T. Alexander Aleinikoff
Nonresident Fellow
University Professor, The New School
T. Alexander Aleinikoff, the former United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, is a Nonresident Fellow at MPI, where he works with the U.S. and International programs on asylum and migration and development topics. He is also University Professor at The New School, where he serves as Director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility.
Mr. Aleinikoff served as the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva from 2010 to mid-2015, and from July-December 2015 was on assignment with the U.N. Secretariat in New York. Prior to his service with the United Nations, Mr. Aleinikoff was a professor at Georgetown University Law Center (1997-2010), where he also served as Dean and as Executive Vice President of Georgetown University (2004-10). He was a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School from 1981 to 1997. And he served as General Counsel, and then Executive Associate Commissioner for Programs, at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1994-97. He was Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force for President Obama's transition team.
A leading scholar in immigration and refugee law, Mr. Aleinikoff has published numerous books and articles in the areas of immigration law policy, refugee law, citizenship, race, statutory interpretation, and constitutional law.
He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Yale Law School.
Bio Page Tabs
This webinar, organized by MPI and the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School, discussed migration policy responses around the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and examined where migration management and enforcement tools may be useful and where they may be ill-suited to advancing public health goals.
MPI experts discuss outcomes from the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, the Leaders Summit on Refugees, and related private-sector meetings and how these efforts may gain momentum to change international responses to the complex threats refugees and migrants face.
The Special Representative on International Migration for the UN Secretary-General, Peter Sutherland, and the former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, T. Alexander Aleinikoff, preview upcoming high-level humanitarian protection and migration summits in 2016, focusing on likely agendas and what tangible results might occur.
Recent Activity
Legal analysis of the Supreme Court’s opinion allowing aspects of a controversial Trump administration executive order to take effect has largely focused on the travel ban on certain nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries. Less noticed was the justices' views with regards to the temporary suspension of the refugee resettlement program. This commentary explores the ruling's possible consequences on refugees.
The Supreme Court’s Opinion on the Revised Trump Executive Order: What Does It Mean For Refugees?
The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program Is an Unsuitable Target
The UN Refugee Summit: What Can Be Achieved?