Charles Kamasaki
Resident Fellow
Senior Cabinet Adviser, UnidosUS
Charles Kamasaki is Senior Cabinet Adviser for UnidosUS. In this capacity he serves as a senior member of the management team of UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil-rights and advocacy organization, representing nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations that serve millions of Hispanic Americans annually. He is also a Nonresident Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, where he conducted research for a book, Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die (Mandel Vilar Press, 2019) about the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Mr. Kamasaki previously managed UnidosUS’s research, policy analysis, and advocacy activity on civil rights, education, economic mobility, housing and community development, immigration, health, and other issues.
He has authored, co-authored, and supervised the preparation of dozens of policy and research reports, journal articles, and editorials, testified frequently at congressional and administrative hearings, coordinated pro bono litigation and legal analysis, and represented UnidosUS at research and policy conferences and symposia. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards of directors, advisory committees, and task forces.
Mr. Kamasaki was educated at Baylor University and Pan American University.
Bio Page Tabs
This discussion on the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) showcases MPI Fellow Charles Kamasaki's book, Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die. Kamasaki is joined by other veterans of the IRCA debate for a conversation on the lessons, the intended and unintended consequences, and how the law’s legacy has shaped contemporary politics on immigration.
This webinar examines the implementation at state and local levels of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and how it may limit immigrant integration, along with a discussion on strategies that may help ensure more equitable access to services.