Research Guides: Immigration Law: Introduction

Being a border state, California has a long history in the public debate over immigration law. This research guide aims to provide a basic framework and research strategy for students doing work in this area of law.

The basic regulatory framework of immigration law resides in Congress. Although this power is not among the powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution, the federal courts have repeatedly ruled that the power to regulate and control immigration resides with Congress. In exercising this power, administrative agencies have been created to regulate within their statutory authority. These agencies include the Department of Homeland Security, Labor, State, Health and Human Services, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Social Security Administration.

Some of the materials listed in this guide are available online only in legal subscription databases such as Lexis and Westlaw. Use of these databases is limited to current UC Davis School of Law affiliates. If you have questions about accessing certain resources, please contact the Mabie Law Library reference librarians at lawlibref@ucdavis.edu.

CALI Tutorial

Researching U.S. Immigration Law
This lesson will provide students with some general background on U.S. immigration law and help them get familiar with basic immigration law research. Students should have a fundamental knowledge of legal research tools but do not need to have any background in immigration law to proceed with the lesson. Ideally, the lesson would work best while also learning about Immigration Law while taking a class in the subject.

Basic Study Aids

Immigration Law and Procedure in a Nutshell by David Weissbrodt; Laura Danielson; Howard Myers III; Sarah Peterson; Sarah Brenes
Publication Date: 2023-06-12
This compact, comprehensive title offers a thorough overview of the history, constitutional basis, statutory structure, regulatory provisions, administrative procedure, and ethical principles related to immigration law and practice. Updated to reflect developments including the Trump administration's impact on immigration law and the Biden Administration, it is valuable both as a teaching and a practice reference.
Understanding Immigration Law by Kevin Johnson; Raquel Aldana; Bill Hing; Leticia Saucedo; Enid Trucios-Haynes
Publication Date: 2019-08-01
The third edition of Understanding Immigration Law lays out the basics of U.S. immigration law in an accessible way to newcomers to the field. It offers background about the intellectual, historical, and constitutional foundations of U.S. immigration law. The book also identifies the factors that have historically fueled migration to the United States, including the economic "pull" of jobs and family in the United States and the "push" of economic hardship, political instability, and other facts of life in the sending country.