Roosevelt House is excited to announce that Dr. Lina Newton is assuming the role of Interim Director of the Public Policy Program. Dr. Newton is a Roosevelt House Faculty Associate and a Professor of Political Science at Hunter College. She specializes in American Politics, Public Policy, Minority Politics, and is an expert at U.S. Immigration Policy.

Her research on intergovernmental conflicts and areas of cooperation in different areas of immigration policy has appeared in several scholarly journals, including special issues of Publius, The Journal of Federalism (2020) Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (2018), and Law & Policy (2012) among others.

Professor Newton is the author of the book Illegal, Alien, or Immigrant: The Politics of Immigration Reform (2008, New York University Press). Her book examined the discussions in Congress between legalization and enforcement-heavy policy approaches to unlawful immigration — policy debates from the past that reverberate in today’s battles over immigration reform.  She has contributed her expertise on immigration policy and American politics to several national media outlets specializing in political coverage including Politifact, NPR’s The Takeaway with Amy Walters, VICE.com, CNN.com and the New York Times.

Dr. Newton received her Ph.D in 2002 from the University of California, Irvine where she was the recipient of the 2000 Southwestern Political Science Association’s Ted Robinson Memorial Award. She has been teaching at Hunter College since 2003 and became a full Professor in the Political Science department at Hunter College in 2020.

The Public Policy Program — which, along with Human Rights, constitutes the academic side of Roosevelt House — counts approximately 100 undergraduate enrollees annually pursuing a certificate or minor in public policy.