Exploring the relationship between Immigration Policy, Immigrant Rights and National Security.
BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / April 11, 2025 / Philip Kretsedemas, a respected public intellectual and expert on immigration and asylum law, social policy, and race relations, has been featured in an exclusive article on CEO World. The piece delves into Kretsedemas's insights on the evolving landscape of U.S. immigration policy and its impact on marginalized communities, with a focus on the black experience (including immigrants and native-born people). Drawing from over two decades of research and firsthand experience in both academic and nonprofit sectors, Kretsedemas offers a nuanced perspective on why immigration policy and national identity have always been intimately connected and why they have become increasingly focused on questions of security.
In the article, Kretsedemas emphasizes that when immigration policy is dominated by concerns about security and criminality, this often comes at the expense of a rights-based perspective; and also that when immigrant rights are diminished, this often occurs alongside incursions on the rights of native-born populations.
"We need to rethink how we define security in the context of immigration," Kretsedemas states in the article. "Security should not come at the cost of fundamental human rights. We also need security policies that improve public safety for all US residents, including immigrants."
The feature explores Kretsedemas's extensive body of work, including his research on the black migrant experience and his critiques of post-9/11 immigration policies. With publications in esteemed journals such as The American Quarterly and The Stanford Journal of Law and Policy, Kretsedemas has been an advocate for using public debates over immigration reform as opportunities to better understand the economic drivers and benefits of immigration, along with the dynamics of economic inequality in the US. He also has also pointed out that racial biases and anxieties about immigrants distort the public dialogue about this economic context. His books, published by Columbia University Press, Routledge, and Temple University Press, have been widely cited in policy debates and academic circles alike.
Kretsedemas also shares his thoughts on the future of U.S. immigration policy. He underscores the need for comprehensive reforms that address root causes of migration which, over the past several decades, has been defined by escalating patterns of global displacement that have blurred the distinction between "migrants" and "refugees." He calls for an approach to both refugee policy and immigration reform that balances concerns for public safety and sustainable economic growth (which tend to define the interests of US policy makers) with other staples of US immigration policy that are especially important for immigrants, including: family unity, due process, and protection for those fleeing violence.
Philip Kretsedemas currently serves as the Managing Director of Research, Evaluation, and Data Analytics at the Acacia Center for Justice, where he leads research and reporting initiatives that are connected to federally-funded programs that provide legal assistance to immigrants in removal proceedings, including unaccompanied children, families on expedited removal dockets and detainees with mental health challenges. His expertise is backed by years of teaching Sociology at academic institutions such as UMass-Boston, the New School University and Florida Memorial University.
To read the full article, click here.
Contact:
SOURCE: Philip Kretsedemas
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
