Muzaffar Chishti
Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer, is an MPI Senior Fellow and Director of the MPI office at New York University School of Law. His work focuses on U.S. immigration policy at the federal, state, and local levels; the intersection of labor and immigration law; immigration enforcement; civil liberties; and immigrant integration.
Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Chishti was Director of the Immigration Project of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE).
Mr. Chishti serves on the board of the New York Immigration Coalition. He has served as Chairman of the Boards of Directors of the National Immigration Forum and the National Immigration Law Center, as a member of the American Bar Association’s Coordinating Committee on Immigration, and on the board of the Asian American Federation.
Mr. Chishti has testified extensively on immigration policy issues before Congress and is frequently quoted in the media. In 1992, as part of a U.S. team, he assisted the Russian Parliament in drafting its legislation on forced migrants and refugees. In 2025, he received the Outstanding American by Choice recognition from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou; he is also a 1995 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and 1994 recipient of the New York State Governor's Award for Outstanding Asian Americans.
Mr. Chishti was educated at St. Stephen's College, Delhi; the University of Delhi; Cornell Law School; and the Columbia School of International Affairs.
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Explore Content by Muzaffar Chishti
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Challenges Ahead on Implementing Executive Action to Prevent Deportation of Unauthorized Youth
President Barack Obama's plans of deferred action for unauthorized youth could benefit 1.4 million people, but capacity constraints and unresolved policy gaps may limit its scope.
Long-Term Impact of the Supreme Court Ruling on Key Provision of Arizona's SB 1070 May Hinge on Political Calculus
Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court rules on SB 1070, the long-term impact may depend less on law than on who wins the November presidential election.
ICE's Long-Awaited Detention Reform Prompts Questions from Supporters and Detractors
U.S. immigration detention reforms announced in early 2012 drew criticism from both conservatives and immigrant advocates.
Bipartisan Measures Urge Use of a Temporary Worker Program to Admit Irish Immigrants
Bipartisan U.S. measures earmarking E-3 temporary worker visas for Irish nationals reflect a congressional turn toward targeted, standalone immigration bills.
Questions Arise with Implementation of Obama Administration's New Prosecutorial Discretion Policy
An Obama administration policy to deprioritize certain removals is the first to require a comprehensive review of the roughly 300,000 pending immigration court cases.
Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Arizona's SB 1070
In December 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court took up Arizona's SB 1070, with Justice Elena Kagan's expected recusal raising the prospect of a tie vote.
At Its 25th Anniversary, IRCA's Legacy Lives On
The 1986 immigration overhaul legalized millions of unauthorized immigrants but helped fuel an unauthorized population that reached 12 million by 2007.
Eleventh Circuit Ruling on Alabama's HB 56 Fuels Debate over the Limits of State Immigration Measures
A split appeals court ruling on Alabama's HB 56 deepened the courts’ divide over state immigration enforcement, making Supreme Court review increasingly likely.
Post-9/11 Policies Dramatically Alter the U.S. Immigration Landscape
U.S. counterterrorism tools built after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks have increasingly been used to apprehend and remove unauthorized immigrants.
Justice Department Sues Alabama over Nation's Most Severe State-Level Immigration Law
The U.S. Department of Justice sued to block Alabama's HB 56 for criminalizing housing and transportation of unauthorized immigrants and requiring schools to report enrollment.