The Review’s 2025 Essay Competition: The Immigrant Question

Frida Kahlo, Autorretrato en la frontera de México-Estados Unidos (1932); Rosa Rolado, fotografías.

Welcome to The Review’s High School Essay Competition! 

Writing shapes character. In our view, writing is a tool that enables us to document the present and remember the past. Through its medium, ideas are challenged—and that kind of thinking is more important now than ever. For this contest, our ask is simple: let your imagination guide your writing and use your viewpoints to reason and explain premises. 

The essay topic invites you to reflect on contemporary challenges in American democracy and to share what’s on your mind with clarity and purpose. Alexis de Tocqueville once said, “Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not. Thus in order that there be society, and all the more, that this society prosper, it is necessary that all the minds of the citizens always be brought together and held together by some principle ideas.” Those shared ideas, especially across differences, are what keep us going. Like Tocqueville, we believe that when times feel tense and uncertain, it is our job as writers and thinkers to understand and document the world around us.

Now is the time to engage. We are not looking for fancy language. What matters most is your perspective. As long as your thesis is clear and disputable, that is a win in our book. Good writing brings us closer to common understanding—and that’s where purposeful discourse begins.

Happy writing!

Yours, 

José and Mariley

Co-Editor-in-Chiefs, Columbia Hispanic Pre-Law Review

Competition Topic

We the people: The Immigrant Question Today

In contemporary political debates, the philosophical-old question of citizenship—its meaning, its protections, and its exclusions—continues to shape immigration policy in the United States. From deportation to parole, asylum, and border security, policymaking has played a role in defining the legal boundaries of immigrant rights. Both the U.S. Supreme Court and state courts have helped shape how immigrants are viewed—as both “aliens” and “persons” under the law. Immigration remains one of the most contentious and debated issues in American society. The Review invites high school students to examine the immigrant question in 2025 America. 

We ask you to engage and respond to the following:

“Mr. Speaker, our Nation depends on immigrants' labor, and I hope we can create an immigration system as dependable as they are” (U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, 2005). To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? What are the policies or legal mechanisms that explain your positioning?


Competition Parameters

Successful submissions will:

  1. Answer the prompt. It is important that you take on a position and clearly define what you are arguing. A good argument will be supported by using concrete legal cases, constitutional principles, or historical examples.

  2. Contextualize your answer. For example, Trump-Vance’s 2025 re-establishment of the Remain in Mexico policy. 

  3. Your writing should be clear and with a disputable thesis. We expect a coherent response to the question and your knowledge of the issue at hand. 

  4. Explain the significance of this issue in the context of law and contemporary debates. For more information on editorial guidelines, refer to our in-house abridged guide. 

Criteria

Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors (or equivalent) across all 50 U.S. states and territories. We strongly encourage submissions from students from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds.

Essay Requirements

  1. Essays must be original, unpublished work written by the student.

  2. Maximum length: 1,000 words.

  3. Formatting: 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, submit as a PDF via the submission form. Please do not include your name, high school, or any identifying content on your final PDF file. 

  4. Each submission form must include: Student’s full name, high school name, grade level, email address, and phone number. 

The Evaluation Committee 

All submissions will be reviewed by a committee composed of Columbia University faculty. To ensure fairness, submissions will be anonymized during the evaluation process. Only the PDF essay file will be considered, and no external or identifying information will be factored into the decision. The Evaluation Committee will select up to three winners based on the parameters and essay requirements outlined above. Final decisions will reflect the strength of the written submission alone.

Honor Code

This competition adheres to the Columbia University Honor Code: 

I affirm that I will not plagiarize, use unauthorized materials, or give or receive illegitimate help on assignments, papers, or examinations. I will also uphold equity and honesty in the evaluation of my work and the work of others. I do so to sustain a community built around this Code of Honor.

Winning essays will undergo a fact-check and editing process led by The Review’s Co-Editor-in-Chiefs before publication.

Timeline

  1. Application opens: June 4, 2025

  2. Application closes: July 25, 2025

  3. The Committee’s #1 evaluation: August 1, 2025

  4. The Committee’s #2 evaluation: August 8, 2025

  5. Final Decision: August 18, 2025 

    1. Please note that all applicants will be notified of their application outcome.

FAQs

  • Yes.

  • All essays must answer the prompt.

  • Your main point of contact are the Co-Editor-in-Chiefs

    José: jec2286@columbia.edu 

    Mariley: mam2647@barnard.edu

  • This competition is not affiliated with Columbia’s Undergraduate Admissions Office. The Columbia Hispanic Pre-Law Review is a publication of the Columbia Hispanic Pre-Law Society, a University recognized student-club.

  • Three generous cash prizes will be awarded.