Michael Kagan

Director, UNLV Immigration Clinic
Professor of Law
Expertise: Immigration Law, International Human Rights Law, Administrative Law

Biography

Michael Kagan, director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic, teaches administrative law, professional responsibility, international human rights and immigration law.  In both his research and his clinical teaching, Kagan focuses on the tension between immigration law and civil rights.

Kagan has been published by numerous top law reviews and journals and wrote several of the most widely cited articles in the fields of international refugee and asylum law, which have been relied on by courts in multiple countries.  Kagan’s research on credibility assessment in asylum cases “guided most subsequent research and analysis on the topic,” according to a 2012 commentary. He is frequently interviewed on immigration issues by local, national and global news media, and is a frequent Op-Ed writer, with his work appearing in The Washington PostSalon.comThe Daily BeastWorld Politics Review, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Before coming to UNLV's Boyd School of Law, Kagan spent 10 years building legal aid programs for refugees throughout the Middle East and Asia, and lived in London, Cairo, Beirut and Jerusalem. He held teaching positions at Tel Aviv University and the American University in Cairo. His role in expanding refugee legal aid in the global south was profiled in Zachary Kaufman’s Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012).

Education

  • J.D., University of Michigan Law School
  • B.A., Northwestern University

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Michael Kagan In The News

The Nevada Independent
The federal government recently enabled Venezuelan migrants to get work permits. Long-term undocumented immigrants are still in limbo.
K.T.N.V. T.V. ABC 13
The UNLV Immigration Clinic is getting another financial boost. According to Commissioner Tick Segerblom, $500,000 from the marijuana fund was given to the clinic back in 2021. On Tuesday, Clark County commissioners voted to extend that amount through 2024.
Nevada Current
For nearly two years, the UNLV Immigration Clinic’s Community Advocacy Office has been able to provide legal representation for cases that are the “most complex in immigration law,” the clinic’s director Michael Kagan told Clark County Commissioners Tuesday.
Real Clear Wire
Citing the First Amendment, the White House Tuesday rejected calls to pull the visas of students who express support for Hamas while Republicans rolled their eyes at what they see as suspicious and sudden conversion to free speech absolutism.

Articles Featuring Michael Kagan

Scarlet and Gray, “REB's Glitter Squad”, Lester Cruz and Isabel Ferguson, take pictures and hype up students and families during the October 2022 homecoming football game.
Campus News | November 8, 2022

A collection of news stories highlighting UNLV students and faculty who made headlines locally, regionally, and internationally.

Remember sculptor Claes Oldenburg who created U.N.L.V.'s iconic Flashlight sculpture this month.
Campus News | August 3, 2022

A collection of news stories highlighting university experts’ insights on and contributions to health, environment, and society.

Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine graduates line up to cross the commencement stage
Campus News | December 30, 2021

A collection of 2021 headlines highlighting medical school milestones, a steady stronghold on diversity and research rankings, student success, and media mentions featuring faculty experts.