Recipients of PSC Small Grant Awards

My research is focuses on the spatial inequalities that Latina/os and Latina/o immigrants experience and how this shapes their sense of belonging and socioeconomic well-being. Using a mixed-methods approach, my dissertation first examines the historic changes in immigrant destinations. This chapter reveals that some Midwestern and Southern states are particular interesting cases to study qualitatively. I selected two sites in Tennessee where I will be conducting interviews and participant observations in Summer 2022. This research will be primarily investigating how Latina/o immigrants establish a sense of belonging in historically Black and White communities and how this affects their incorporation and socioeconomic well-being. My research is inspired by my own experience as a child of Mexican immigrants and my experiences moving out of Los Angeles, a historic gateway city for Latina/o immigrants. Aside from this research producing a chapter of my dissertation, I also hope to produce reports that can be shared with local immigrant organizations that continue working policy interventions to improve the well-being of immigrants in both sites.