Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Ward, Artemus
Degree Name
M.A. (Master of Arts)
Legacy Department
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis examines how the structural context of presidential leadership influences immigration policy outcomes, with a focus on the interplay between a president’s political regime position and the level of legislative gridlock. Drawing on the American Political Development tradition, this study integrates regime theory, congressional gridlock research, and scholarship regarding executive power to formulate a framework of presidential strategic choice. Seven U.S. presidencies are analyzed as case studies: Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, representing diverse regime affiliations and degrees of partisan polarization. This thesis shows that presidents in low-gridlock or reconstructive periods, such as Johnson and Reagan, successfully enact significant and lasting immigration reforms through comprehensive legislation. In contrast, presidents facing opposition to the dominant regime as preemptive leaders under high-extreme gridlock (e.g., Clinton, Obama) increasingly turned to unilateral executive actions to advance policy goals, resulting in more fragile and temporary outcomes. Conversely, articulative presidents in intermediate contexts (e.g., the Bush presidencies) employ mixed strategies, combining incremental legislation with executive measures. Overall, these findings illuminate patterned variations in presidential leadership, specifically that structural conditions of political time and congressional capacity shape whether immigration policy change is achieved through coalition-building in Congress or through the assertion of unilateral executive authority. This thesis concludes with reflections on the democratic implications of the growing reliance on executive action in an era of polarized gridlock, suggesting avenues for future research on legislative roles in U.S. immigration policymaking.
Recommended Citation
Hansberry, John Peter, "The Long Border: The Politics U.S. Immigration Policy Makes" (2025). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8159.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8159
Extent
122 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
