People
Faculty Coordinators
Angela S. Garcia, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Crown Family School of Social Work Policy and Practice
Angela S. García is Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. She is a scholar of migration, membership, law, and the state, with a focus on undocumented migration in the context of US immigration federalism. García’s award-winning book, Legal Passing: Navigating Undocumented Life and Local Immigration Law (University of California Press), compares the impacts of restrictive and accommodating subnational immigration laws for undocumented Mexican immigrants. Her current work includes a book project on time and undocumented middle life, and a collaborative study on urban inclusion and Chicago’s municipal ID program. García earned a PhD in Sociology and a MA in Latin American Studies from the University of California, San Diego.
René D. Flores, PhD
Neubauer Family Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Flores received his Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy from Princeton University in 2014. His primary research interests are in the fields of international migration, race and ethnicity, and social stratification. His research to date has examined the social consequences of subnational restrictionist immigration policies in the U.S. using administrative, ethnographic, and social media data. His current research projects include an experimental study of the determinants of perceived immigrant illegality, an investigation of the effect of non-ethnic factors on ethnoracial identity in Latin America, and a set of papers assessing the adaptation of Latino and Asian immigrants in the U.S. using social media data.
His work has appeared in American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and Social Problems, among others. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Paul and Daisy Soros Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the American Sociological Association, the Paul Merage Foundation, and others.
Graduate Student Coordinators
Frania Mendoza Lua, MSW
Doctoral Candidate, Crown Family School of Social Work Policy and Practice
Frania Mendoza Lua, MSW is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Her research considers disjointed yet overlapping lines of inquiry– the health of children and youth in immigrant families, immigration policies and enforcement, and social policy. She is interested in examining how these areas intersect, and how this intersection may provide a deeper understanding of Latine individual health, and health disparities in the United States affecting Latine communities. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Mendoza-Lua’s research underscores the importance of examining policy, social, and cultural factors concurrently to understand health behaviors and health outcomes of Latine communities in the United States.
Prior to pursuing doctoral studies, Mendoza-Lua was a Research Associate at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She also served as a medical social worker and youth organizer in Washtenaw County, Michigan and a social work consultant on university and community youth participatory action research projects with Latine parents and adolescents in Michigan. Mendoza-Lua received a Master of Social Work (MSW) with a concentration in interpersonal practice and health from the University of Michigan, School of Social Work, and Bachelors’ degrees in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles where she was also a Ronald E. McNair Research Scholar.
Daniela Juarez
Doctoral Student, Department of Sociology
My research aims to understand the educational, political, and social inequalities that undocumented immigrants encounter in higher education institutions. Particularly, I am interested in examining the experiences of undocumented students that were not able to qualify for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). In addition, I want to explore and document how undocumented immigrants utilize social media to build meaningful connections and community.