Dr. Patrick Weil returned to the German Marshall Fund in 2005 as a senior transatlantic fellow, based out of Paris, to advise on the Immigration and Integration program.  He previously worked as a transatlantic fellow with GMF in Washington, DC, where he researched recent changes in American immigration and integration policies as part of a broader comparison with European practices.  In addition to his current responsibilities at GMF, Dr. Weil serves as director of the Center for the Study of Immigration, Integration, and Citizenship Policies (CEPIC) at the University of Paris1, Panthéon– Sorbonne.  He also holds an appointment as senior research fellow at the French National Research Center (CNRS) in Paris.  In 2003, Dr. Weil served on the French presidential commission on secularism established by Jacques Chirac.  The commission’s findings led to the adoption of 25 different measures, including the banning of conspicuous religious symbols in France’s public schools (commonly known as the “head-scarf law”).  Dr. Weil was also appointed by the French government in 1997 to prepare a report on immigration and nationality policy reform, which served as the basis of immigration and nationality legislation passed by the French parliament the following year.