Expertise

US immigration law and policy; refugee and asylum law; protection of vulnerable migrant populations; and human trafficking

At the Keough School

Erin Corcoran is associate teaching professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame and acting director of the Keough School’s Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies for the 2022-23 academic year.

Courses

• Forced Migration and Refugees (elective for master of global affairs)
• Thesis Direction (master of global affairs)
• Diversity Dialogues (undergraduate course in peace studies)

Biography

Corcoran’s work focuses on immigration and refugee law, human rights law, and other complex legal topics at the national and local level. Prior to joining the Kroc Institute, Corcoran provided counsel to Kids in Need of Defense and the Vera Institute of Justice. As a Professor of Law at University of New Hampshire School of Law, she conducted research on protecting vulnerable non-citizens, including developing best practices for adjudicating claims of unaccompanied children seeking international protection.

Previously, she served as a resettlement consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lusaka, Zambia, a staff attorney for Human Rights First in Washington, DC, and legal counselor to former Senator Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland.

Corcoran’s administrative experience includes a one-year term as the inaugural executive director for the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership and Public Policy and four years as the director of the Social Justice Institute, both at the University of New Hampshire. She also served two years as a professional staff member of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science Related Agencies.

Corcoran holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC, and has a BA in philosophy and religious studies from Montana State University in Bozeman.

In the Media

• We must reform the US asylum system — and help New York City (The Messenger)
• DACA faces another likely date with Supreme Court unless Congress steps in (WSBT News)
• Lack of action from Congress leaves the courts to dictate US immigration policy (The National Desk)
• Number of refugees entering US nears 5-year peak (NewsNation)
• DeSantis tight-lipped on migrant flights as experts ponder potential legal peril (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
• Donald Trump targets children in new immigration plan (Newsweek)
• Democrats double down on break with Joe Biden over migrants at border (Newsweek)
• DeSantis flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard may have violated federal law, experts say (Rolling Stone)

News and Blog Posts

• Refugee resettlement promotes human dignity and the rule of law (Dignity & Development)
• The DACA decision: a victory for the rule of law and for humanity (Dignity & Development)