Douglas C. Ligor

Doug Ligor is a senior behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation. His research areas include homeland and national security policy, particularly as they relate to issues of immigration, border security, migration, asylum and refugee processing, law enforcement, and litigation.  Ligor’s research interests extend to civil and criminal law, as well as statutory, regulatory, and compliance issues.

Prior to joining RAND, Ligor served as the deputy chief counsel for the Northeast Law Division of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security.  He also served as an assistant district counsel with the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (later DHS/Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  He represented DOJ and DHS with respect to all major aspects of U.S. immigration law, including: national security issues and cases; naturalization and citizenship; lawful permanent residence; family and employment based immigration; asylum and refugee status; criminal and civil grounds of detention and removal; deferred action and prosecutorial discretion; application processing; and immigration records and databases.  Ligor began his legal career through the Department of Commerce’s Honors Attorney Program, serving as legal liaison to the Secretary of Commerce.  Before joining federal service, Ligor served as an Armor officer in the U.S. Army in company and battalion staff positions. 

Ligor received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law, and his B.S. in economics from the United States Military Academy, West Point.