Philip Kretsedemas is Managing Director, Research Evaluation and Data Analytics. Before joining the Acacia Center for Justice, he served as Professor of Sociology at UMass-Boston with a specialization in the analysis of immigration enforcement and the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

Phil is currently exploring the uses of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) for the analysis of asylum jurisprudence (see, Explaining Asylum Jurisprudence: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Laws, forthcoming). Other recent publications include, Modern Migrations, Black Interrogations (Temple University Press, 2024; edited with Jamella Gow) and the monograph, Black Interdictions: Haitian Refugees and anti-Black racism on the High Seas, (Lexington Press, 2022)

Phil’s research agenda has also been influenced by his experience with immigrant serving organizations in the nonprofit sector. In the early 2000s, he served as policy and development director for the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild which was a leading source of technical assistance for immigration lawyers on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions and also on VAWA and U-visa relief for immigrant survivors of domestic violence. He also served as a policy and communications associate for Catalyst Miami, which was a hub for research and advocacy on the impact of the Clinton-era immigration and welfare reform laws for immigrants in the South Florida area.

Selected Publications: 

Limits of Control
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2011.00696.x

Immigration Enforcement and the Complication of National Sovereignty
doi.org/10.1353/aq.0.0031

Immigrant Households and Hardships After Welfare Reform
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9671.00286

Modern Migrations, Black Interrogations
tupress.temple.edu/books/modern-migrations-black-interrogations

Black Interdictions
rowman.com/ISBN/9781793630735/Black-Interdictions-Haitian-Refugees-and-Antiblack-Racism-on-the-High-Seas