The President’s Immigration Executive Actions

What explains the president’s executive actions on immigration? Although research has detailed how the political context motivates presidents to issue executive orders broadly, limited research has applied these expectations to a specific policy area, like immigration. Moreover, this literature has not viewed executive actions as part of the larger policy agendas system, which may also shape presidents’ executive actions on immigration. Building upon a database of all presidential executive actions related to immigration since 1953, the paper theorizes that immigration executive actions are a function of both the political and policy contexts, and that presidents take these actions not solely to adopt policy, but also to advertise their immigration policy agendas. The results reveal that these immigration actions have increased over time, primarily through proclamations where presidents publicize their immigration policy agendas, and that a combination of political and policy variables explains this increase. Overall, this paper shows how politics and policy shape the contours of executive power and offers additional evidence of how even the symbolism of unilateral powers may be central to a fuller understanding of the public presidency.