

Professor
Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture University of Virginia
Contributing Editor, American Purpose; Senior Editor, Society
McGuinn Hall Room 228
Telephone: 617-552-3112
Email: peter.skerry@bc.edu
Immigration/refugee policy and politics听
Racial, ethnic, and religious pluralism in the U.S.
Islam in American society and politics
Societal change and political institutions
Racial and Ethnic Politics; Immigration Policy
Peter Skerry is professor of political science at Boston听College and a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the听University of Virginia.听 He is also a contributing editor at American Purpose and a member of the editorial听board of Society.听 He was听previously professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College, and听taught political science at UCLA, where he was Director of Washington Programs听at the Center for American Politics and Public Policy.听 He is currently on the Research and Programs听Committee of the Board of Directors of the Pioneer Institute in Boston.听 He previously served on the board of the听United Neighborhood Organization (UNO), a Chicago-based Latino community听organization and charter school operator.
He was also Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a听Research Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.听 He served as co-convenor of the Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable, and as co-director of the听Dialogue on Islam in America at the American Enterprise Institute.听 He was a member of the Malta Forum, a听dialogue between Western and Muslim public intellectuals convened by the听Institute for American Values.听 He served听on the Advisory Council on European/Transatlantic Issues at the Heinrich B枚ll Foundation听of the B眉ndis 90/Die Gr眉nen (the German Green Party).听 He has been awarded residential fellowships听at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the American Academy听in Berlin, and the Russell Sage Foundation.听
Professor Skerry has published in听a variety of scholarly and general interest publications, including Society, Publius, Journal of Policy听History, The Forum, The New Republic, Slate, The Public Interest, The Wilson听Quarterly, National Review, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, National Affairs, the 奥别别办濒测听Standard, First Things, Foreign Affairs, The American Interest, and American Purpose.
He is author of Counting听on the Census: Race, Group Identity, and the Evasion of Politics (Brookings) and Mexican听Americans: The Ambivalent Minority (Free Press/Harvard University Press),听which was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.听 He is currently completing a study of Muslims听in the United States, From the听Brotherhood to the Neighborhood: Muslims in American Society and Politics.听 听 听 听
2024
"Mr. Trump, Give Up on That Wall,"听National Review听(December 2024)听
"Insane Asylum: On immigration disaster," National Review (June 2024)听
"The Little Lady with the Snake Tongs," American Purpose (January 2024)听
2023
"Are Muslims at Home in America?" National Review (October, 2 2023)听
2022
"Exploiting Migrants: A Game Anyone Can Play," American Purpose (October 3,听 2022)
2021
"What We Can Learn from Our Relatively Open Borders," Cato Unbound: A Journal of Debate听(July 27,听 2021)听
"Why 鈥楤lack Lives Matter鈥 Matters,鈥 National Affairs (Spring 2021)
鈥Puritans' Progress: Lawrence Mead and the Question of American Culture,鈥 The Hedgehog Review (Spring 2021)
鈥淩eport to the Smith Richardson Foundation on Immigration Research and Writing鈥 (December 4, 2021).
2020
鈥淏order Fight: Regaining Control,鈥 essay review of Losing Control: How a Left-Right Coalition Blocked Immigration Reform and Provoked the Backlash That Elected Trump by Jerry Kammer; The American Interest (July 15, 2020).
Regaining Control, The American Interest, July, 2020
, Georgetown University, Berkley Center, January 23, 2020
2019
"Lost in the Fog - Immigrants & Refugees, Bureaucrats, Activists" The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in contemporary Politics听听(Volume 17, Issue 3; October 2019).听
Populism听-听The American Interest, September 3, 2019听
Populism听- The American Interest, September 4, 2019
"Will the Real Populists Please Stand Up- Or Perhaps Sit Down and Chill",The American Interest听(September 3, 2019) [Part I of one].听听
The Dead End of "More Democracy", The American Interest (September 4, 2019) [Part II of two].听
"Nathan Glazer- Merit Before Meritocracy," The American Interest (April 3,听 2019)
鈥淏ecoming White,鈥听essay review of Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration, and the Future of White Majorities by Eric Kaufmann; The Claremont Review of Books (Fall 2019).
A conversation with Antje Hermenau,听The American Interest, (March 9, 2019),听听transcribed and edited interview conducted with TAI editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Gedmin, of a former leader of the German Green Party and member of the Bundestag who was expelled from the party for engaging with leaders of the AfD Party and their sympathizers.听
Dancing Around the Caravan:听The Media, The Left, and The Catholic Church,鈥 The American Interest (January 8, 2019).
Explaining the Indefensible: Trump and the Border Crisis,鈥 The American Interest (July 30, 2018).
鈥淐omprehensive Immigration Confusion,鈥 in Carol Swain, ed., Debating Immigration, Second Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
鈥淕ood Neighbors and Good Citizens: Beyond the Legal-Illegal Immigration Debate,鈥 (with Noah Pickus) in Carol Swain, ed., Debating Immigration, Second Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
2017
Comprehensive Immigration Confusion
"American Brotherhood:听The Muslim Brothers Are Present in the United States, But Not a Threat鈥 Foreign Affairs (April 8, 2017; on-line)
"Opposing Immigration Wasn鈥檛 Always Racist,"听Boston Globe (April 16, 2017)
"Mexican Americans: New Guys on the Block" (with Juan R. Rangel), The Weekly Standard (February 13, 2017)听听
2016
"Christmas with the Brotherhood"听Society (September/October 2016)
鈥淎 Young Man at the Periphery of the Profession鈥 in Joseph Dorman and Leslie Lenkowsky, eds., When Ideas Mattered: A Nathan Glazer Reader (Transaction, 2016)
鈥淭he Migration: A Lesson from the US,鈥 Clingendael: Netherlands Institute of International Relations (8 November 2016; on-line)
鈥淐omprehensive Immigration Confusion,鈥 National Affairs (Fall 2016)
鈥淣athan Glazer: An Appreciation,鈥 National Affairs (Spring 2016)
2015
"?" (review essay of听Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution听by Mona Eltahawy) in听The American Interest听(October 3, 2015; on-line)
"Clash of Generations:听The Cultural Contradictions of Islam in America,"听The Weekly Standard (December 28, 2015/January 4, 2016)
"Imagine No Religion"听(review essay of听Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now听by Ayaan Hirsi Ali) in听Claremont Review of Books听(Summer 2015)
"" (review essay of Immigration Outside the Law by Hiroshi Motomura) in The American Interest (March 12, 2015; on-line)
2014
"听Time To Bring the Immigration Debate Out of 鈥楾he Shadows鈥,鈥 The Weekly Standard (December 15, 2014)
鈥淎ssimilation Is a Necessary and Brutal Bargain,鈥 Liberty Law Forum (October 20, 2014)
,听(August 18/25, 2014)
2013
鈥.鈥澨Orange County Register听(October 10, 2013).听
鈥.鈥澨The Weekly Standard听(August 12, 2013)
鈥.鈥澨The Weekly Standard (June 24, 2013)
鈥.鈥澨The Weekly Standard, (May 6, 2013)
鈥,鈥 The Business of Immigration Is More Than Business,鈥 The Weekly Standard (April 15, 2013)
鈥.鈥 Policy Brief听(Progressive Policy Institute) March 2013.听
鈥.鈥澨The Weekly Standard (February 25, 2013)
鈥Splitting the Difference on Illegal Immigration.鈥澨National Affairs听(Winter 2013)
鈥淎 Path to Citizenship 鈥 or a Maze?鈥 Boston Globe (February 25, 2013)
2012
鈥.鈥澨Society (January/February 2012)听
[reprinted in Muslims in America, edited volume published by Al Mesbar Studies and Research Center; Dubai, UAE, 2011]
鈥淎 Third Way on Immigration,鈥 Los Angeles Times (December 16, 2012)
鈥淢emorial Day With Muslims,鈥 Worcester Telegram and Gazette (June 6, 2012)
2011
鈥,鈥澨National Affairs听听(Fall 2011)
鈥.鈥澨World Affairs, (July/August 2011)
鈥,鈥 with Gary J. Schmitt.听Christian Science Monitor (March 10, 2011)
鈥,鈥 with Gary J. Schmitt.听Boston Globe, (January 29, 2011)
鈥淢oving On Up鈥 (review of From Immigrants to Americans by Jacob Vigdor); Claremont Review of Books (Fall 2010)
鈥淕ingrich vs. the Immigration Status Quo,鈥 Wall Street Journal (November 30, 2011)
听
2010
鈥.鈥 Ijtihad (on-line journal, published by the Institute for American Values); June 2010.
鈥淗ispanic Politics (1976-2009), Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History听(CQ Press, 2010).
鈥,鈥 review of听From Immigrants to Americans, by Jacob Vigdor.听Claremont Review of Books, Fall.
鈥.鈥澨Boston Globe听听(August 19, 2010)
鈥.: Ineffective Policies Do Little But Energize Advocacy Groups,鈥澨Boston Globe (August 3, 2010).听
鈥.鈥澨Boston Globe, ( May 18, 2010)
鈥淜now Thy Neighbor,鈥 (review of听Muslims in America:听A Short History, by Edward E. Curtis IV);听Wilson Quarterly听(Winter 2010)
鈥淲hy 鈥楥omprehensive Immigration Reform鈥 Is Not Comprehensive,鈥 The Forum (July 2009; Vol. 7, Issue 3)
鈥淭he Crude Moralism of Immigration Expansionists,鈥 Firstthings.com (May 17,2010)
2009
鈥Breaking the Immigration Stalemate: From Deep Disagreements to Constructive Proposals,鈥澨(principal author), Report of the Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable (Washington: Brookings Institution, October 2009)听
鈥淲hy 鈥楥omprehensive Immigration Reform鈥 Is Not Comprehensive,鈥澨The Forum听(July 2009; Vol. 7, Issue 3).
鈥.鈥澨The American Interest (Spring 2009).
鈥淭he Real Immigration Crisis,鈥 in Robert Faulkner and Susan Shell, eds., America at Risk: Threats to Liberal Self-Government in an Age of Uncertainty (University of Michigan Press, 2009)
2008
鈥Day Laborers and Dock Workers: Casual Labor Markets and Immigration Policy.鈥澨Society (January/ Frebruary 2008).听
鈥,鈥 (review of听The New Case Against Immigration, by Mark Krikorian)听The Weekly Standard, (September 15, 2008)
2007
鈥Good Neighbors and Good Citizens: Beyond the Legal-Illegal Immigration Debate,鈥 (with Noah Pickus) in Carol Swain, ed., Debating Immigration (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
鈥.鈥澨The American Interest, (May/June, 2007)
2006
鈥Immigration and Social Disorder.鈥 in Norton Garfinkle and Daniel Yankelovich, ed., Uniting America: Restoring the Vital Center to American Democracy (Yale University Press, 2006)
鈥.鈥澨Time.com, November 11.
鈥.鈥澨Time, (August 21, 2006)
鈥How Not to Build a Fence.鈥澨Foreign Policy (September/October 2006)
鈥Mother of Invention.鈥澨Wilson Quarterly (Summer 2006)
鈥淟ine in the Sand: A Return to Fundamentals on Immigration鈥 (with James Q. Wilson), Wall Street Journal (May 18, 2006)听
鈥,鈥 with Devin Fernandes.听The New Republic, (May 8, 2006)
鈥淚mmigration Realities,鈥 Boston Globe (October 15, 2006)
鈥淕ive Illegal Immigrants Licenses 鈥 and Obligations,鈥 Los Angeles Times (August 20, 2006)
鈥淧rocess Must Foster Better Bonds鈥 (with Noah Pickus), South Florida Sun-Sentinel (May 19, 2006)
2005
鈥America鈥檚 Other Muslims.鈥澨Wilson Quarterly听(Autumn 2005)
鈥淐hoice, Conflict, and the Zero-Sum Game of Identity Politics.鈥澨Yale Law and Policy Review (Winter 2005; Vol. 23, No.1)
鈥Political institutions and minority mobility in the USA.鈥 in Glenn C. Loury, Tariq Modood, and Steven M. Teles, eds., Ethnicity, Social Mobility, and Public Policy in the United States and the United Kingdom (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
鈥淩acial Politics in the Administrative State.鈥澨Society听(January/ February 2005)
What Are We To Make of Samuel Huntington?"听Society听(November- December 2005)
鈥淕elobtes Land f眉r Muslime,鈥 Der Tagesspiegel (January 5, 2005)
2004
鈥溾楾his Was Our Riot Too鈥: The Political Assimilation of Today鈥檚 Immigrants.鈥 In听Reinventing the Melting Pot:听The New Immigrants and What It Means to Be American, edited by Tamar Jacoby, 221-34. New York: Basic Books.
鈥," with Devin Fernandes.听Boston Globe, November 26.
鈥.鈥澨NewRepublic.com, January 13.
2003
鈥.鈥澨The Responsive Community听14, no.1: 25-37.
鈥淧olitical Islam in the United States and Europe.鈥 In听Political Islam:听Challenges for U.S. Policy, edited by Dick Clark. Aspen Institute: Second Conference, June 27-July 3.
2002
鈥淐omments on 鈥楥overage of the Population in Census 2000: Results from Demographic Analysis鈥 and 鈥楧emographic Comparison between Self-Response and Personal Visit Interview in Census 2000.鈥欌澨Population Research and Policy Review听21, nos. 1-2 (Special Issue: Census 2000): 53-4.
.鈥 In听The New Race Question: How the Census Counts Multiracial Individuals, edited by Joel Perlmann and Mary C. Waters, 327-39. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
鈥?"听Brookings Review, Winter.
2001
鈥淐ounting on the Census?鈥 Society 39, no. 1: 3-10.
鈥淭he New Politics of the Census.鈥 In Durability and Change: Politics and Policymaking in the 1990s, edited by Marc Landy, Martin Levin and Martin Shapiro, 292-310. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 Wrong With Group Politics?鈥 Nexus 6: 189-96.
2000
Counting on the Census? Race, Group Identity, and the Evasion of Politics. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.
鈥淓lites Immigr茅es Am茅ricaines et Politiques Raciales.鈥 In听Les Etats-Unis et les Elites Latino-Am茅ricaines, edited by Isabelle Vagnoux, 212ff. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l鈥橴niversit茅 de Provence.
鈥淢exican Immigration is Different.鈥澨American Enterprise, December.
鈥.鈥澨Philanthropy, September/October.
1999
鈥淭he Racialization of Immigration Policy.鈥 In听Taking Stock:听American Government in the Twentieth Century, edited by Morton Keller and R. Shep Melnick, 81-122. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1998
鈥淒o We Really Want Immigrants to Assimilate?鈥 In听What, Then, Is the American, This New Man?听Compiled by E. Sandman. Washington, D.C.: Center for Immigration Studies.
To view Adobe Acrobat庐 (PDF) formatted files听.
To view Microsoft Word formatted files听.听