Trump vs Obama: Executive orders on immigration
When looking at the presidency from the inside, the office often seems weak. Presidents and their staff point to the need for strong and decisive action to meet the demands of the office. They see an increasingly imperiled presidency in need of enhanced powers. When looking at the presidency from the outside, however, the office often seems to have too much power. Many criticize the way presidents use their executive authority, pointing to an increasingly imperial presidency. This assignment presents you with the opportunity to evaluate these claims using empirical data and systematic analysis. By focusing on one of the instruments of executive power listed below, your paper should make an argument as to how the previous President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, used that instrument, as compared to his immediate predecessors. Executive orders and other directives. To help you narrow the scope of your paper, you should choose one of the following policy areas: immigration. You should not analyze the merits of the policy or your own views on it.Instead, you should focus on the President’s use of your chose instrument of power to advancehis objectives in your chosen policyarea. Your paper should go beyond mere counting and description and provide systematicand rigorous analysis. You will be evaluated on the quality of your research, writing, andanalysis. Remember that a good paper anticipates and addresses possible objections to its argumentsand the methodology used to arrive at those arguments. You must draw on our course lecturesand readings as well as on material drawn from other sources, including primary sources. Thework, of course, must be your own. You should feel free to include any attachments if you thinkthey would be useful. They, along with the bibliography, will not count towards the page limit.Your paper should be five double-spaced pages in length (12 point font, 1 inch margins). Youshouldupload an electronic copy of your paper (as a Word document) byWednesday, Oct. 6, 5 pm (EDT). Late papers will be penalizedatthe rate of 1/3 of a grade per daylate.Your paper mustidentify the sources you have used and provide a bibliography of thebooks, articles, or websites you have consulted. If you present work that is not of your ownauthorship, youwillautomaticallyfailthecourseandwillbesubjecttotheHarvard Extension School’spolicies on academicintegrity. If you have anyquestions about how to properly cite sources, please consult the teachingstaff.
