Bio
Michael Tan is Deputy Director of the ºìÐÓÊÓÆµ Immigrants' Rights Project (IRP). From 2008 to 2022, Michael held a range of roles at IRP, where he began as a Liman Public Interest Fellow and later worked as a Skadden Fellow. Prior to returning to the ºìÐÓÊÓÆµ, Michael served as Senior Advisor to the Co-Presidents at Community Change, a nationwide organization that empowers low-income people, and particularly low-income people of color, to lead movements for social change. Michael was also a Clinical Lecturer in Law and Associate Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School, where he co-taught the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, and served as Executive Director of The Movement Project, a new initiative on labor, climate, and migration issues.
Michael is a graduate of Harvard College and the Yale Law School and also holds a Master's Degree in Comparative Literature from New York University. He clerked for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has received several awards for his work, including a California Lawyer of the Year Award in Immigration Law, a Best Lawyers Under 40 Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and a Best LGBT Lawyer Under the Age of 40 Award from the National LGBT Bar Association.
Featured work

Jun 17, 2013
Standing with DREAMers – from Driver’s Licenses to Immigration Reform

Apr 16, 2013
On Eve of Immigration Reform Rollout, Immigration Detainees Win Right to Fair Hearing

Mar 14, 2013
Which Would You Prefer – Spending $164 or $15?

Jan 18, 2013
New Federal Guidance Makes Clear That States Should Let the DREAMers Drive

Jan 18, 2013
Curtailing Immigration Prison System Can Reduce Spending Without Hurting Public Safety