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apparatus. Recalling an incident where her father, who had arrived in 1927, lost his naturalization papers in a fire, and was anxious if he could get a copy, she said: "When your parents are immigrants, you grow up understanding immigration in a way that you never could from a textbook: how precious and difficult it is."
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inspection station in the 1920s. Meissner has cited her personal experience as a second-generation immigrant in a family speaking a foreign language as critical to helping her better empathize with the migrant perspective as she took on key roles in managing the United States immigration enforcement
362:. She oversaw the agency's workforce double to 32,000 employees, and its annual budget triple to $ 4.3 billion. She also worked on cutting down the wait time for naturalization applications from two years to nine months, and reduced the backlog from 2 million to 800,000.
409:. Specific issues that created controversy included plans to release 1500 nonviolent criminals to reduce crowding in detention centers as well as a naturalization drive that mistakenly allowed hundreds of criminals to become citizens due to flawed background checks. A
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from the
International Migration Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment, and Meissner's Immigration Policy Project subsequently moved to MPI. Meissner currently holds the title of Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program.
347:, Meissner's appointment was viewed favorably because of her knowledge of the domain acquired through years of experience under both Democratic and Republican administrations, as well as the non-political nature of the appointment. A later
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The INS, and
Meissner personally, came under criticism for not doing enough to control the borders, at a time when cross-border movement was higher than in any previous period. The criticism came from Texas Representative
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report lambasted the INS for a malfunctioning fingerprinting process and a computer system so antiquated that officials couldn't determine exactly how many applicants they had. Other one-off issues, such as the return of
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Among the honors she has received are the White House
Fellowship mentioned above, a Department of Justice Special Commendation Award, and listings in Who's Who in America and Outstanding Young Women of America.
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146:(INS), the agency previously responsible for immigration enforcement in the United States. She headed the INS from October 18, 1993 (nominated June 1993) to November 18, 2000, under
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320:. The nomination came at a time when there was a growing demand for stronger but humane immigration and border enforcement. It occurred shortly after the accident where the
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Meissner's tenure at the INS was a critical time for the agency. Border enforcement was significantly ramped up under her watch, starting with preliminary measures like
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After finishing her tenure at the INS, Meissner' returned to work at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on the Immigration Policy Project. In July 2001,
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462:(Senior Fellow, 2003 to present) and the Administrative Conference of the United States. She is also a member of Washington, D.C.-based think tank the
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USCIS Commissioner, another position that could be considered a successor to the position of INS Commissioner. The first few USCIS Commissioners were
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and INS' efforts to deport Hany
Kiareldeen based on secret evidence (that were ultimately withdrawn), also put the INS and Meissner in the limelight.
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article reviewing her first few years in office described her mandate as "keeping open
America's front door while slamming shut the back."
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Meissner is currently serving or has previously served on a number of distinguished boards and panels. These include the
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In 1986, Meissner moved to the private sector as Senior
Associate and Director of the Immigration Policy Project at the
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Meissner began her career as
Assistant Director of Student Financial Aid at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
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591:"Doris Meissner. Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service, October 18, 1993 - November 18, 2000"
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With assistance from Midge Miller, whose campaign she had managed, Meissner became a founding member of the
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635:"Woman in the News; Immigration Expert Who Takes Broad Approach -- Doris Marie Meissner"
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Many immigration advocacy groups and administration personnel praised
Meissner's work.
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and
Special Assistant to the Attorney General. She served in a number of policy posts:
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Return to the Carnegie Endowment and subsequent work at the Migration Policy Institute
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said that she "performed admirably and impressively in an impossible job." Her boss,
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While still a student, she managed the political campaign of Democratic politician
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Meissner was married to Charles F. Meissner, who worked as an economist at the
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765:"Doris Meissner. Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program"
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and later served as assistant commerce secretary under the administration of
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United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security
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922:"Government claims partial victory in struggle against illegal immigration"
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1977: Became Deputy Associate Attorney General (a post she held until 1980)
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at the time, called her "everyone's idea of the perfect public servant."
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University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
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From Suffrage to the Senate: An Encyclopedia of American Women in ...
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393:. Others who made withering criticisms of Meissner's record included
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In June 1993, Meissner was nominated by then United States President
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Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
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and its executive director in 1971. During the 1972
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841:"The Worst Job in The World?"
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1002:"Kathleen Newland"
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