Pressure of Truth
The news, with the spin made visible.
Outlet profile

Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)

U.S. right / immigration restrictionist

Owned byIndependent 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank governed by a private board of directors; no corporate parent
FundingPrivate foundation grants; the Colcom Foundation supplies roughly 60% of annual revenue (approximately $2.1 million in 2023 general operating support); additional funders have included the Maytag Family Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Foundation for the Carolinas
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

CIS was founded in 1985 as a spin-off of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), itself founded by ophthalmologist and activist John Tanton. Tanton, who was later described by critics as a white nationalist, was instrumental in establishing a network of immigration-restrictionist organizations; CIS was conceived as the research and policy arm of that network. Historian Otis L. Graham served as founding chairman. The organization describes itself as 'independent, non-partisan,' but independent analysts, including Media Bias/Fact Check, characterize it as a conservative-leaning, advocacy-oriented think tank rather than a neutral research body. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated CIS a hate group in 2016, citing what it described as the use of misleading data and links to white nationalist ideology; CIS and some outside commentators, including a former NPR ombudsman, have disputed that label as overstated. CIS gained significant political influence during the first Trump administration (2017–2021), with Trump's first national campaign ad citing CIS research and administration officials drawing on CIS reports to defend border and interior enforcement policies. CIS staff contributed research to Project 2025, the policy blueprint closely associated with the second Trump term. During Trump's second term (2025–present), CIS has continued to publish work broadly in line with the administration's enforcement-first, low-immigration agenda, and its staff appear regularly as supportive commentators on administration policies.

Sources

  1. Center for Immigration Studies – Wikipedia
  2. Center for Immigration Studies – InfluenceWatch
  3. Center for Immigration Studies – Media Bias/Fact Check
  4. Center for Immigration Studies – SPLC Extremist Files
  5. Is CIS a hate group? – PolitiFact
  6. Center for Immigration Studies Background (self-description) – CIS.org
  7. The Private Money Shaping Public Conversation About Restricting Immigration – Inside Philanthropy
  8. Center for Immigration Studies – Ballotpedia

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record