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Debu
Gandhi

Senior Director, Immigration Policy

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A woman, originally from Bangladesh, holds her 7-month-old daughter as she recites the Pledge of Allegiance. Immigration Policy
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Advancing Racial Equity and Justice; Immigration; DREAM Act; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

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Debu Gandhi

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Debu Gandhi is the senior director of Immigration Policy at American Progress. In this role, he leads the organization’s efforts to fix the badly broken immigration system.

Before joining American Progress, Gandhi served as chief counsel for immigration for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He provided guidance to Senate Majority Whip and Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) and the Democratic caucus on immigration law, legislative strategy, vote recommendations, and messaging. He also conducted bipartisan legislative negotiations and served as the lead staffer for hearings on the American Dream and Promise Act and Farm Workforce Modernization Act. He previously served as a Judiciary Committee counsel and associate counsel to Sen. Durbin, the then minority whip and ranking member of the Immigration Subcommittee. In addition to leading multiple legislative efforts, Gandhi led oversight initiatives on federal agency immigration policies and drafted questions for the nomination hearings of Supreme Court justices, attorneys general, and other nominees.

Earlier in his career, he worked as a federal legislative analyst for six Native American tribes, as an immigration attorney representing individuals and businesses, and as a state legislative aide. Gandhi holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, a master’s in political science from Illinois State University, and a bachelor’s in politics from Willamette University.

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The Trump Administration’s Hostility to Legal Immigration Harms America’s Global Leadership in Innovation Report
Researchers at a biopharmaceutical company conduct lab tests.

The Trump Administration’s Hostility to Legal Immigration Harms America’s Global Leadership in Innovation

By targeting legal immigration, the United States is signaling to the best and brightest talent around the world that they are unwelcome, harming U.S. leadership in innovation that has strengthened the economy for all Americans.

Ben Greenho, Silva Mathema, Rosa Barrientos-Ferrer, 1 More Debu Gandhi

Hoja informativa: Un marco de inmigración que garantizará el orden en la frontera, mantendrá seguros a los estadounidenses, aumentará el crecimiento económico y nos fortalecerá Hoja informativa

Hoja informativa: Un marco de inmigración que garantizará el orden en la frontera, mantendrá seguros a los estadounidenses, aumentará el crecimiento económico y nos fortalecerá

Estas reformas ofrecen una estrategia ordenada y eficaz que protege a las comunidades estadounidenses y defiende los valores de la nación, a la vez que satisface las necesidades económicas del país.

Neera Tanden, Debu Gandhi

Fact Sheet: An Immigration Framework That Would Ensure Order at the Border, Keep Americans Safe, Increase Economic Growth, and Make Us Stronger Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet: An Immigration Framework That Would Ensure Order at the Border, Keep Americans Safe, Increase Economic Growth, and Make Us Stronger

These reforms offer an orderly and effective approach that protects American communities and upholds American values while meeting the nation’s economic needs.

Neera Tanden, Debu Gandhi

Trump’s Rash Immigration Actions Place Cruelty and Spectacle Above Security Report

Trump’s Rash Immigration Actions Place Cruelty and Spectacle Above Security

Rather than adopting commonsense measures to fix the United States’ badly broken immigration system to benefit all Americans, President Trump’s indiscriminate immigration actions follow a pattern of cruelty, ripping apart families and communities and jeopardizing Americans’ security.

Debu Gandhi, Ben Greenho, Nick Wilson

Regaining America’s Trust on Immigration In the News

Regaining America’s Trust on Immigration

In a new article published in Democracy Journal, Debu Gandhi discusses how progressives should modify their messaging on immigration in the wake of this year’s general election.

Democracy Journal

Debu Gandhi

To Resolve the Humanitarian and Administrative Border Crisis, the U.S. Must Fix the Broken Asylum System, Help Stabilize the Western Hemisphere, and Provide Robust, Orderly Migration Pathways Article
Sunlight his the U.S. Capitol dome.

To Resolve the Humanitarian and Administrative Border Crisis, the U.S. Must Fix the Broken Asylum System, Help Stabilize the Western Hemisphere, and Provide Robust, Orderly Migration Pathways

The just-released Senate border deal is a sincere, bipartisan attempt to create much needed order at the U.S.-Mexico border; release pressure on the broken asylum system, resource agencies, and communities; and provide other targeted solutions across the immigration system. However, to achieve and sustain order at the border, Congress must more boldly address what drives migration in the region and must create accessible lawful pathways that are an alternative to asylum.

Patrick Gaspard, Debu Gandhi, Dan Restrepo

Executive Summary: A Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach to Tackling the Opioid Crisis Fact Sheet

Executive Summary: A Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach to Tackling the Opioid Crisis

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report outlining the need for a whole-of-government, society-wide approach to addressing the complex challenges posed by the opioid overdose epidemic.

Trinh Q. Truong, Debu Gandhi, Jill Rosenthal, 5 More Marquisha Johns, Mariam Rashid, Dan Restrepo, Akua Amaning, Cleo Bluthenthal

Tackling the Opioid Crisis Requires a Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents sift through packages in search of fentanyl.

Tackling the Opioid Crisis Requires a Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach

The opioid epidemic is a complex public health crisis that can be ameliorated by addressing root causes of drug use; expanding access to treatment and harm reduction strategies; and reducing the supply of illicit opioids entering the United States.

Trinh Q. Truong, Debu Gandhi, Jill Rosenthal, 5 More Marquisha Johns, Mariam Rashid, Dan Restrepo, Akua Amaning, Cleo Bluthenthal

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