02/10/2026 - IIH/SOC MIGRATION WORKSHOP SPEAKER SERIES: DR. SOPHIA RODRIGUEZ, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND POLICY STUDIES AND SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, NYU STEINHARDT
Dr. Sophia Rodriguez, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Sociology of Education at NYU Steinhardt and founder/director of the ImmigrantEdNext Research Lab, will discuss “Immigrant youth belonging and well-being in racialized policy and school climates.” Her talk will explore how racialized immigration and education policies shape immigrant youths’ sense of belonging and well-being in schools, highlighting research that centers minoritized youth voices and advances racial equity, urban education, and justice-oriented leadership and policy.
Her recent book, Undocumented in the South: How Youth Navigate Racialization and Immigration Status in Policy and School Contexts, provides a rare look into the everyday realities of undocumented youth in K-12 public schools. In an anti-immigrant policy context, youth and their families navigate historical and current legacies and realities of segregation, racial discrimination, and inequality.
Learn more about this research in her new book, Undocumented in the U.S. South, published by Rutgers University Press.
01/27/2026 - IIH/SOC MIGRATION WORKSHOP SPEAKER SERIES: DR. CLAUDIA MASFERRER, DR. ERIN HAMILTON, AND DR. NICOLE DENIER
In the first two decades of the 21st century, more than two million Mexican migrants returned to Mexico from the United States. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of people who returned to Mexico was so large that, for the first time in at least fifty years, more people entered Mexico from the United States than entered the United States from Mexico. Many of these migrants were destined for urban areas, and we know little about how they fare after they return to cities. In The Returned, sociologists Claudia Masferrer, Erin R. Hamilton, and Nicole Denier examine the experiences of returned migrants in Mexico City, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.
To learn more about their collaborative research, read The Returned (Russell Sage Foundation).
12/02/2025 - IIH/SOC MIGRATION WORKSHOP SPEAKER SERIES: DR. ALEJANDRO OLAYO-MÉNDEZ, S.J., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, BOSTON COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
Alejandro Olayo-Méndez is an assistant professor at the Boston College School of Social Work. His research focuses on migrants’ and refugees’ livelihoods and the role of humanitarian organizations in contexts of migration and forced displacement. He has conducted extensive ethnographic research along migration routes in Mexico. His book Humanitarianism from Below by NYU Press explores how casas de migrantes or migrant shelters shape the migratory processes in the region. In recent years, he has travelled widely across the Mexico-U.S. Border studying migrants’ digital practices, the impact of the CBP One™ app, and migrants’ well-being. He published part of his findings in the report—Navigating the U.S.-Mexico Border: Digital Practices of Migrants and Their Psychosocial Needs—in collaboration with Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. Additionally, he wrote an article discussing the experience of Latino immigrants in the United States during the pandemic. He led a research project with the Jesuit Network with Migrants (Latin America and the Caribbean), which examines integration practices and accompaniment of refugees and migrants in 14 countries and their lived experiences in those countries. Alejandro is also a Jesuit Catholic Priest.
To learn more about Dr. Olayo-Méndez’s work, explore his book Humanitarianism from Below by NYU Press and his research here.
10/28/2025 - IIH/SOC MIGRATION WORKSHOP SPEAKER SERIES: DR. LAURA E. ENRIQUEZ, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, CHICANO/LATINO STUDIES, UC IRVINE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. Laura Enriquez presented findings from her forthcoming co-authored book exploring how family legal vulnerability makes undocumented immigration status a central source of inequality for undocumented young adults and U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants. Focusing on Latinx students within the University of California system, the talk revealed how shared family legal constraints impacted mental health, academic success, and political engagement regardless of individual immigration status. Dr. Enriquez highlighted the resilience and agency of these students as they navigated challenges, offering institutional recommendations to strengthen campus resources and promote equity.
To learn more about Dr. Enriquez’s research, a free version of her award-winning book Of Love and Papers: How Immigration Policy Affects Romance and Family can be found here.
