Ahead of a second Trump administration, expertise in racial and religious profiling and immigrant advocacy is a top priority

"We are excited to welcome Nermeen Arastu to the CCR Board. Nermeen is a published author whose scholarship and advocacy focuses on racial and religious disparities in immigration enforcement and adjudication. Nermeen brings a wealth of experience litigating immigration and asylum cases as well as post 9-11 racial and religious profiling. CCR is lucky to have her perspective and expertise as she joins the board."

Jumana Musa, Lisa Crooms-Robinson, Co-Chairs CCR Board.

Center for Constitutional Rights Executive Director Vince Warren said "Nermeen's dedication to immigrant and social justice will be crucial for our organization as we prepare for the onslaught of anti-immigrant policies with the upcoming administration. Her mission-driven commitment will contribute greatly to the legacy of CCR and the movement for social justice. We're thrilled to welcome her to the CCR board."

 

Nermeen Arastu is an Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law. In this role, she guides her students in representing non-citizens throughout all aspects of the immigration system, with a mission to advocate for the most marginalized immigrant populations. Her scholarship and advocacy focus on critical issues of racial, religious, and disability-based disparities in immigration adjudication and enforcement. 

 

Nermeen's recent work has been published in prestigious journals and media outlets, including the UCLA Law Review, Harvard Human Rights Journal, Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Newsweek, City Limits, and Slate. She has also served on the Transition Team of then Public Advocate-elect Letitia James, co-chairs the Bellow Scholars Program—a national fellowship for clinical law professors pursuing empirical research to inform their advocacy—and received the Rising Star Award from her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

 

Before joining CUNY, Nermeen practiced as a litigation associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP, and worked as a staff attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), where she led the Immigrant Rights Program and Post-9/11 Civil Liberties Project. She holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.