Charles Kamasaki

Charles Kamasaki is an analyst, advocate, and author. He is Senior Advisor to UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, where he long served as Executive Vice President. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Immigration Scholar at Cornell Law School.

While at UnidosUS, Mr. Kamasaki has authored or supervised the preparation of dozens of policy and research reports, journal articles, and editorials; testified frequently at congressional hearings; coordinated pro bono litigation and legal analysis; and represented UnidosUS at research and policy conferences and symposia. Mr. Kamasaki conducted research for his award-winning book on the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die (Mandel Vilar Press, 2019), while a Visiting Fellow at MPI.

He is the recipient, among other honors, of the Cesar Chavez Award from the American Association of Affirmative Action and the Public Service Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, was named an Asian American of Distinction by Pacific Citizen, and was listed as one of the “dream team” of civil-rights advocates by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Mr. Kamasaki was educated at Baylor University and Pan American University.