Eva Millona, the first born-Albanian in the highest level in US administration

Eva Millona

 An Albanian-American lady has just been appointed Assistant Secretary in the Homeland Security Department.

Eva Millona studied law at the University of Tirana in the 1980s

This is the highest position that an Albanian born in Albania has ever held in the American administration.

In Albania, she practiced civil and criminal law before becoming the youngest district judge ever appointed to the Tirana District Court, where she served from 1989 to 1992. After emigrating to the United States, she ran the resettlement program of refugees in Central Massachusetts, and later in 1999 joined the MIRA (Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition), serving first as Director of Policy and Advocacy and later as Deputy Director. She became Executive Director in 2008, and today is recognized both nationally and internationally as an expert and leader in immigration policy and the integration of immigrants and refugees.

She serves on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the Massachusetts Governor's Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, the Attorney General's Advisory Board, and the Boston Mayor's Office Advisory Board on Advancing Immigrants. She has received numerous awards for her advocacy and leadership, including the prestigious 2009 Outstanding American by Choice Award from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the 2010 Wainwright Bank Social Justice Award.