Kate Jastram is a lecturer in residence at UC Berkeley Law School. A Boalt alumna, Jastram is an expert on refugee, migration, and human rights law. She practiced immigration and nationality law in San Francisco and directed a pro bono asylum program in Minneapolis. From 1991-2001, Jastram was a legal advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland and Washington, D.C. Jastram has also served as an expert on asylum issues for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent bi-partisan federal agency, since 2003. In 2005, she was a co-recipient of the Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award, awarded by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in recognition of outstanding service in advancing the cause of human rights.
Her scholarly interests focus on the challenges states face in balancing protection for forced migrants with migration management and national security concerns. Her recent work includes co-authoring a Congressionally-authorized empirical study for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Report on Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal (2005), as well as pieces for Refugee Survey Quarterly, Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, and the edited volume, Migration and International Legal Norms. Jastram teaches courses in refugee law, global migration issues, national security and international protection, immigration law, and international human rights.