Angela Maria Kelley

Angela Maria Kelley is a leading figure in American immigration policy, with a career encompassing legal practice, advocacy, and government service. The daughter of South American immigrants, Kelley began her career as an attorney for a legal services agency in Washington, D.C., representing low-income immigrants in immigration and family law matters. Early in her career, she worked as a clerk at the organization that became the National Partnership for Women and Families and as a staff attorney at Ayuda, providing legal assistance to low-income clients, including women in domestic violence cases. Kelley is a graduate of The George Washington University Law School and was a Women's Law and Public Policy Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center.

Kelley's transition from frontline legal work to national policy leadership was influenced by her firsthand experience with the limitations of the law. She represented clients with strong legal cases who still faced unfavorable outcomes due to U.S. government policies on human rights violations in their home countries. This experience led her to focus on policy. Before her tenure at Center for American Progress, Kelley served as director of the Immigration Policy Center and as deputy director of National Immigration Forum, where she led advocacy efforts integrating outreach, coalition partnerships, research, communications, and policy development. At the Forum, she was a front-line negotiator during congressional debates on comprehensive immigration reform and contributed to the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act, which extended sponsorship opportunities for undocumented workers and family members seeking permanent residence.

Kelley joined Center for American Progress as vice president for immigration policy, where she contributed to national discussions on immigration reform. Under her leadership, the organization published reports and analyses on topics such as the economic impact of state anti-immigrant laws, the value of immigration reform, the cost of mass deportation, and integration trends among immigrants in the United States. She oversaw advocacy initiatives, including a campaign that contributed to the implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which suspended deportations for immigrants brought to the United States as children. Kelley later served as executive director of Center for American Progress Action Fund and as a senior vice president at Center for American Progress, and also served as a White House advisor on immigration executive actions.

Kelley's expertise has been recognized across multiple administrations and institutions. The Biden administration appointed her to an immigration advisory position at the Department of Homeland Security, where she served as senior counselor to the secretary. She later joined American Immigration Lawyers Association and American Immigration Council as chief advisor for policy and partnerships, providing leadership in government relations, communications, public policy, and advocacy. Kelley has also served as senior strategic advisor for immigration at Open Society Foundations and Open Society Policy Center, focusing on immigration and integration policies at both state and federal levels.

Kelley is a frequent public speaker and commentator, quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico, and appears regularly on PBS, MSNBC, Fox News, and NPR. She has served as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow through the Council of Independent Colleges, speaking on topics including security and defense, immigration, government, social activism, social justice, and civil rights. Kelley brings a combination of legal experience, policy expertise, and a personal connection to the immigrant experience to her work in immigration law and policy.