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Muzaffar Chishti

Director, MPI Office at NYU School of Law
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Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer, is the director of MPI’s office at New York University School of Law. His work focuses on US immigration policy, the intersection of labor and immigration law, civil liberties, and immigrant integration.

Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Chishti was Director of the Immigration Project of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE).

Mr. Chishti serves on the board of directors of the National Immigration Law Center, the New York Immigration Coalition, and the Asian American Federation of New York. He has served as Chair of the board of directors of the National Immigration Forum, and as a member of the American Bar Association’s Coordinating Committee on Immigration.

His publications include Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11 (co-author), Delegation and Divergence: A Study of 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement (co-author), A Program in Flux: New Priorities and Implementation Challenges for 287(g) (co-author), Testing the Limits: A Framework for Assessing the Legality of State and Local Immigration Measures (co-author), and America's Challenge: Domestic Security, Civil Liberties, and National Unity After September 11 (co-author).

Mr. Chishti has testified extensively on immigration policy issues before various congressional committees. In 1992, as part of a US team, he assisted the Russian Parliament in drafting its legislation on forced migrants and refugees. He is a 1994 recipient of New York State Governor's Award for Outstanding Asian Americans and a 1995 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Mr. Chishti was educated at St. Stephen's College, Delhi; the University of Delhi; Cornell Law School; and the Columbia School of International Affairs.

Research by Muzaffar Chishti

(Click below to download)

Report: Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery

Congressional Testimony: America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration

Fact Sheet: Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11

Report: Delegation and Divergence: A Study of 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement

Report: A Program in Flux: New Priorities and Implementation Challenges for 287(g)

Report: Testing the Limits: A Framework for Assessing the Legality of State and Local Immigration Measures

Report: The Phenomenal Rise in Remittances to India: A Closer Look

Article: Immigration and Security Post-Sept. 11

Book: America’s Challenge: Domestic Security, Civil Liberties, and National Unity After September 11

Supreme Court Brief: Supreme Court Brief – Amici Curiae

Multimedia

As celebrations kick off in New York, Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler looks back at what Lady Liberty has meant to the United States. MPI’s Muzaffar Chishti is interviewed.

MPI’s Muzaffar Chishti is interviewed in part three of a series looking at the experiences of the Muslim community in America in a post-9/11 world.

The report and the discussion assess implementation and US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) oversight of the nation's 72 active 287(g) programs, examining whether local enforcement matches up with ICE's articulated priorities. MPI’s Muzaffar Chishti provides historical context to the program.

Discussion: “The States Step In: The Devolution of Immigration Policy” with Michael Fix, Vice President, Migration Policy Institute (Moderator); Muzaffar Chishti, Director, Migration Policy Institute Office at New York University; Cristina Rodriguez, Associate Professor, New York University School of Law; and Laura Valera, Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project Director, Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

Part 1 of 3. NYU Professor of Law and Director, MPI Office at NYU School of Law, Muzaffar Chishti testifies before the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Part 2 of 3. NYU Professor of Law and Director, MPI Office at NYU School of Law, Muzaffar Chishti testifies before the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Part 3 of 3. NYU Professor of Law and Director, MPI Office at NYU School of Law, Muzaffar Chishti testifies before the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) held a conference call to discuss the most significant changes that have occurred in the immigration arena in the decade since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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