As a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, Emilie Hyams examines state capacity and federal service delivery, with a focus on immigration processes.

Hyams is the founder and principal of Immigration Strategies, LLC, a consultancy that assists U.S. employers and nonprofit organizations on immigration matters. She previously served in the front office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); as counsel to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee; and as counselor and director of immigrant and foreign affairs to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She also worked as an associate at Fragomen, a global immigration law firm.

Hyams earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish literature from Washington University in St. Louis, and a law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.