LOS ANGELES - Hiroshi Motomura, the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and the faculty Co-Director of the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, has been named part of the 2026 Class of Great Immigrants, Great Americans by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.

The 2026 Class of Great Immigrants highlights naturalized citizens from 21 countries who are honored for their achievements in academia, the arts, business, medicine, sports, science, technology, engineering, and math.

The tribute recognizes 25 distinguished naturalized citizens whose contributions have strengthened America. Launched by the foundation more than 20 years ago, it is celebrated every Fourth of July. Past honorees include Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee, tennis great Steffi Graf, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, comedian John Oliver, actor Pedro Pascal, and writer Ocean Vuong among many others.

“I’m honored to be part of the 2026 Class, especially at this moment,” said Professor Motomura. “Immigrants have been part of this nation since its inception, though it is sometimes forgotten in these times. And I am a small part of a greater story that reminds us that those who come to the United States help create a stronger union. I am grateful to Andrew Carnegie Foundation for this recognition.”

This year, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Carnegie also recognizes the eight foreign-born signers of the country’s founding document.

“As the United States celebrates 250 years of independence, our Great Immigrants tribute reminds us of the myriad ways immigrants have contributed to our society,” said Dame Louise Richardson, president of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, who is a naturalized American citizen born in Ireland. “In honor of our founder, Andrew Carnegie, himself a Scottish immigrant, we applaud the 2026 Class of ‘Great Immigrants, Great Americans’ for their talent, skills, and achievements as naturalized citizens.” 

Motomura is widely regarded as one of the most influential legal scholars in the field of immigration today. His extensive contributions have helped shape modern U.S. immigration policy and advocacy. He was part of the legal team that led the Obama administration to implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012. He is also the co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), a nonprofit that provides free legal services to adults held in immigration detention and to immigrant children throughout Colorado.

He is a prolific writer, and his influence is visible across a range of academic disciplines and in federal, state, and local policymaking. His book, Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States (Oxford 2006) won the Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PROSE) Award from the Association of American Publishers as the year’s best book in Law and Legal Studies and was chosen by the U.S. Department of State for its Suggested Reading List for Foreign Service Officers. He is a co-author of the immigration casebooks: Immigration and Citizenship: Process and Policy (10th ed. West 2026), and he has published many widely cited articles on immigration and citizenship that are widely cited classics in the field. His book, Immigration Outside the Law (Oxford 2014), won the Association of American Publishers' Law and Legal Studies 2015 PROSE Award and was chosen by the Association of College and Research Libraries as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. His most recent book, Borders and Belonging: Toward a Fair Immigration Policy, published by Oxford University Press in 2025, explains why immigration policy is such a contentious area and charts a path forward.

He is also the co-host of the podcast series: Unsettled: Immigration in Turbulent Times, which examines Trump administration policies and actions affecting immigration, migrants and their communities.

Inside the classroom, Motomura is known for creative and effective teaching. He was one of 26 professors featured in What the Best Law Teachers Do from Harvard University Press. The book is full of anecdotes from former students. One recounts how Motomura’s teaching helps him successfully represent asylum seekers. “His work has saved lives,” the attorney asserts. In 2017, Motomura received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency in 2024.

The Great Immigrants, Great Americans tribute was launched by the foundation in 2006 to raise public awareness of the economic and societal benefits of legal pathways to citizenship. It honors the legacy of Andrew Carnegie, who immigrated to America from Scotland in his teens, rose to become one of the world’s wealthiest men, and established one of the first philanthropic foundations in America. Over the last two decades, the foundation has recognized more than 790 Great Immigrants, resulting in one of the largest online resources of its kind.

Andrew Carnegie Foundation Press Statement about The 2026 Class of Great Americans