Democracy and Public Policy Practice

Innovative, Public Ideas

Leadership

The Democracy and Public Policy (DPP) practice was formed by consolidating UEI's two foremost practice areas in immigration and governance. This practice features critical research, scholarship, writing, policy work, and direct engagement with the changing landscape of democratic governance, the civil service, bureaucracy, human rights legislation, the federal government, social policy, and fiscal policy at the local and national level:

The DPP Practice is spearheaded by engaged scholars and policy researchers from UEI. Their existing work captures critical discussions about New York City governance and policymaking:

Co-Director — Ishaan Barrett, Founding Partner and Principal (specialties: the civil service; funding and city council oversight; corruption and electoral politics; the Office of the Mayor)

Co-Director — Rohit Barrett, Senior Partner (specialities: data analytics and machine learning; economic policy; energy, climate change, and sustainability studies).

Practice Member — Faith Heffernan, Senior Partner (specialities: Refugee and Forced Migration, Urban Planning, MENA Regional Studies, Art History).

Working Papers and Projects

Current projects and papers in public policy

Featured
Communication is Key: Instituting Reform in New York’s IDNYC-Mayoral Partnership for Immigrant New York
The Urban Equity institute
Communication is Key: Instituting Reform in New York’s IDNYC-Mayoral Partnership for Immigrant New York
The Urban Equity institute

This paper analyzes NYC’s IDNYC-MOIA partnership through a principal-agent lens, revealing inefficiencies and proposing reforms—like increased communication and agency consolidation—to better serve immigrant communities.

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The Urban Equity institute
Contracting Trust in NYC: MOIA, City Council, and Overseeing Pro-Immigrant Services
The Urban Equity institute
Contracting Trust in NYC: MOIA, City Council, and Overseeing Pro-Immigrant Services
The Urban Equity institute

In an era where cities shoulder an increasing responsibility for immigrant service provision, local agency funding and monitoring reveals as much about democratic accountability as congressional oversight patterns.

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The Urban Equity institute
The Laken Riley Act (S.5): Policy Analysis
The Urban Equity institute
The Laken Riley Act (S.5): Policy Analysis
The Urban Equity institute

This legislative summary and analysis of the Laken Riley Act (S.5) from the 119th Congress provides a general overview and quick dive into the language and implications of this new immigration-focused Senate bill.

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The Urban Equity institute
Immigration Executive Order Analysis Database
The Urban Equity institute
Immigration Executive Order Analysis Database
The Urban Equity institute

This page tracks and documents the ongoing executive orders (EOs) from the Trump Administraiton that impact immigration, migration, and human rights. This page will be updated regularly with new EOs at the bottom (chronologically) and older EOs at the top.

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The Urban Equity institute