Krish O'Mara Vignarajah

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah is a Marshall Scholar and an immigration advocate currently serving as President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service. Previously, Vignarajah served as Policy Director to Former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Vignarajah is a frequent voice on immigration policy and American politics; she has appeared on televised interviews with NBC News, CBS News , The Hill and CBC News to speak on issues such as the Trump administration family separation of migrant families, ICE enforcement policies, for-profit immigration detention centers, and the 2020 presidential election. She is regularly quoted in national media outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Vox, and Yahoo News, as well as regional outlets like The Texas Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and The Miami Herald.
During her tenure at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, the refugee resettlement agency filed litigation against the Trump administration, challenging the legality of List of Executive Order 13888, which seeks to give state and local officials the authority to opt out of refugee resettlement in their jurisdictions. In an interview with NPR, Vignarajah described the policy as "cruel and shortsighted," and noted that "refugees that have been waiting to be reunited with their families for years may be forced to settle hundreds of miles away." Vignarajah also spoke out against the Executive Order in a Baltimore Sun OpEd entitled, "The courts should declare Trump's refugee order unconstitutional." The lawsuit has thus far resulted in a preliminary injunction against the policy, barring its implementation temporarily, -- in response, Vignarajah told NBC News, "this injunction provides critical relief. Those who have been waiting for years to reunite with their families and friends will no longer have to choose between their loved ones and the resettlement services that are so critical in their first months as new Americans."
Prior to her role at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Vignarajah served as Policy Director to Former First Lady Michelle Obama, where she helped the administration launch its global women's empowerment initiative, called "Let Girls Learn." After her public service, she launched her candidacy for the 2018 Maryland Gubernatorial Election, running as the only woman in the Democratic primary. Vignarajah garnered local and national attention for her campaign ad, which featured her breastfeeding her infant daughter as she emphasizes the need for more mothers and women in state leadership.
*"Don't leave ICE out of police reform, brutality and racism in immigration enforcement" Houston Chronicle, July 3, 2020.
* "On World Refugee Day, a shameful U.S. record to confront" New York Daily News, June 20, 2020
* "USAID's mission is too important to politicize and obstruct" The Hill, November 15, 2020
* "Migrants in detention deserve dignity, sanitary conditions" Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 25,2020
* "Massive detention facilities for migrant youth are failing" Miami Herald, May 28, 2019
* "Family separation of migrant children allowed U.S. government to 'traffic in kidnapping'" Baltimore Sun, October 26, 2020.
* "Welcoming refugees is a matter of faith, economics, and freedom" Houston Chronicle, January 13, 2020.
She and her brother Thiru Vignarajah arrived in the United States as young children when their parents fled civil war in Sri Lanka. She went on to graduate from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology, a master’s degree in political science, and a law degree. 
Vignarajah is married to Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. Their wedding was officiated by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. 
In June 2020, Vignarajah went public with her breast cancer diagnosis -- in an interview with The Baltimore Sun, she said "“my hope is to do my part to lift some of the stigma and anxiety that sits around breast cancer.”
Category:American refugees
Category:Lutheran denominations in North America
Category:American politicians