Donald M. Kerwin

MPI Authors

Donald M. Kerwin

Donald Kerwin served as Vice President for Programs at the Migration Policy Institute. He is Executive Director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York, an educational institute of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians, that studies migration policy issues and safeguards the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers. During his MPI tenure, Mr. Kerwin coordinated the Institute’s national and international programs, and wrote and spoke extensively on legalization, refugee protection, labor standards enforcement, detention, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and executive action on immigration.

Prior to his MPI tenure, he worked for more than 16 years at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), serving as Executive Director for nearly 15 years.

He is a 1984 graduate of Georgetown University and a 1989 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.

Bio Page Tabs

Policy Briefs September 2013 Does Respect for Migrant Rights Contribute to Economic Development? By Donald M. Kerwin	Reports January 2013 Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery By Doris Meissner, Donald M. Kerwin, Muzaffar Chishti, and Claire Bergeron
Reports July 2011 Labor Standards Enforcement and Low-Wage Immigrants: Creating an Effective Enforcement System By Donald M. Kerwin and Kristen McCabe	Reports May 2011 The Faltering U.S. Refugee Protection System: Legal and Policy Responses to Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Others in Need of Protection By Donald M. Kerwin
Reports March 2011 Executive Action on Immigration: Six Ways to Make the System Work Better By Donald M. Kerwin, Doris Meissner, and Margie McHugh	Policy Briefs December 2010 More than IRCA: U.S. Legalization Programs and the Current Policy Debate By Donald M. Kerwin
Policy Briefs November 2010 Structuring and Implementing an Immigrant Legalization Program: Registration as the First Step By Donald M. Kerwin and Laureen Laglagaron	Reports September 2009 Immigrant Detention: Can ICE Meet its Legal Imperatives and Case Management Responsibilities? By Donald M. Kerwin and Serena Yi-Ying Lin

Pages

Video, Audio

January 7, 2013

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

MPI has released a major study that describes and analyzes today’s immigration enforcement programs, as they have developed and grown in the 25 years since IRCA launched the current enforcement era.

Audio

July 14, 2011

Labor Standards Enforcement and Low-Wage Immigrants: Creating an Effective Enforcement System

This Migration Policy Institute webinar discusses labor enforcement laws during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations and chronicles gaps in labor protection.

Video, Audio

May 25, 2010

Reform of the Immigration Removal Adjudication System

A discussion on possible reforms to the immigration adjudication system and the recent report on the topic by the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration.

Video, Audio

April 22, 2010

Securing Human Mobility in the Age of Risk: New Challenges for Travel, Migration, and Borders

'Securing Human Mobility' book release discussion with Susan Ginsburg, Michael German, Luis Rubio, and Donald M. Kerwin.

Video

September 10, 2009

Immigrant Detention: Can ICE Meet Its Legal Imperatives and Case Management Responsibilities?

A panel discussion exploring whether ICE is capable of meeting legal standards and manage its detention system with ICE's Dora Schriro, Detention Watch Network's Andrea Black, and MPI expert Donald Kerwin.

Pages

Testimony

December 2009

Moving Toward More Effective Immigration Detention Management

Testimony of Donald Kerwin, former MPI Vice President for Programs, before the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism at its hearing: "Moving Toward More Effective Immigration Detention Management."

Feature

May 9, 2012

Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States and Europe: The Use of Legalization/Regularization as a Policy Tool

Immigrant legalizations in the United States and Europe ("regularizations" in the EU context) have been used repeatedly for broad and discrete groups of immigrants. A look at how these programs have been implemented historically and the political and policy implications they face today.

Feature

April 29, 2010

Arrested on Entry: Operation Streamline and the Prosecution of Immigration Crimes

Those caught trying to enter the United States illegally in portions of five Southwest border sectors face criminal prosecution under Operation Streamline, which the Department of Homeland Security launched in 2005. MPI's Donald Kerwin and Kristen McCabe examine how Operation Streamline works, highlight trends in the prosecution of immigration offenses, and evaluate the program's outcomes.

Feature

May 1, 2006

Immigration Reform and the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church made headlines in March when of its U.S. cardinals spoke out against the House of Representatives' "enforcement only" bill. Donald Kerwin of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network explains the church's interest in immigration and its position on reforming immigration policy.