Silva Mathema is an associate director for policy on the Immigration Policy team at American Progress. Her research focuses on the effects of U.S. immigration policies on the daily lives of immigrants. Previously, she worked as a research associate for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, where she studied the intersections between race and ethnicity issues and policies regarding affordable housing and education.
Mathema earned her Ph.D. in public policy from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she specialized in immigration policy, and her B.A. in economics from Salem College. She is originally from Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Urgency of Designating Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status
The U.S. government should immediately grant Temporary Protected Status to Cameroonian nationals in the United States, given the extraordinary and deteriorating conditions in the country that make a safe return impossible.
Temporary Protected Status Is Critical To Tackling the Root Causes of Migration in the Americas
Remittances from immigrants, including TPS holders, are an organic and powerful resource that provide people living in the Central American region direct access to basic needs and even economic stability.
Redefining Homeland Security: A New Framework for DHS To Meet Today’s Challenges
To meet the challenges of today, the Biden administration and Congress should reform the Department of Homeland Security around a mission that highlights safety and services alongside its traditional protecting roles.
Reinstating the LIFE Act and Eliminating Entry Bars Would Allow Millions of Immigrants To Stay With Their Families
Reinstating the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act or eliminating the three- and 10-year entry bars, or making both changes, would allow many undocumented immigrants to gain legal status.
TPS Can Promote Stability and Recovery for Central American Countries Hit by Recent Hurricanes
Hurricanes Eta and Iota caused widespread damage to several already fragile Central American countries, leaving them incapable of safely and adequately accepting the return of their own nationals living abroad.
Rebuilding the U.S. Refugee Program for the 21st Century
The United States must learn from past experiences—from the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks through the Trump administration—to rebuild a resilient refugee resettlement program.
