Royce Bernstein Murray

Royce Bernstein Murray is the Managing Director of Programs at the American Immigration Council where she oversees the Council’s legal, policy, and media work. Prior to joining the Council, Royce served as the Director of Policy at the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center where she worked on issues impacting the due process rights, detention, and treatment of vulnerable immigrants.  She previously worked as an immigration and human rights law consultant for organizations including the National Immigration Forum, Center for Global Development, and the World Bank’s Nordic Trust Fund.  Royce was also an adjunct professor at the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia. She began her career working for the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow and Asylum Officer for the Immigration and Naturalization Service and later at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of the Chief Counsel. She was introduced to immigration and asylum issues as an intern for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now “Human Rights First”), the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, and Ayuda. She holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in political science from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the New York Bar.