Doris Meissner
Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), is a Senior Fellow at MPI, where she directs the Institute’s U.S. immigration policy work.
Her responsibilities focus in particular on the role of immigration in America’s future and on administering the nation’s immigration laws, systems, and government agencies. Her work and expertise also include immigration and politics, immigration enforcement, border control, cooperation with other countries, and immigration and national security. She has authored and coauthored numerous reports, articles, and op-eds and is frequently quoted in the media. She served as Director of MPI's Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, a bipartisan group of distinguished leaders. The group's report and recommendations address how to harness the advantages of immigration for a 21st century economy and society.
From 1993-2000, she served in the Clinton administration as Commissioner of the INS, then a bureau in the U.S. Department of Justice. Her accomplishments included reforming the nation's asylum system; creating new strategies for managing U.S. borders; improving naturalization and other services for immigrants; shaping new responses to migration and humanitarian emergencies; strengthening cooperation and joint initiatives with Mexico, Canada, and other countries; and managing growth that doubled the agency’s personnel and tripled its budget.
She first joined the Justice Department in 1973 as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Attorney General. She served in various senior policy posts until 1981, when she became Acting Commissioner of the INS and then Executive Associate Commissioner, the third-ranking post in the agency. In 1986, she joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Senior Associate. Ms. Meissner created the Endowment's Immigration Policy Project, which evolved into the Migration Policy Institute in 2001.
Ms. Meissner is Vice Chair of the board of trustees of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Inter-American Dialogue, the Pacific Council on International Diplomacy, the National Academy of Public Administration, the Administrative Conference of the United States, and the Constitution Society.
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Explore Content by Doris Meissner
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Asylum Reform, Not Troops, Is the Solution to Current Border Reality
Asylum reform, not the "shock-and-awe" deployment of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, represents the real path to addressing the current realities of mixed economic and humanitarian migration flows.
The U.S. Asylum System in Crisis: Charting a Way Forward
The U.S. asylum system's growing backlog demands administrative reforms and necessary funding, not just enforcement restrictions, to restore timely, fair protection.
Crisis at the Border? Not by the Numbers
Despite the declaration of crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, May 2018 apprehensions matched levels from 2013 to 2016, as flows shifted toward families and asylum seekers.
Juan Osuna: A Tribute to an Indispensable Person
MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner pays tribute to Juan Osuna, longtime Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, who died shortly after retiring in 2017.
Advances in U.S.-Mexico Border Enforcement: A Review of the Consequence Delivery System
The Consequence Delivery System used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reduced recidivism. But its deterrence assumptions no longer fit changing border flows.
Trump Executive Order and DHS Implementation Memo on Border Enforcement: A Brief Review
This January 2017 Trump executive order and DHS memo expanded expedited removal authority, authorized border wall construction, and redefined who qualifies as an unaccompanied child.
Revised Trump Executive Order and Guidance on Refugee Resettlement and Travel Ban
A revised March 2017 Trump travel ban and suspension of refugee resettlement dropped the minority-religion refugee provision to reduce the executive order’s legal vulnerability.
Trump Executive Order on Refugees and Travel Ban: A Brief Review
A January 2017 Trump executive order suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program and imposing a travel ban on seven countries was immediately challenged in court and later replaced.
Taking Action to Reflect Current Reality: Obama Administration Ends “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” Policies on Cuban Migration
The Obama administration in 2017 ended the “wet-foot, dry-foot policy,” treating Cuban arrivals like other migrants as part of broader U.S.-Cuba normalization.
In-Country Processing in Central America: A Piece of the Puzzle
The Central American Minors program provides eligible northern Central American minors a legal alternative to dangerous migration, but historical precedent suggests limited reach.
