executive order

, President Obama ordered a package of immigration policy reforms by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, including promises of work permits for parents of children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents.' The November announcements expanded a program the president announced in 2012, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), through which certain young immigrants may request two-year promises of deferred action and employment authorization. 2 Even before that, President Obama's Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement John Morton issued memoranda (known as the Morton Memos) summarizing factors that immigration enforcement officers should use in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. 3 With legislative immigration reform stymied in Congress, broad executive action has been the Obama administration's signature contribution to American immigration policy. The centerpiece of Obama's immigration actions has been expanded use of "deferred action" policies by which the Department of Homeland Security promises to refrain from seeking the deportation of certain people and offers them authorization to seek employment. The Obama administration has also made much more transparent how it categorizes and prioritizes noncitizens for immigration enforcement purposes. The result is that many immigrants who are unlawfully present according to the Immigration and Nationality Act

In this article, Kathleen Arnold explores the historical roots of President Trump’s legal and yet unjust travel ban. Were Trump’s moves illegal? Not really—Trump merely used the legal and yet extra-constitutional powers in the immigration system. The closed system of authority over matters of immigration requires revolution and not reform—protest is truly the only way to effect change.