Mark Krikorian has been the executive director of the

Center for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an anti-immigration think tank and a SPLC designated hate group. It favors far lower immigration numbers, and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graha ...

, an anti-immigration

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...

in Washington, D. C., since 1995. Krikorian is a regular contributor to the conservative publication ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'', and is a regular participant at ''

National Review Online ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

's'' "The Corner." Krikorian frequently testifies before Congress, and has been quoted in and writes articles in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

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'', ''

'', and elsewhere. He has appeared on ''

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'', ''

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'', the ''

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'', ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

'', ''

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'' and many other television and radio programs. In January 2013,

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listed Krikorian as one of the top 20 immigration experts to follow on

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in the United States. Krikorian is credited with popularizing the concept of illegal immigrant

self-deportation Self-deportation is an approach to dealing with illegal immigration, used in the United States and the United Kingdom, that allows an otherwise inadmissible person to voluntarily depart a country for which they have no legal ties to rather than fac ...

with the term, "attrition through enforcement".

Childhood, education, and early career

Krikorian was born in the United States to American-born parents of Armenian descent from the (former) Soviet Republic. His father worked as a chef and restaurant manager, moving his family from New Haven, to Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, and then Boston again, always living in densely Armenian neighborhoods. His parents spoke to their children in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

but to each other in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Krikorian knew only Armenian when he entered kindergarten. He lost his right eye to a retinal blastoma while still a baby. He earned his B.A. at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and a master's at the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, further spending two years studying at the

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

in then-

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

. Before joining CIS in February 1995, Krikorian was an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

at the ''

Winchester Star ''The Winchester Star'' is a daily newspaper (Monday-Friday) based in Winchester, Virginia covering the Shenandoah Valley area. Subscribers may choose from either the print edition or a downloadable edition of the newspaper. On March 6, 2018, it ...

'', and worked as

of an

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publication on

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

. He wrote for the monthly newsletter of the

Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non profit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immig ...

Books

*''The New Case Against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal'', Sentinel HC, 2008. *''How Obama is Transforming America Through Immigration'', Encounter Broadsides, 2010. *''Open Immigration: Yea and Nay'', By Mark Krikorian and Alex Nowrasteh,

Encounter Books Encounter Books is a book publisher in the United States known for publishing conservative authors. It was named for ''Encounter'', the now defunct literary magazine founded by Irving Kristol and Stephen Spender.

, 2014.

References

External links

The Center for Immigration StudiesMark Krikorian's Biography
*
Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism
* Krikorian debates on illegal immigration at Boston University College of Communication's 24th annual Great Debate o
BUniverse

Video discussion with Krikorian
about immigration on

Bloggingheads.tv Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast on ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krikorian, Mark Year of birth missing (living people) Georgetown University alumni American people of Armenian descent Living people Anti-immigration activists The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni