Fields of Study:
Central American Studies; Latino Studies; Law and Society; International migration; Gender; Families; The ‘new’ second generation; Latin America; Qualitative methods.

Information:
Leisy Abrego, our newest hire in the department, is a sociologist with an expertise in the study of families, Central American immigration, and Latino undocumented youth. She received her PhD in Sociology from UCLA in 2008, and was a U.C. President's Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Irvine from 2008-2010. Her research investigates the opportunities for mobility and well-being of immigrants and their families in the home country. Currently in the process of writing her first book manuscript, she highlights the role of gender and legal status in creating persistent inequalities among Salvadoran transnational families separated through migration. She has also written award-winning peer-reviewed articles about the social, educational, and political incorporation of undocumented youth.

Abridged CV> link