Life Beyond Congressional Action

This panel discussion at the 10th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference held on October 31, 2013 examines immigration policy areas that lend themselves to possible administrative action. Panelists discussed what roles the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, prosecutorial discretion, and provisional unlawful presence waivers play, and how states and local governments might respond to the presence of both unauthorized and authorized immigrants. The discussion was moderated by Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). The panelists were Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center; Lynden Melmed, Partner, Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP; and Wendy Young, President, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). The Law and Policy Conference was organized by the Migration Policy Institute, Georgetown University Law Center, the Center for Migration Studies of New York, and CLINIC.