Douglas C. Ligor

@DougLigor on Twitter

Acting Director, Management, Technology, and Capabilities Program, RAND Homeland Security Research Division; Senior Behavioral/Social Scientist

Off Site Office

Education

J.D., University of Connecticut School of Law; B.S. in economics, United States Military Academy, West Point

One Page Bio

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Doug Ligor is the acting director of the Management, Technology, and Capabilities (MTC) Program within the Homeland Security Research Division (HSRD), and a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. His research areas include: homeland and national security law, regulation and policy, particularly as they relate to immigration, border security, migration, asylum, and refugee processing; space governance and international law; law enforcement; and national defense. Ligor's research interests extend to civil and criminal law; litigation; statutory and regulatory compliance; international and customary law (including treaty-based regimes); and coordination among federal, state, and local government entities.

Prior to RAND, Ligor served as the deputy chief counsel for the Northeast Law Division of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security. He also served as an assistant district counsel with the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (later DHS/Immigration and Customs Enforcement). He represented DOJ and DHS with respect to all major aspects of U.S. immigration law, including national security issues and cases; naturalization and citizenship; lawful permanent residence; asylum and refugee status; and criminal and civil grounds of detention and removal. Ligor began his legal career through the Department of Commerce's Honors Attorney Program, serving as legal liaison to the Secretary of Commerce. Before joining federal service, Ligor served as an Armor officer in the U.S. Army in company and battalion staff positions.

Ligor received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law, and his B.S. in economics from the United States Military Academy, West Point.

Research Focus

Concurrent Non-RAND Positions

Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Recent Projects

Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC)
International Space Traffic Management
The Cost of Cost-Effectiveness: Expanding Equity in Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants
Assessing the Readiness for Human Commercial Spaceflight Safety Regulations: Charting a Trajectory from Revolutionary to Routine Travel
Responsible Space Behaviors for the New Space Era: Preserving the Province of Humanity

Selected Publications

Ligor, Douglas C., Neither Deportation nor Amnesty: An Alternative for the Immigration Debate Building a Bridge Across the Deportation–Amnesty Divide, RAND Corporation (PE-279-RC), 2018

McClintock, Bruce, Douglas C. Ligor, Dan McCormick, Marissa Herron, Kotryna Jukneviciute, Thomas Van Bibber, Katie Feistel, Akhil Rao, Adi Rao, Taylor Grosso, Michael Fenner, Hanjun Lee, Abdullah Ar Rafee, and Tomás Urbina, International Space Traffic Management: Charting a Course for Long-Term Sustainability, RAND Corporation (RR-A1949-1), 2023

McClintock, Bruce, Katie Feistel, Douglas C. Ligor, and Kathryn O'Connor, Responsible Space Behavior for the New Space Era: Preserving the Province of Humanity, RAND Corporation (PE-A887-2), 2021

Douglas C. Ligor, Benjamin M. Miller, Maria McCollester, Brian Phillips, Geoffrey Kirkwood, Josh Becker, Gwen Mazzotta, Bruce McClintock, Barbara Bicksler, Assessing the Readiness for Human Commercial Spaceflight Safety Regulations: Charting a Trajectory from Revolutionary to Routine Travel - Summary (RR-A2466-2)

Miller, Benjamin M., Noreen Clancy, Douglas C. Ligor, Geoffrey Kirkwood, David Metz, Steven Koller, and Stephanie Stewart, The Cost of Cost-Effectiveness: Expanding Equity in Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants, RAND Corporation (RR-A2171-1), 2023

Douglas C. Ligor, Bruce McClintock, "Nasty, Brutish, and Short--The Future of Space Operations in the Absence of the Rule of Law," NATO Legal Gazette, (42), 2021

McGovern, Geoffrey, Maria McCollester, Douglas C. Ligor, Sheng Tao Li, Douglas Yeung, and Laura Kupe, The Role of Intellectual Property in U.S. Homeland Security, RAND Corporation (RR-3039), 2019

Priebe, Miranda, Douglas C. Ligor, Bruce McClintock, Michael Spirtas, Karen Schwindt, Caitlin Lee, Ashley L. Rhoades, Derek Eaton, Quentin E. Hodgson, and Bryan Rooney, Multiple Dilemmas: Challenges and Options for All-Domain Command and Control, RAND Corporation (RR-A381-1), 2020

Honors & Awards

Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center Director's Innovation Award, 2018, RAND Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center
Superior Performance Award (2003 to 2016), Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Training Excellence Award, 2015, Office of the Chief Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: ABC Radio Australia; Arizona Public Media; Newstalk ZB, New Zealand; Robert Wright's Nonzero podcast; VOA

Commentary

Transportation Safety

Enter Outer Space at Your Own Risk?
Since 2004, federal law has barred most participant safety regulations and leaves nearly all issues of safety up to the discretion of the company providing the service. It's time to allow the moratorium on regulation to expire and allow the development of safety standards, led by the FAA.
May 16, 2023
Space News
Security Cooperation

Reduce Friction in Space by Amending the 1967 Outer Space Treaty
Space has the potential to be a domain in which current great-power competitions and frictions can be mediated. The international community might consider updating the existing space legal regime to ensure it meets current political, economic, social, and technical challenges.
Aug 26, 2022
War on the Rocks
Space Exploration

Outer Space and the Veil of Ignorance: An Alternative Way to Think About Space Regulation
There are currently no international binding rules that would address growing threats in space. Without more-defined and enforceable rules of war regarding space and space assets, the danger of a destructive conflict in space grows significantly.
May 9, 2022
Fast Company
Peacekeeping and Stability Operations

Time for a U.N. Peace Enforcement Operation in Northern Ukraine?
Now that the Russian military in Ukraine has retreated north, a de facto cease-fire is in place in Kyiv and central Ukraine. This could present an opportunity for the United Nations to call for a formal cease-fire in reclaimed territory and issue a recommendation to willing states to move into Ukraine with a peacekeeping force.
Apr 27, 2022
Lawfare
Violent Extremism

Implications of Domestic Terrorist Group Designations for Combating Homegrown Extremism
It is not clear that an official designation of domestic extremists as terrorists would confer additional benefits that would outweigh potential risks to U.S. civil liberties. A combined government effort that facilitates mitigation strategies to preempt violence by hate groups, while also actively stemming the flow of online disinformation, may be a good first step in reducing homegrown extremism.
Mar 2, 2021
The Hill
Law Enforcement

State Police Powers: A Less Than Optimal Remedy for the COVID-19 Disease
How can the United States face what may be a growing threat of pandemics without having to exercise powers so extraordinary that they not only restrict fundamental rights and liberties, but also damage or jeopardize the economic livelihood of so many?
May 1, 2020
United Press International
Child Health

Sleep Deprivation Could Do Long-Term Damage to Migrant Children
The challenges faced by detained children at the U.S. southern border are immense. Sleep disruption may significantly hinder their ability to function physically and mentally. Policymakers shouldn't overlook the importance of providing appropriate sleeping conditions.
Jul 22, 2019
Dallas Morning News
Restoring Asylum Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence
Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded asylum protections earlier this month for victims of domestic violence. The decision and the supporting analysis goes against decades of research on violence against women. Congress could reverse the decision by amending the asylum law.
Jun 25, 2018
The Hill
The Immigration Debate: Building a Bridge Across the Deportation-Amnesty Divide
Discussions of U.S. immigration are dominated by arguments that pit “rule of law” proponents — focused on apprehension, detention, and deportation — against “humanitarian” supporters seeking a pardon or amnesty that will allow immigrants to stay in the country. Minor changes to the statute known as “Cancellation of Removal” could offer a compromise.
Feb 28, 2018
The Hill

Publications

Report
Language, Labels, and the DHS Lexicon: Analysis to Support a More-Inclusive Lexicon for Securing the Homeland
The authors analyze U.S. Department of Homeland Security documentation, processes, and procedures and then identify ways to improve them and to create an organizational culture that supports the lasting implementation of more-inclusive terminology.
Jun 19, 2023
Report
International Space Traffic Management: Charting a Course for Long-Term Sustainability
As outer space becomes more congested, contested, and competitive, risks to space safety, security, and sustainability heighten. The authors identified lessons from other domains and offer recommendations to make progress in space traffic management.
Jun 5, 2023
Research Brief
The Time for International Space Traffic Management Is Now
As space traffic becomes more congested, risks to space objects and space-related services grow. The authors offer recommendations to make progress in establishing an international space traffic management organization to combat those risks.
Jun 5, 2023
Report
Economic Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Addressing a Changed World and Evolved Threat Landscape
This Perspective describes the evolving strategic environment for and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's critical role in economic security.
Apr 13, 2023
Report
Assessing the Readiness for Human Commercial Spaceflight Safety Regulations: Charting a Trajectory from Revolutionary to Routine Travel
RAND researchers assessed the progress that the commercial spaceflight industry has made in adopting voluntary safety standards and whether the industry has reached a level of maturity such that certain areas are ready for regulatory action.
Apr 3, 2023
Report
The Cost of Cost-Effectiveness: Expanding Equity in Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants
Researchers offer ways the Federal Emergency Management Agency could simplify or amend the required benefit–cost analysis process in applications for hazard mitigation assistance to be more inclusive of lower-resourced communities.
Feb 15, 2023
Report
Cross-Domain Lessons for Space Traffic Management: An Analysis of Air and Maritime Treaty Governance Mechanisms
In this report, the authors examine the treaty-based governance systems from both the air and maritime domains as potential models for the development of an international space traffic management system.
Jan 25, 2023
Report
Criminal History Record Information Sharing with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency: Education and Training Materials for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Partners
This report presents materials to facilitate more effective and efficient criminal history record information sharing with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, which performs federal background investigations.
Sep 7, 2022
Research Brief
Fit for Duty: Alternative Approaches for Determining Department of Defense Disability Compensation
RAND researchers evaluated four hypothetical alternative U.S. Department of Defense disability compensation approaches that would support a simpler disability evaluation process by reducing reliance on disability ratings.
Feb 9, 2022
Report
U.S. Department of Defense Disability Compensation Under a Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation Approach
In this report, the authors evaluate four hypothetical alternative U.S. Department of Defense disability compensation approaches that would support a simpler disability evaluation process by reducing reliance on disability ratings.
Jan 28, 2022
Report
Responsible Space Behavior for the New Space Era: Preserving the Province of Humanity
Humans have explored near-earth space for more than six decades, yet the basic mechanisms for governing space activities have only marginally changed. The authors offer suggestions on how to improve space governance and responsible space behavior.
Apr 26, 2021
Journal Article
Nasty, Brutish, and Short—The Future of Space Operations in the Absence of the Rule of Law: Addressing Congestion, Contestation, and Competitiveness in the New Space Era
Existing treaties and laws are not sufficient to govern space given the dramatic growth in space activity. Ensuring a safe, secure, and prosperous space for all nations may require the application of social contract theory to space governance.
2021
Research Brief
Multiple Dilemmas for the Joint Force: Joint All-Domain Command and Control
The authors examine potential command and control impediments to multidomain operations and propose alternative models for joint all-domain command and control.
Dec 3, 2020
Report
Multiple Dilemmas: Challenges and Options for All-Domain Command and Control
The authors examine potential command-and-control impediments to multidomain operations and propose alternative models for joint all-domain command and control.
Dec 3, 2020
Report
The Risk-Mitigation Value of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential: A Comprehensive Security Assessment of the TWIC Program
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is designed to enhance security at U.S. ports. This report provides the findings from an assessment of the TWIC program, along with the assessors' recommendations.
May 13, 2020
Report
The Role of Intellectual Property in U.S. Homeland Security
Researchers assessed intellectual property (IP) support at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components and found underused opportunities but also issues that expose programs to substantial risk.
Sep 19, 2019
Report
Neither Deportation nor Amnesty: An Alternative for the Immigration Debate Building a Bridge Across the Deportation–Amnesty Divide
This Perspective examines the current debate over individuals present in the United States without lawful immigration status, proposing that minor changes in existing immigration law offer a compromise solution for millions of individuals.
Feb 26, 2018