The debate over immigration reform is intense, and what qualifies as “reform” is hotly disputed. Important questions about the role of destination countries in stimulating the migration they now abhor are barely considered at all. This Symposium Issue presents a series of Articles on these and many other questions. The collection offers a wealth of perspectives on the current debate, on conceptualizing immigrants’ rights, on the need for new approaches, and on the relationship of immigration policy to other arenas.
The threshold question I want to address, however, is why these topics are presented in the Stanford Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Journal. Put differently, why is immigration policy a civil rights issue?