Citizens Commission on Immigration - Braver Angels

Citizens Commission on Immigration

The goal of the Citizens Commission on Immigration is to demonstrate to Congress and the nation that Americans with differing views on immigration can find common ground. The Commission works in a red/blue balanced way and includes Americans from all sides of the issue. It was launched after a red/blue balanced group of about 750 delegates at the 2024 Braver Angels National Convention gathered and voted to establish immigration as a Braver Angels priority issue. This is following in the footsteps of our successful Trustworthy Elections Campaign

The Citizens Commission on Immigration encompasses focus on Grassroots Americans, National Leaders, and Congress and culminates in a Report to the Nation, outlining key policy recommendations on immigration that reflect red/blue common ground from the grassroots and national work.

Questions?

To share comments or ask questions about the initiative, please reach out to David Lapp at dlapp@braverangels.org

Finding common ground on immigration

Focus Areas

Grassroots Americans

Centered around approximately 100 Braver Angels events on immigration including Common Ground Workshops, Local Community Debates and Congress Member and Constituent Conversations.

National Leaders

Centered around the Immigration Policy Roundtable, a small group of nationally prominent experts and advocates representing all sides of the issue and committed to seeking ground.

Congress

Centered around on-going conversation with Members of Congress, including invitations to observe or participate in Braver Angels events on immigration. 

Ways to Help

We need members from across the country to participate in this effort. 

Our goal is to have at least one event in every state!

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Watch Immigration 101: A short intro to the U.S. Immigration System, led by two experts who differ on immigration policies but agree on the facts.

DO SOMETHING

Help to organize or participate in an event in your local area to find common ground on immigration.

Timeline

June 2024
At 2024 Convention, Braver Angels Delegates voted to establish immigration as a priority issue.
July - December 2024
Build the Leadership team, identify stakeholders, pilot events
January 2025 - December 2026
Convene ~100 Grassroots Events, and ~8 National Roundtable Meetings
January - June 2027
Convene leadership team to make final recommendations and write the Report to the Nation.
June 2027
Report Released
June 2027 and beyond
June 2027: Report Disseminated to Congress, the Media, Immigration Leaders, and “We the People”

Leadership Team

David Lapp: Director of Citizens Commission on Immigration

David (leans red) is a co-founder of Braver Angels and director of the Citizens Commission on Immigration. He lives in South Lebanon, Ohio.

David Blankenhorn: President of Braver Angels

David is president and co-founder of Braver Angels. He is the author of In search of Braver Angels. He co-founded the National Fatherhood Initiative in 1995, founded the Institute for American Values in 1988, and has authored or co-edited 14 books. He grew up in Mississippi and now lives with his family in New York City.

Reena Bernards

Reena (leans blue) is a Braver Angels moderator and national leader, and was the Project Lead of the BA Trustworthy Elections Campaign.  She created the “Common Ground Workshop” so Reds and Blues can address issues constructively. The workshops do a deep dive into a single issue for the purpose of finding unanimous points of agreement on values, concerns and solutions/policies. Common Ground Workshops have tackled such issues as abortion, teaching about race and racism in public schools, antisemitism, addressing climate change – and in ensuring trustworthy elections. Reena is a marriage and family therapist in the DC area.

Theresa Cardinal Brown
Theresa Cardinal Brown has been working in the immigration policy space for over 30 years, looking for bipartisanship anywhere she can find it.  Her work includes stints with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security (under the George W. Bush and Barak Obama administrations) and for the last 11 years at the Bipartisan Policy Center. She is also a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Cornell Law School and a Leader of the Council on National Security and Immigration as a Fellow with the National Immigration Forum. She appears frequently in the media, including on Fox News, CNN, NPR, PBS, CBS, and CNN, and is quoted in print publications from the Wall St. Journal and New York Times to the Washington Examiner and USA Today, and is the executive producer and frequent voice on This Week in Immigration podcast.
Kerry Conboy

Kerry Conboy is a multilingual immigration law analyst who has interviewed thousands of aspiring Americans from more than 120 countries to determine eligibility for immigration benefits in the U.S. She has delivered in-person immigration law workshops to more than 10,000 farmworkers, law enforcement leaders, detained children, school administrators, county social services departments, and faith leaders. She has also trained and mentored hundreds of law students, asylum officers, and attorneys in accurately applying our nation’s immigration laws to individual fact patterns. Her case experience is curiously broad but she has spent the most time handling Asylum, DACA, Naturalization, and humanitarian visas for survivors of crime and human trafficking. She has also been responsible for cases involving egregious public safety, fraud, and national security concerns. For six years, she led an interdisciplinary training center at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, one of the most politically balanced law schools in the country. She also spent seven years as a migration counselor at Catholic Charities Division of Immigrant & Refugee Services in New York. Her professional contributions to the media have been featured in the New York Times, Univision, Telemundo, among others. She is originally from the Lower Hudson Valley, New York and lives in Southern California. 

Mike Hernández
Michael “Mike” Hernández (leans blue) is a Master’s of Public Policy and Master’s of Divinity candidate at the University of Chicago focusing on urban policy and the role of religion in American public life. At the University of Chicago, he is an Events and Voting Ambassador at the Institute of Politics. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a dual degree in Political Science and Economics in the Honors Program, with minors in English and Urban and Community Studies. On-campus, Michael served as the Student Body President, Founder of the Undergraduate Political Science Association, the Vice-President of the Connecticut Young Democrats and a regular contributor to the Undergraduate Political Review, the Business Review and the student newspaper. Off-campus, Michael has worked on various political campaigns, the U.S. Census, the Stamford Housing Affordability Study, and the historic Afford to Dream Act. Most recently, he was a Policy Fellow at NextGen Chamber of Commerce. His interests in public policy include housing and urban development as well as promoting civic engagement at the municipal level, which are reflected in his honors thesis. In his personal time, Michael enjoys photography, going out for runs and spending time on Long Island Sound with his family. After completing his time at the University of Chicago, he hopes to serve in the U.S. Navy, attend law school and enter public service in his hometown. Michael calls Stamford, Connecticut home.
Laura Kramer

Laura (leans blue) is the outreach coordinator for this initiative.  She is a retired engineer and project manager from Hewlett Packard and 3D Systems.  In her work for Braver Angels she is also on the Braver Faith leadership team and posts regularly on the Braver Angels Oregon Facebook page.  She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon (near Portland).

Rubeena Mohamed

Bio coming soon!

Jon Palaima

Bio coming soon

Juan Rangel

Bio coming soon!

Jim Robb

Jim Robb is Vice-President of Alliances at NumbersUSA, the nation’s largest-member immigration policy group. He has served on the staff since the organization’s founding in 1996. He has authored a book on Hispanics voting trends, Political Migrants: Hispanic Voters on the Move, 2022.  He lives with his wife Kim in Falls Church, Virginia. 

Diego Sánchez

Diego Sanchez is the Director of Policy and Strategy at the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, an alliance representing over 550 campus leaders dedicated to advancing forward-looking immigration policies and practices at the federal, state, and campus levels. A former immigration attorney, DACA recipient, and community organizer, Diego draws on more than a decade of lived experience as an undocumented individual. He is a passionate advocate for expanding immigration opportunities and advancing bipartisan solutions, working across the aisle to promote policies that benefit students, campuses, and the nation.

John Schwenkler

John Schwenkler (leans blue) lives in Decatur GA and helps lead Braver Angels initiatives for workshop development/moderating along with faith engagement

Peter Skerry

Bio coming soon!

Michelle Tolfa

Michelle Tolfa (leans blue) is the Data Coordinator for the initiative.  She is a software engineer and lives in Seattle, WA with her husband Alex and their elderly chihuahua Charlie.  When she’s not helping to support and organize Braver Angels events, she enjoys bike rides through the city and cooking. 

Upcoming Events

Event type (click to sign up)DescriptionDate
Common Ground WorkshopOnline workshop on immigration.  Local focus on Wyoming and Montana.1745668800 Saturday, April 26, 2025
DebateOregon Congressional District 5 Debate on Immigration- Resolved: Oregon should provide sanctuary for unauthorized immigrants. In-person in Oregon City.1742146200 Sunday, March 16, 2025
Common Ground WorkshopIn person workshop in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The Immigration Wars: Ideas, Ideals, and Ideology1742497200 Thursday, March 20, 2025
Common Ground WorkshopNational online workshop on immigration1745064000 Saturday, April 19, 2025

Completed Events

Event

Date

Common Ground Workshop in Wenatchee, WA

20250208

Common Ground Workshop in Atlanta

20250208

National Common Ground Workshop

20250126

Immigration Initiative Training Camp (playlist)

20250111

National Common Ground Workshop

20241207

Common Ground Workshop in Washington DC

20241026

National Common Ground Workshop

20241026

National Immigration Panel Debate (recording)

20240928

Immigration Initiative Training Camp (click for recordings) 1/11/25
Common Ground Workshop (National, online) 12/7/24
Common Ground Workshop (Washington DC) 10/26/24
Common Ground Workshop (National, online) 10/26/24
Immigration Panel Debate (National, online) 9/28/24
Braver Angels Support