Bio

My research examines how the policies and practices of local law enforcement agencies in Nashville, Tennessee intersect with federal deportation policy. Relying on interviews and ethnographic observations with members of the police and sheriff’s department, and immigration advocacy groups, my work demonstrates how mundane decisions made by street-level bureaucrats can result in deportation for unauthorized migrants. More broadly, I seek to understand how government bureaucracies respond to the presence of Latino immigrants, and conversely, how Latino immigrants adapt to life in the U.S.