The Presidency / The First Year

Gold plate on back of chair that says "the president"

Joe Biden at one year

Presidential experts evaluate the 46th president's first year in office

Watch the event
First Year 2017 logo

Donald Trump at one year

White House veterans and Miller Center scholars evaluate the 45th president's first 365 days

Watch the event

Featured Video

First Year Project Introduction

Watch this overview of the First Year Project

American Flags

Immigration

Americans first

Comprehensive immigration reform is dead. Your administration should see it gets a decent burial. Instead of a futile search for comprehensive reform, you should launch an offensive to broaden the terms with which immigration is discussed.
Gary Freeman
University of Texas at Austin
fire extinguisher

Immigration

Cooler heads

The next president should use his or her authority and leadership to reset the debate by de-escalating the inflamed national discourse on this subject and ratcheting down the stakes on immigration policy, with the ultimate goal of passing substantive and durable reform.
Anna O. Law
CUNY Brooklyn College
Lyndon Johnson

Immigration

Reluctant reformer

Nearly every new president of the modern era has viewed the nation’s immigration policies as deeply flawed. Yet few of these modern executives have been willing to make immigration reform—one of the most dangerous issues in American politics—central to their agenda. Even fewer have had a measure of success doing so.
Daniel Tichenor
University of Oregon
Flag behind border fence

Immigration

Border wars

Whoever moves into the White House in 2017 will face enormous pressure to take decisive action on how immigration admissions and rights are governed. But the experts who contributed essays to this First Year volume on immigration differ substantially in their prescriptions.
Sid Milkis and David Leblang
Miller Center