Even though “Economic Opportunity” was part of the title of the Senate’s 2013 immigration bill, and even though claims of economic harm to citizens from very much immigration are the justification for nearly 2,000 pages of immigration laws (not counting administrative rules and case law) that create arbitrary quotas on how many can come here legally who aren’t coming to kill us but just to work hard with us, real economists have been only 4% of the “expert witnesses” before Congress at immigration hearings. They were outrageously outnumbered by armchair “economists” who would not have been allowed to testify in any court because they have no credentials.
They are Undocumented Economists. They proclaim themselves experts on the economic impact of immigration even though they have no university documentation that they know anything about economics.
Other articles [search “undocumented economists”] explain why this matters; this post simply pulls together, from other articles, the complete list of witnesses at these hearings, and their credentials.
The first category below is the 39 witnesses who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2013 as the Senate considered S744, the Immigration Reform bill. Two of the witnesses had degrees in economics: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, previously head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and Grover Norquist, Republican leader and president of Americans for Tax Reform. UE Peter Kirsanow, a lawyer, had the temerity to treat Holtz-Eakin as if he didn’t know what he was talking about, and UE Steven Camarota similarly challenged Norquist in written followup testimony.
(Originally published at CafeConLecheRepublicans.com on June 1, 2015)
The second category below is the 14 witnesses to date this year before the Senate Judiciary Committee, none of whom have economics credentials, which led to inability at the March 17 hearing to agree on the most elementary of economic factors determining what H1B policy makes sense.
The third category below is the 20 witnesses as of June 1 this year in the House, one of whom has a degree in “International Economics and Cultural Affairs and Spanish”. I have to guess: would that count as one half of an economics degree?
The ratio of economists to witnesses so far, as of June 1, 2015: 2-1/2 to 73. That’s 3.4%.
2013 Witnesses
February 13, 2013 hearing (Transcript) (1st hearing – 6 witnesses)
Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution LLC, Washington , DC; Political Science degree from Williams College in Williamstown, MA. Download Testimony
Chris Crane, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, American Federation of Government Employees, Washington , DC. Download Testimony (I can’t find any education information) Crane also testified April 22
Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza, Washington , DC. She received three degrees from KU: a BS degree in journalism (1982), a BA degree in Spanish (1982), and a JD degree (1985) from the School of Law. In 2011 she received an honorary degree—Doctor of Humane Letters—from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Download Testimony
Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. She graduated from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, where she won a Truman Scholarship, and was valedictorian. In 1978, she studied for a term at the London School of Economics as part of Santa Clara’s exchange programme through IES Abroad. She then received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. [None of the bios I find say what her major was at Santa Clara. Neither do we know her major at the London School of Economics, since she received no degree there. Wikipedia says of the school, “Despite its name, LSE conducts teaching and research across a range of social sciences, as well as in mathematics, statistics, media, philosophy and history.”]
Jose Antonio Vargas, Founder, Define America, New York , NY. West Valley College, Education; California State University-Chico, Business and Accounting information systems. Download Testimony
Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies, Washington , DC Bachelor’s degree in International Studies at Washington College in Maryland. Master’s degree in Government from Georgetown University
March 18, 2013 hearing (transcript) (2nd Hearing – 5 witnesses)
Dr. Karen Panetta, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University, Medford , MA She received the B.S. in Computer Engineering from Boston University and the M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. Download Testimony
Ai-jen Poo, Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance, New York , NY Ai-jen Poo received a B.A. (no major) (1996) from Columbia University Download Testimony
Jennifer Ng’andu, Director, Health and Civil Rights Policy Project, National Council of La Raza, Arlington , VA Bachelor’s degree , Psychology, Duke University Download Testimony
Mee Moua, President and CEO, Asian American Justice Center, Washington , DC She attended Brown University as an undergraduate, earned a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas-Austin, and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. Download Testimony
Susan Martin, Donald G. Herzberg Professor of International Migration, Georgetown University Washington , DC B.A., Rutgers; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Download Testimony
March 20 2013 Hearing (transcript) (3rd hearing – 5 witnesses)
Professor Paul Grussendorf , Retired Immigration Judge, Shepherdstown , WV J.D. Howard University School of Law B.A. Film production University of Oregon Download Testimony
Ahilan Arulanantham, Deputy Legal Director, ACLU of Southern California, Los Angeles , CA a graduate of Yale Law School, and a graduate of Oxford University, which he attended as a Marshall Scholar. Download Testimony
Pamela Stampp, Esq. Attorney, Castro Law Firm, Wilmington , DE (Her bio lists no education; but under “certifications” she says Bank and Credit Risk Analyst – accredited by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Investigation of White Collar Crime) Download Testimony
Jan C. Ting, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia , PA He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Oberlin College, where he majored in history, and received an M.A. degree in Asian Studies from the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii. Download Testimony
Michael Cutler, Senior Special Agent (Ret.), Immigration and Naturalization Service, New York , NY (Mr. Cutler graduated from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1971 with a B.A. in Communications Arts and Sciences. ) Download Testimony
April 19, 2013 hearing (Transcript) (4th Hearing – 2 witnesses)
- Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, one of just two documented economists among 39 witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee when it studied immigration reform.
Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum, Washington , DC He received a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Denison University in 1980 and a Ph.D in economics from Princeton University in 1985. He established his career with academic appointments at Princeton (1984–89) and Columbia University (1985–90). From August 1989 to July 1990, Holtz-Eakin served as a Senior Staff Economist on President George H.W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.[1] From 1986 to 2001 he also served as a Faculty Research Fellow and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Holtz-Eakin was tenured faculty at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University from 1990 to 2003, where he was appointed Professor in 1995 and Chair of the Department of Economics from 1997 to 2001. Download Testimony
Peter Kirsanow, Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff Commissioner, United States, Commission on Civil Rights, Cleveland , OH Mr. Kirsanow received his B.A. from Cornell University in 1976 and then in 1979 received his J.D. cum laude from Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, where he served as articles editor of the Cleveland State Law Review Download Testimony
April 22, 2013 hearing (5th hearing – 23 witnesses; two of them, Janet Murguia and Chris Crane, had also testified February 13)
Allyson Eastman Kennesaw State University, Bachelor of Science (BS), Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse The University of Georgia, BA, Theatre/Theater
Arturo S. Rodriguez BA, sociology, St. Mary’s; MA, social work, U of Michigan
Ron Hira: BA and MA in >electrical engineering, PhD in >Public Policy
Charles Conner BS from Purdue
Brad Smith Wayne State University, Law & criminology, political science
Tamar Jacoby; her bio doesn’t mention college
Rick Judson a Businessweek profile says no education information is available. (Former chairman of NAHB, National Association of Home Builders
Fred Benjamin The University of Chicago – Booth School of Business, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CEO at Medicalodges.
Ron Hira: BA and MA in electrical engineering, PhD in Public Policy “Testified before Congress on national economic policy” Ph.D., Public Policy, George Mason University (2002), M.S., Electrical Engineering, George Mason University (1992), B.S., Electrical Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University (1988)
Megan Smith earned her B.S. in Commercial Recreation Management from Southern Illinois University in 1976.
Jim Kolbe B.A., Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., 1965; M.B.A., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., (Master of Business Administration)
Neeraj Gupta 1989 – 1999 Masters in Engineering – University of Alabama 1985 – 1989 Bachelors in Engineering – Punjab Engineering College
Kris Kobach A.B. (summa cum laude) in Government from Harvard University, graduating first in his class in the Government Department. He was awarded a Marshall Scholarship, which allowed him to earn M.A. and D.Phil. degrees in Politics from Oxford University (in 1990 and 1992, respectively). He then attended the Yale Law School, where he earned a J.D. in 1995 (law school)
Gaby Pacheco Miami Dade College (undocumented) Director, Bridge Project 1016 16 Street North West Suite 100 Washington, D.C. 20036 Twitter: @gabypacheco1 Special Ed teacher, aspires to be a music therapist
Dr. David Fleming Senior Pastor Champion Forest Baptist Church Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida, a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministries, and a Ph.D. in Evangelism and Church Growth from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Janet Murguia President and CEO National Council of La Raza three degrees from KU: a BS degree in journalism (1982), a BA degree in Spanish (1982), and a JD degree (1985) from the School of Law. In 2011 she received an honorary degree—Doctor of Humane Letters—from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Mark Krikorian Executive Director Center for Immigration Studies master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. He spent two years at Yerevan State University in then-Soviet Armenia.
Laura L. Lichter, Esq. President American Immigration Lawyers Association Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, B.A., With Honors, 1989 Law School: University of Colorado Law School
Chris Crane President, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council of the American Federation of Government Employees [President of the ICE union] (I can’t find anything)
Bill Vidal The Honorable Bill Vidal Former Mayor of Denver President and CEO Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado.
Mark Shurtleff Brigham Young University, University of Utah College of Law, and University of San Diego School of Law.
Grover Norquist President Americans for Tax Reform “He served as Economist and Chief Speechwriter at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 1983 to 1984.” Harvard University in 1974, where he earned his B.A. in economics and M.B.A. degrees. “The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, and operations management in a manner most relevant to management analysis and strategy.” (Wikipedia)
Janice L. Kephart Former Counsel, September 11 Commission Principal, 911 Security Solutions, a “fellow” for CIS, “she took a leave of absence to serve as a Special Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee for the purpose of working on the Gang of Eight immigration bill.” Duke University and Villanova Law School.
Steven Camarota Director of Research for the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, DC-based research institute that examines the consequences of legal and illegal immigration on the United States. …In recent years Dr. Camarota has testified before Congress more than any other non-government expert on the economic and fiscal impact of immigration. Dr. Camarota received a master’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and later earned a doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in public policy analysis.
April 23, 2013 Hearing (6th hearing – 1 witness, who had previously testified, February 13)
Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. She graduated from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, where she won a Truman Scholarship, and was valedictorian. In 1978, she studied for a term at the London School of Economics as part of Santa Clara’s exchange programme through IES Abroad. She then received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. [None of the bios I find say what her major was at Santa Clara. Neither do we know her major at the London School of Economics, since she received no degree there. Wikipedia says of the school, “Despite its name, LSE conducts teaching and research across a range of social sciences, as well as in mathematics, statistics, media, philosophy and history.”] Download Testimony
2015 Senate Witnesses
Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO, Washington, D.C. Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University, 1971; law degree from Villanova Unitersity, 1974.
Ron Hira, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Howard University, Washington, D.C. Ph.D. in Public Policy, George Mason University, 2002. B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University, 1988.
Bjorn Billhardt, Founder and President, Enspire, Austin, TX. MBA from Harvard Business School and a dual B.A./B.B.A. in Liberal Arts Honors from the University of Texas, where he is a graduate of the Plan II and the Business Honors Program.
Jay Palmer, whistleblower. University of Alabama and RIT graduate, according to his statement at 59:00 of the video. I could find nothing online about whether he attended college.
Benjamin E. Johnson, Executive Director, American Immigration Council, Washington, D.C. J.D. (law) from the University of San Diego School of Law, International and Comparative Law at Kings College in London.
John Miano, Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, Bellevue, WA. McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific.
Hal Salzman, Professor, School of Public Policy & Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. Ph.D. in Sociology, Brandeis University, 1986; M.A. in Sociology, 1984, Brandis. B.A. in Psychology, with concentrations in political economy and political sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1977. Japan Field Study in psychology and Japanese culture and language; 1974. Bell & Howell Postdoctoral Fellow 1987-1988 (for studies in technology and policy). [According to the University of California website, the emphasis of an economics major, had that been Salzman’s major, is on macroeconomics, microeconomics, and calculus. The emphasis of a psychology major is on general psychology and statistics.]
May 28: None of the 7 witnesses at the April 23 hearing had economics diplomas either.
Mr. Joseph E. Langlois, Associate Director for Refugee, Asylum and International Operations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington , D.C. He is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Simon Henshaw, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State, Washington , D.C. Master of Science in National Security Affairs, and has a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Professor Jan C. Ting, Professor, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Former Assistant Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Philadelphia , PA He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Oberlin College, where he majored in history, and received an M.A. degree in Asian Studies from the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii.
The Honorable Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, Migration Policy Institute, Former Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington , D.C. University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned BA and MA degrees
Mr. Igor Timofeyev, Partner, Paul Hastings, Former Director of Immigration Policy and Special Advisor for Refugee and Asylum Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington , D.C. Yale Law School, J.D., 2001 (Articles Editor on the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Journal of International Law) Oxford University, M.Phil., 1998 (Donovan/Moody Scholar) Williams College, B.A., 1996 (summa cum laude, with highest honors in History)
Ms. Anastasia Brown, Director of Resettlement Services, Migration and Refugee Services, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington , D.C. bachelor of arts Sarah Lawrence College
Mrs. Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies, Washington , D.C. Mrs. Vaughan has a Master’s degree from Georgetown University and earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies at Washington College in Maryland.
2015 House Witnesses
Feb 3 Examining the Adequacy and Enforcement of Our Nation’s Immigration Laws
Paul Babeu, Sheriff of Pinal County, Florence, Arizona Associate’s Degree in Law Enforcement, Bachelor’s Degree in History/Political Science and a Master of Public Administration, Suma Cum Laude.
Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies Master’s degree from Georgetown University and earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies at Washington College in Maryland.
Jan C. Ting, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law Harvard Law School and Oberlin College, where he majored in history, and received an M.A. degree in Asian Studies from the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii.
Marc R. Rosenblum, Deputy Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program B.A. from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Orleans.
Feb 4 the “Legal Workforce Act”
Randel K. Johnson, Senior Vice President, Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce graduate of Denison University and the University of Maryland School of Law and earned his Master of Laws in labor relations from the Georgetown University Law Center. He received a graduate certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for Senior Managers in Government and is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.
Jill G. Blitstein, Esq., International Employment Manager, Human Resources, North Carolina State University DePaul University College of Law, Law degree, Immigration and Int’l Human Rights Law 1992 – 1995; Valparaiso University, B.A., International Economics & Cult Affairs, Spanish, 1988 – 1992
Mr. Chuck Conner, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives graduate of Purdue University, with a Bachelor’s of Science degree and is the recipient of Purdue’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Angelo Amador Esq., Senior Vice President and Regulatory Counsel, National Restaurant Association graduate of the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and obtained a Master of Arts in international transactions from George Mason University. He earned his juris doctorate from the George Mason University School of Law, graduating cum laude. Amador holds a Master of Laws in international and comparative law from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated with distinction and was honored with the Thomas Bradbury Chetwood Award for graduating with the highest academic ranking in his program.
Feb 11 Interior Immigration Enforcement Legislation
Sam S. Page, Sherriff, Rockingham County, NC (His bio lists no education; nor can I find anything elsewhere.)
Frank L. Morris Sr., Ph.D., Member, Board of Directors, Progressives for Immigration Reform Doctorate ( Ph.D. ), Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A.B. with high honors. Colgate. Masters, Public Administration, Syracuse University. Doctorates , educational administration. Morgan
Dan Cadman, Senior Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies [his bio lists no college]
Most Reverend Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop Kicanas has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and a M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from Loyola University. He holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary.
Feb 25 The Unconstitutionality of Obama’s Executive Actions on Immigration
Adam Laxalt, Attorney General of Nevada graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University and also graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Professor Josh Blackman, South Texas College of Law, BS, The Pennsylvania State University
JD, George Mason University School of Law
Professor Elizabeth Price Foley, Florida International University College of Law, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was an Articles Editor of the Tennessee Law Review, inducted into Order of the Coif, and valedictorian of her class. She has a B.A. in History from Emory University and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.
Professor Stephen H. Legomsky, Washington University School of Law, graduated first in his class at the University of San Diego School of Law (Day Division) before earning the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University.
April 29 Birthright Citizenship: Is it the Right Policy for America?
Lino A. Graglia, A.W. Walker Centennial Chair in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law, LLB 1954,Columbia University, BA 1952, City College of New York
Dr. John C. Eastman, Founding Director, The Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence University of Dallas, Bachelor of Arts, The Claremont Graduate University, Master of Arts, University of Chicago, Juris Doctor in Law, The Claremont Graduate University, Ph.D. in Government
Jon Feere, Legal Policy Analyst, Center for Immigration Studies B.A. in political science and communications from the University of California, Davis and his J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Richard Cohen, President, Southern Poverty Law Center, Migration Policy Institute, A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Virginia School of Law