Alice Farmer
Visiting Research Fellow
Alice Farmer was until January 2024 the head of UNHCR’s legal team for the United States. There, Ms. Farmer oversaw strategic litigation as well as regulatory and policy analysis. Ms. Farmer drafted UNHCR positions and represented the agency before the US Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. In recent years, Ms. Farmer was the focal point for climate change issues. In addition, Ms. Farmer oversaw a team that works to build access to counsel for asylum-seekers and provide individualized interventions. Ms. Farmer’s other service with UNHCR includes: on emergency mission as Senior Protection Officer in Moldova at the onset of the Ukrainian war; in refugee status determination in various Caribbean states, and as a protection cluster lead in Liberia.
Previously, Ms. Farmer worked on refugee and human rights issues for Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Norwegian Refugee Council. Ms. Farmer has researched and published on the human rights of children in displacement in twelve countries. Ms. Farmer, while at HRW, created and led the organization’s global campaign against immigration detention of children. Ms. Farmer started her legal career with the U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program, in the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Ms. Farmer has a BA from Harvard College, a MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and a JD from New York University School of Law. She is a dual US / UK national and grew up in London.
Academic contact: Catherine Briddick