Senior Mexico-U.S. Migration Experts at the Migration Policy Institute
To arrange an interview, please contact:
Colleen Coffey
202/266-1910
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. (January 9, 2004) – President Bush’s much-anticipated immigration reform proposal five days before his meeting with President Vicente Fox in Mexico has launched a national discussion of immigration. The Migration Policy Institute welcomes the opening for a serious national discussion on these issues. To succeed, however, the President’s proposed changes must be part of a broader, more comprehensive immigration reform package.
The Migration Policy Institute conducts extensive research and policy analysis from a balanced, nonpartisan perspective on:
- Mexico-U.S. migration and border relations
- Comprehensive immigration reform and necessary measures for long-term success
- The foreign-born living in the United States
- Immigrant labor in the United States and workplace policies and enforcement
- Unauthorized immigration to the United States
- U.S. immigration policy and national security
- Lessons from NAFTA, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the Bracero program
Following is a list of the Migration Policy Institute experts who can provide thoughtful, balanced commentary on current migration issues.
Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Co-director and co-founder
Demetrios Papademetriou is Co-director and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute. His work concentrates on U.S. immigration policy, the North American borders and migration agenda, and migration management. Dr. Papademetriou was the U.S. convener of the high-level U.S.-Mexico Migration Panel that devised the framework that encouraged Presidents Vicente Fox and George W. Bush to reexamine their countries’ migration relationship. Previously, he was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he co-directed the International Migration Policy Program. Prior to joining the Carnegie Endowment, Dr. Papademetriou was the Director for Immigration Policy and Research at the U.S. Department of Labor and the Chair of the Secretary of Labor’s Immigration Policy Task Force. He has recently been quoted in The Washington Post on President Bush’s proposed reform.
Kathleen Newland, Co-director and co-founder
As MPI Co-director, Kathleen Newland provides leadership for the Institute’s focus on worldwide migration. With more than 20 years of experience, she is an expert in migration management and U.S. immigration policy. Before founding MPI, Newland was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she co-directed the International Migration Policy Program. She has worked as an advisor and consultant to various international organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has most recently published an op-ed on immigration reform in the Financial Times.
Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow
Doris Meissner, a Senior Fellow at MPI, served as Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service from October 1993 to November 2000. Her impressive accomplishments included reforming the nation's asylum system; creating new strategies for managing U.S. borders in the context of open trade; improving services for immigrants; managing migration and humanitarian crises firmly and compassionately; and strengthening cooperation and joint initiatives with Mexico, Canada, and other countries. She has most recently appeared on National Public Radio.
Muzaffar Chishti, Senior Policy Analyst
Muzaffar Chishti is based at MPI’s office at New York University (NYU) School of Law. He is an expert on the intersection of labor and immigration law, civil liberties, and immigrant integration. His current work focuses on temporary worker provisions and earned regularization. Mr. Chishti was founder and former director of the Immigration Project of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE). He was responsible for formulating and executing the union's programs and policies on immigration issues. He has most recently been quoted by The New York Times.
Deborah Meyers, Policy Analyst
Deborah Meyers is an expert on U.S., Canada, and Mexico border management issues, temporary worker programs, and U.S. immigration policy and process with the Department of Homeland Security. Meyers previously worked in the International Migration Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she managed a comparative project on self-governance at US and other international borders. She also worked at the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform and for the U.S.-Mexico Binational Study on Migration. Additional interview language: Spanish. She has most recently appeared on CBS and National Public Radio.
To arrange an interview, please contact the Colleen Coffey at 202/266-1910.
For additional information and data related to immigration, please visit the Migration Information Source, MPI’s online resource, at www.migrationinformation.org.