Lora is director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation. She has over 26 years’ experience in the immigration and homeland security arena. Ries twice worked at the Department of Homeland Security on management and immigration policy and operations issues, most recently as the Acting Deputy Chief of Staff. She also worked in the private sector as a homeland security industry strategist and in government relations. Ries previously worked in the legislative branch as Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims. She started her career at the Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Ries’ commentary and analysis have been published and quoted in multiple print media, including The National Interest, FoxNews.com, Roll Call, and The Hill. She has done numerous radio and TV interviews, and has testified before Congress. Ries earned a law degree at Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana and was a visiting law student with the University of Houston Law Center in Mexico City, Mexico. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in international economics and cultural affairs; and Spanish from Valparaiso University; and studied Mexican history and culture as a visiting undergraduate at La Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico.