After her initial tenure at FAIR, Ms. Kirchner served four years as an official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where she fought to improve our immigration system. Her first role was Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), where she guided various border security efforts, including the implementation of tactical infrastructure at the southern border, development of border security metrics, and coordination of outreach initiatives to the public.

Between 2017 and 2019, Ms. Kirchner served as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman. As Ombudsman, she led an independent office within DHS headquarters dedicated to helping immigration benefits seekers and visa applicants navigate USCIS procedures and resolve problems.

In January 2020, Ms. Kirchner was appointed to serve as Senior Advisor at the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), a new and independent agency within DHS created by Congress. As Senior Advisor, Ms. Kirchner was the executive responsible for building a new agency from scratch by establishing the necessary administrative infrastructure, financial operations, information technology, and reporting functions, and developing the Office’s core programs.

Ms. Kirchner earned her B.A. at Yale University and her law degree, with high distinction, at the University of Iowa College of Law. As a young lawyer, Ms. Kirchner worked as a private litigator, a criminal prosecutor, and as counsel at the Minnesota House of Representatives.

His responsibilities included managing the United States operations of the company, directing the engineering and manufacturing functions, and serving as in-house counsel for corporate matters. Mr. Parkin received his Juris Doctorate degree from Western New England College School of Law, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.

Prior to FEMA, Mr. Rooney served as Director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Operational Field Testing Program and Management Inspections. He developed CBP’s first-ever “Red Teaming” program using the latest terrorist techniques in smuggling simulated weapons of mass destruction through CBP’s multilayered security systems at airports, seaports, and land-border crossings as well as directing inspections and audits of CBP and Border Patrol programs and operations. He also served as the Division Director of Program Reviews and Special Operations with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and was responsible for conducting program reviews, inspections, audits of TSA’s financial expenditures, internal investigations, and for developing a Red Teaming Program to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities with TSA’s security screening systems in detecting and preventing weapons from entering commercial aircraft and in the aviation operations areas.

Mr. Rooney served in leadership roles with other federal agencies such as: Program Manager for the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation; Assistant to the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General and Assistant to the Inspector General for Investigations; and Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Investigations for the U.S. Secret Service and the Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The American University, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Stein has also been in private law practice in real estate, federal agency litigation, criminal law and tax-exempt corporate law. A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Stein’s interest in immigration began as a professional staff member of the U. S. House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control (from 1977 –1981), where he studied United States/Mexico border issues and international crop substitution efforts. Mr. Stein is the author of many articles on immigration published in scholarly journals as well as the popular press. Representing FAIR, Mr. Stein is routinely invited to appear on radio and television as “America’s best known immigration reformer,” noted Detroit’s leading talk show host David Newman. Mr. Stein has published hundreds of articles on immigration policy, and has appeared on national television literally a thousand times on just about every significant news program in America, including 60 minutes, 20/20, Nightline, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox News Live, Hannity and Colmes, Face the Nation, This Week, Crossfire, Dateline, The McLaughlin Group, The Brokaw Report, This Week and the Jim Lehrer News Hour, to name a few. Mr. Stein has spoken to major groups across America, and has been asked to testify before Congress on related issues over 50 times. Mr. Stein is a graduate of Indiana University and the Catholic University School of Law.