A federal appeals court has granted a temporary stay on a lower court's decision blocking the enforcement of Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), a controversial Texas immigration law. The law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott, permits state law enforcement to arrest individuals suspected of illegal entry. While Texas argues for its right to defend against a perceived border crisis, critics, including the White House, deem SB 4 as unconstitutional and potentially leading to racial profiling.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight and analysis on the current state of immigration policy in the US. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Tayah Frye at [email protected] and Shannon Mitchell at [email protected].
Immigration Policy
Elizabeth Vaquera is the inaugural Director of the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute and an Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. Vaquera's research focuses on vulnerable and diverse groups, particularly Latinos/as and immigrants. Her work has analyzed the character and importance of immigrant status, race, and ethnic identity in outcomes such as education, health, and emotional and social well-being. In addition to an extensive body of work published in leading peer-reviewed journals, Vaquera is the co-author of several books, the most recent of which, Education and Immigration, examines the educational experiences of immigrants and their children living in the U.S.
Kelly Bauer specializes in identity and development politics in Latin America. Her research explores how states govern national identity as global trends challenge understandings of state sovereignty; recent work explored Indigenous rights and irregular migration. Her first book, Negotiating Autonomy: Mapuche Territorial Demands and Chilean Land Policy (2021), explored inconsistencies in how Chilean state officials navigated extending elite and neoliberal governance and citizenship through Indigenous land policy.
Law
Cori Alonso-Yoder is an Associate Professor of Fundamentals of Lawyering at the GW Law School. Alonso-Yoder is nationally recognized scholar on immigration legislation and the impacts of state, local and federal laws on immigrant communities. She specializes on the health policy of immigration.
Alberto Benítez is a Professor of Clinical Law; and Director of GW Law’s Immigration Clinic. Professor Benítez is an expert in Immigration Law. Benítez supervises students that handle a variety of immigration law matters including representing noncitizens, writing comments to proposed federal regulations, and disseminating information to the public.
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