“But in many respects, I regard what America is currently experiencing as even more disruptive, disturbing, and threatening. Braver Angels, whose goal is to ‘inspire and equip Americans to practice courageous citizenship across political differences through skill-building, convening, and collaborative action,’ is one of the few organizations that is genuinely attempting to overcome our rancorous divisions by getting ordinary Americans to sit down and just talk to one another across the divide.”
Founded in the wake of the 2016 presidential election when two former colleagues, David Blankenhorn and David Lapp—deeply troubled by the vitriolic rhetoric engulfing the nation—agreed to host a weekend meeting in southern Ohio among 10 or so supporters of Hillary Clinton and 10 supporters of Donald Trump with the goal of getting people to listen civilly to opposing views.
The success of their experiment led Blankenhorn and Lapp, along with University of Minnesota Professor Bill Doherty, to co-found Braver Angels, with the stated mission of “bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.” The organization’s protocol remains to pair red and blue participants in equal numbers in political conversations with the hope of demonstrating that Americans with different views can find common ground.
Since 2024, the movement has made the divisive topic of immigration its primary focus, which led Blankenhorn to invite Skerry, a respected author and national expert on immigration policy, to serve as chair of the Immigration Policy Roundtable of its Citizen’s Commission on Immigration. The Commission will then bring together the outcome of the Roundtable’s deliberations over the next year and a half with the results of on-going grassroots Citizens Conversations being conducted by Braver Angels.
“I saw assuming the chairmanship of the Immigration Policy Roundtable as a unique opportunity to engage with individuals and organizations—many of whom I have known and worked or debated with over the years—in a framework that fosters constructive engagement on perhaps the most divisive issue now facing our nation,” said Skerry.
“I spent 13 years in Washington, D.C., and I feel comfortable dealing with people from various sides of the issue. I have also studied and followed immigration for more than 30 years. I hope that the Citizen’s Commission on Immigration, composed of people on all sides of the immigration divide, gives us credibility to successfully address this problem.”
The Citizens Commission on Immigration focuses on three areas, designated as: Grassroots Americans, which features scores of Braver Angels events devoted to immigration, including Common Ground Workshops and Local Community Debates; National Leaders, which is centered around the Immigration Policy Roundtable and features a politically diverse group of nationally prominent experts and advocates; and Congress, with the goal of establishing ongoing conversations with members of Congress on immigration.
The Citizens Commission’s efforts will culminate in a Report to the Nation, outlining key immigration policy recommendations that reflect red/blue consensus. The report is scheduled to be released in 2027.
“Americans should expect a detailed account not only of what the array of advocates, including immigrant/immigration advocates; immigration restrictionists; and business interests, participating in the Roundtable has been able to agree on, but also of the points of agreement coming out of Braver Angels grassroots sessions of equal numbers of blue and red Americans in at least 100 different congressional districts across the nation,” said Skerry.
“The report will reconcile and synthesize these findings and recommendations with the ultimate goal of creating guidelines on immigration policy.”
