Prompt:

In the United States presidents not only have informal policy-relevant powers such as agenda-setting and formal policy powers such as the veto, but also powers to make policy unilaterally, such as issuing an executive order. Please write a paper in which you analyze the role of the U.S. president in setting public policy with or without the support of Congress.

Contemporary debates on immigration reform offer important case studies for examining the limit and power of executive-branch policy action. Choosing immigration reform as your issue focus, please assess how presidential leadership and authority have helped or hindered these reforms and how you might advise the president today. In your essay, please consider the following questions:

* What incentives do presidents have to act unilaterally or not act at all, and under what circumstances?
* What are the limits (legal/constitutional/political) to a president’s ability to take unilateral action?
* Using clear evidence, can you show which interest groups and what messages are informing the president’s policy action or inaction on your chosen policy issue?

In your conclusion, explain the implications of your argument for immigration advocates. What would you advise these advocates to do now to advance their agendas? For example, how might you advise the student leaders of immigration advocacy movements? This analysis should include a discussion of both political strategy and specific policy proposals.