This thesis is about how Liberian activists were able to help Liberian immigrants under Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to convince President Trump to extend DED policy. They also lobbied members of Congress to pass the Liberian Relief Immigration Fairness Act, which granted permanent legal status to TPS and DED recipients. My research questions were: How did advocacy groups influence politicians? How did the media cover the narrative that advocacy groups crafted? How was the battle to get an effective resolution accomplished? I interviewed advocacy groups and a congressional staffer and analyzed various primary and secondary sources in order to gain historical context. This case study will provide the reader deeper understanding about the complexity of the broken immigration system in the United States that has been ongoing for many years. I will also discuss the Constitutional debate on prosecutorial discretion that continues to raise the alarm on many issues that complicate the process. Additionally, this study will benefit other countries hoping to solve their immigration crisis and more importantly, it will bring awareness to the general public in the United States and help hold elected officials accountable when discussing the betterment of immigration issues. I found that Liberian activists, TPS and DED recipients were very influential in getting favorable legislation passed.

With cannabis legal in 38 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia as of 2023, the legal cannabis industry has become a major emerging industry that will continue to grow rapidly as continuing support for legalization drives both states and the federal government toward relaxing and even repealing prohibitions on both medical and recreational cannabis. However, the patchwork of conflicting state and federal laws surrounding cannabis create a legal and economic quagmire that severely limit the growth and success of legal cannabis businesses while aggravating longstanding socioeconomic disparities. In this thesis, I offer an evaluation of the history of cannabis in the US, current cannabis policy at the state and federal level, as well as offer a selection of federal and state policy options to promote a dramatic overhaul of current federal cannabis policy. These proposals aim to effectively and efficiently address the state/federal divide in cannabis law while simultaneously addressing key socioeconomic disparities aggravated by federal cannabis prohibition.