Understanding How U.S. Immigrant and Immigration Policies Affect Latino Adolescents’ School Lives

In this study, Weitzman will examine how state laws and federal immigration enforcement activities shape Latino adolescents’ educational experiences and outcomes. This three-phase project will first comprehensively assess local immigrant and immigration policy contexts that are consequential to Latino youth; next she will identify how local immigrant legislation and localized federal immigration enforcement activities impact Latino adolescents’ school lives; and finally identify how the effects of immigrant legislation and immigration enforcement activities differ across adolescents, schools, and counties. Weitzman, a sociologist and demographer, will develop content expertise in U.S. immigrant and immigration policies, racism and intersectionality, and school contexts and processes, as well gaining methodological expertise in administrative data assembly. She will work closely with her two mentors: Cecilia Menjívar, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles and Chandra Muller, Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin.