Year Four of the Trump Administration: What’s Happened, What’s to Come, and How COVID-19 Has Impacted Immigration Policy in the U.S.

Royce Murray is the Managing Director of Programs at the American Immigration Council where she oversees the Council’s legal, policy, and communications work. Previously, she served as the Policy Director at the National Immigrant Justice Center and as an immigration and human rights law consultant for non-profit organizations. Ms. Murray was also an adjunct professor at the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia. She began her career working for the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow and Asylum Officer for legacy INS and later at the USCIS Office of the Chief Counsel. She was introduced to immigration and asylum issues as an intern for Human Rights First, the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, and Ayuda. She holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in political science from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the New York Bar.

Jorge Loweree is the Director of Policy at the American Immigration Council, where he directs the Council’s administrative and legislative advocacy and leads the Council’s efforts to provide lawmakers, policymakers, advocates, and the general public with accurate and timely information about the role of immigrants in the United States. 

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick is Policy Counsel at the American Immigration Council, where he works primarily on immigration court issues, border issues, and the intersection of immigration law and policy. He previously worked as a staff attorney at the Council, working on impact litigation, Freedom of Information Act litigations, and practice advisories. Prior to joining the Council, he was an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow placed as a staff attorney at the Immigration Law Unit of The Legal Aid Society in New York City, representing immigrants placed in removal proceedings because of a prior criminal conviction. He holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in Politics and East Asian Studies from Brandeis University.

Kathryn “Katie” Shepherd is the National Advocacy Counsel for the Immigration Justice Campaign at the American Immigration Council, where she leads the Campaign’s work to grow a volunteer movement to advocate for changes in the immigration detention system. She also manages litigation efforts arising out of the Immigration Justice Campaign. Katie started at the Council in 2016 as a legal fellow, focused on legal advocacy and policy related to the asylum-seeking women and children detained in family detention centers around the country. Before joining the Council in August 2016, Katie was the Managing Attorney of the CARA Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas, where she managed a team of lawyers, advocates, and volunteers which provides legal services to asylum-seeking women and children detained in Dilley, Texas.  For over ten years, Katie has worked to advance and protect the rights of non-citizens seeking humanitarian relief in the United States. Before her work with CARA, she ran a private practice in Houston, Texas where she focused exclusively on asylum cases. Katie holds a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and a B.A. in History with Special Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. She is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York and speaks conversational Spanish.