Professor Frost
Hello Professor Frost, and welcome to the Hot Bench! Let’s start with where you’re from, and how you are liking Charlottesville so far.
I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but I’ve spent most of the last two decades living in Washington, D.C. Charlottesville is beautiful, and there is so much to explore. Favorite spots so far include the Ix Park farmer’s market, the rope swing on the Rivanna River (which my kids discovered), and the Quirk hotel rooftop at sunset.
You are new to the Law School this year, but you have spent a long time teaching both domestically and abroad. Can you tell us a bit about your past work and what led you to UVA?
I am so delighted to be able to teach immigration law here at UVA, which became known as a leader in the field, thanks to Professor David Martin (now emeritus).
I first became interested in immigration law when I worked on immigration cases as a staff attorney at a civil rights/consumer rights nonprofit. After I entered academia, I supervised students litigating immigration cases through the law school’s immigration clinic and represented immigrants in the federal courts of appeals. Eventually, I began teaching and writing in the area as well.
I find everything about immigration fascinating—from the history, to the law, to the life stories of my clients. As I tell my students, the United States is made and remade by our immigration policies every generation. Today, 25 percent of the U.S. population is either an immigrant or the child of immigrants. Yet the country is polarized over who to admit to membership, and this divide has been a driving force in elections. This issue is not going away any time soon.
You have a forthcoming book about birthright citizenship in the United States. Can you give us a sneak peek into what you’ve found?
The book examines birthright citizenship through the stories of three families instrumental in establishing that right in the Fourteenth Amendment. The United States integrates new immigrants far better than many European countries. One reason for that success is automatic citizenship for all children born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Yet that principle has repeatedly come under attack, particularly over the last few decades. I hope to tell the story behind birthright citizenship in an accessible, engaging way that illuminates its place in our nation’s constitutional values.
You clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. How did you like the experience? How did it impact your professional development?
The clerkship was formative. It is amazing to go from being a 3L with zero authority to a law clerk drafting opinions and advising a federal judge on the outcome of cases. (And it is equally jarring to return to the lowest rung of the profession as an entry-level lawyer a year later!) Working closely with my judge and co-clerks gave me confidence that I had a place in this profession.
You are a believer in cold calls. Can you explain why you think they’re useful? Was your perspective on them different as a law student than it has been as a law professor?
Cold calling ensures I hear from a diversity of voices, keeps everyone actively engaged with the material, and gives students a chance to practice articulating legal arguments in a no-stakes setting.
As a law student, I was just as nervous as everyone else, especially the first few times I was called on. But it got easier with practice, and I appreciated how it kept me on my toes. Eventually, I found I was more comfortable being called on than volunteering. When I volunteered, I felt pressure to say something significant. But if I was called on, my classmates knew I was just doing my best to answer the professor’s questions.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To take advantage of the versatility of the law degree by switching fields and taking on new challenges when opportunities arise.
Let’s do a lightning round!
Where’s a place you’ve never been but would like to go?
The mountain lake on my laptop’s screensaver.
Favorite word?
Chocolate.
Do you have a secret talent?
I make a to-die-for flourless chocolate cake.
First job you ever had?
Working the concession stand at a movie theater while in high school. I ate a lot of popcorn.
My first job in the legal profession was working as an investigator for the D.C. Public Defender Service the summer after my sophomore year of college. That job opened my eyes to the best and worst aspects of our legal system and our society, and it inspired me to go to law school.
If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be?
Be kind.
You studied American history and literature in college (I love to see a fellow American Studies major!). What, in your opinion, is the quintessential Great American Novel?
My vote would be for Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is a Nigerian immigrant to the United States who wrote about this country with the fresh eyes of an outsider-turned-insider.
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Professor Frost
afrost@law.virginia.edu
Interviewed by Elizabeth Patten '25