Ming Hsu Chen Headshot

Ming Hsu Chen

Professor and Harry & Lillian Hastings Research Chair; Faculty-Director of the Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality Program, University of California-San Francisco
Chapter Member: Bay Area SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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(303) 736-9326
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About Ming

Chen is Professor and Faculty-Director of the Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality at the University of California College of Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). She is also affiliated with the University of Colorado, Boulder. Chen brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of immigration, civil rights, and the administrative state. Her research on citizenship bridges law and social science. She writes at the intersection of immigration and administrative law.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

How The United States Can Support Immigrants En Route to Citizenship

Key Findings Brief,

In the News

Guest on Asian American History 101, June 1, 2026.
Quoted by Henry Gass and Cameron Pugh in "After more than 100 years of birthright citizenship, Supreme Court appears skeptical of change," Law & Courts, Christian Science Monitor, April 1, 2026.
Guest on The World, April 1, 2026.
Quoted by Ryan King in "Supreme Court toes ‘glaring red line’ with Trump world in birthright citizenship case," New York Post, March 31, 2026.
Quoted by Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí in "What Are the Rules for U.S. Birthright Citizenship Right Now?," KQED, July 11, 2025.
Quoted by Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí in "A 129-Year-Old San Francisco Lawsuit Could Stop Trump From Ending Birthright Citizenship," KQED, January 21, 2025.
Quoted by Ko Lyn Cheang in "What rights do undocumented immigrants have in the U.S.?," San Francisco Chronicle, December 2, 2024.
Opinion: "California Cannot Abandon Undocumented Students After UC Regents Cave to Politics," Ming Hsu Chen, The Sacramento Bee, February 24, 2024.
Opinion: "We should end legacy admissions. But it won’t make up for losing affirmative action," Ming Hsu Chen, The Emancipator, January 13, 2024.
Opinion: "What the Supreme Court Got Wrong About Affirmative Action," Ming Hsu Chen, The Progressive, September 6, 2023.
Opinion: "Undocumented students need jobs to pay for college," Ming Hsu Chen, San Francisco Chronicle, July 6, 2023.
Opinion: "We Can’t Ignore Latino and Asian American Voices in 2024," Ming Hsu Chen, The Hill, June 12, 2023.
Quoted by Natalie Zhang in "How International Students Became a White House Target During the Coronavirus Pandemic," Colleges and Universities, CNBC , August 20, 2022.
Guest on Race and Regulation Podcast, July 20, 2022.
Guest on CNBC Segment, August 20, 2020.
Opinion: "US Citizenship Applications Are Backlogged, Prolonging The Wait For Civil And Voting Rights," Ming Hsu Chen, Politics/Election 2020, The Conversation.
Opinion: "Are the Dreamers Safe Now That the Supreme Court Ruled? Not Exactly. Here’s What’s Still Up in the Air.," Ming Hsu Chen, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, June 19, 2020.
Opinion: "Silence and the Second Wall," Ming Hsu Chen (with Zachary New), Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, February 25, 2019.

Publications

Pursuing Citizenship in the Enforcement Era (Stanford University Press, 2020).

Offers the everyday perspectives of immigrants on what it is like to try to integrate into American society during a time when immigration policy is focused on enforcement and exclusion.

"Citizenship Denied: Implications of the Naturalization Backlog for Noncitizens in the Military" Denver Law Review 98, no. 669 (2020).

Documents barriers to citizenship by analyzing the causes and consequences of citizenship denials in general and military naturalization. Offers solutions that bolster immigrants, the military, and the meaning of citizenship for those seeking to obtain it and confronting institutional barriers.

Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity? (with EJ Dionne). (Brookings Institution Press, 2001).

The authors – experts in their respective fields and from various walks of life – examine the promises and perils of faith-based organizations in preventing teen pregnancy, reducing crime and substance abuse, fostering community development, bolstering child care, and assisting parents and children on education issues. They offer conclusions about what congregations are currently doing, how government could help, and how government could usefully get out of the way.