unlawful U.S. Immigrants Remains an Open Question

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Prosecuting Wikileaks, Protecting Press Freedoms: Drawing the Line at Knowing Collaboration with a Foreign Intelligence Agency

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Need for Change to Protect Children in Armed Conflict

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Why the First Amendment Does Not Protect Trump Campaign Collusion with Wikileaks and Russia

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Accountability Fatigue: A Human Rights Law Problem for Armed Forces?

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Annotation of Sec. Pompeo’s Certification of Yemen War: Civilian Casualties and Saudi-Led Coalition

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An Explainer: Senate’s Letter on Khashoggi and the Global Magnitsky Act

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What Facts Would Deny the Trump Campaign First Amendment Protections in Colluding with Russia

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Grading the Pompeo Certification on Yemen War and Civilian Protection: Time for Serious Reconsideration

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The Technicolor Zone of Cyberspace, Part 2

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UPDATE: Mapping States’ Reactions to the Syria Strikes of April 2018

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About the Author(s)

Marty Lederman

Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He was Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Office of Legal Counsel from 2009-2010, and Attorney Advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel from 1994-2002. You can follow him on Twitter (@marty_lederman).

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