Oren Root directed the Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Immigration and Justice from 2007 until 2019. In that role, he oversaw a nationwide network of legal information and representation services for migrant adults and children facing deportation. He also participated in the creation of two government-funded projects that provide deportation defense for all detained migrants in New York City and State–the first such immigrant public defender projects in the country. Previously at Vera, Oren directed a successful alternative to detention for immigrants in deportation proceedings. He has also worked on police accountability projects and run an alternative to incarceration for young felony offenders. For the first 18 years of his professional career, Oren was a criminal defense lawyer, both as a public defender in the Bronx and in private practice. He has a B.A. from Columbia and a J.D. from Fordham.