Lawmaking and the Dynamics of Discretion in an Administration Agency

在卡拉维塔博士的得力指导下，这项对法律发展的纵向研究考察了移民和归化局（INS）在解释国会立法时的决策过程。研究的重点是1952年至今，在这段时间内，移民局在解释国会法规方面行使了广泛的自由裁量权。卡拉维塔博士还研究了司法-行政互动以及法院判决对移民服务局决策和自由裁量权的影响。通过档案资料的系统分析和深度访谈，探讨了从形式法到行动法的转变，以及外部和内部环境对这一决策过程的影响。正在研究的因素包括移民的经济作用与限制移民的政治努力之间的宏观矛盾，移民局对特殊利益集团和个别立法者所表达的关切的回应，以及该机构本身的双重人员结构，包括政治任命和职业官员。这项研究是推进从形式法到事实法演变的重要尝试，同时弥合了法律行为宏观和微观解释之间的理论分歧。这将大大增加我们对行政机关立法的科学认识。

This longitudinal study of the development of law, under the able direction of Dr. Calavita, examines the decisionmaking processes of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as it has interpreted Congressional legislation. The focus of the research is on the period from 1952 to the present, a time in which the INS has exercised wide discretion in the interpretation of Congressional statutes. Also Dr. Calavita examines judicial- administrative interaction and the influence of court decisions on INS decisionmaking and discretion. Systematic analysis of archival data and in-depth interviews are used to probe the transition from formal law to law-in-action and the effect of the external and internal environment on this policymaking process. Among the factors under study are a macro-level contradiction between the economic role of immigration and the political effort to restrict immigration, INS response to concerns articulated by special interest groups and individual legislators, and a dual personnel structure within the agency itself that includes both political appointees and career officials. This study represents an important attempt to advance knowledge of the evolution from formal to de facto law, while bridging the theoretical schism between macro- and micro-level explanations of legal behavior. It should add considerably to our scientific understanding of lawmaking in administrative agencies.