Laura Collins is Director of the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, where she specializes in immigration issues. She is frequently interviewed on immigration policy by media outlets including POLITICO, USA Today, NBC, CBS, The Dallas Morning News, and many others.
In addition to her writing and media appearances, she has organized convenings and working groups to bring together divergent viewpoints and lawmakers on different sides of the aisle to discuss sound policy priorities.
Collins has over a decade of experience in the immigration space, previously serving as the Director of Immigration Policy at the American Action Forum. Collins also draws from her time working in both state and national politics, with the Republican National Committee during the 2012 election cycle and the Texas House of Representatives during the 82nd Legislature in 2011. While Collins focuses primarily on domestic immigration policy, she frequently collaborates with her colleagues on the intersection of foreign policy and U.S. immigration policy.
She has published policy recommendations on how to best reform our immigration system, how to maximize America’s potential from immigrants, and developing regional migration solutions. She has also tackled some of the factors that send migrants to the U.S. southern border, including gender-based violence and other humanitarian factors as well as oppression from the Taliban and fleeing conflict in Ukraine and other war-torn parts of the world.
A former practicing attorney, Collins earned her JD from The University of Texas School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma.
