A noteworthy former leader of MIRA was Ali Noorani, who served as the Coalition’s executive director from 2003-2008 before going on to become head of the National Immigration Forum. While with MIRA, Noorani characterized conservatives and proponents of immigration-law enforcement as individuals “willing to close America to the world.” He also denounced the Minuteman Project as a coalition of “vigilante groups … emboldened by political demagogues who … have no interest in our national security and are willing to dismiss America’s values and history for the sake of political gain.”