Biography

Roberto G. Gonzales is Professor of Education at Harvard University and director of the Immigration Initiative at Harvard. Since 2002 Professor Gonzales has carried out one of the most comprehensive studies of undocumented immigrants in the United States. His book, Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America is based on an in-depth study that followed 150 undocumented young adults in Los Angeles for twelve years. Lives in Limbo has won eight major book awards, including the Society for the Study of Social Problems C. Wright Mills Award, the American Education Research Association Outstanding Book Award, the Law and Society Association Herbert Jacob Book Award, and the Society for Social Work and Research Book Award. In addition, Professor Gonzales’ National UnDACAmented Research Project has surveyed nearly 2,700 undocumented young adults and has carried out 500 in-depth interviews on their experiences following President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Website: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/faculty/roberto-gonzales
Twitter: RGGonzales1

Lisseth Rojas-Flores is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Doctoral Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. Rojas-Flores’ research centers on immigrant children’s well-being focusing on how trauma, community violence, and socio-structural adversity impacts the child and family unit. With funding from the Foundation for Child Development Young Scholars Program, Rojas-Flores examined the impact of immigration enforcement on Latinx citizen—children’s psychological and academic well-being in the U.S. In an international context, she conducts collaborative research to examine the impact of community violence and trauma on adolescents, parents, and teachers living in El Salvador. As part of a multidisciplinary research team in Colombia, she examines the challenges caused by forced migration and trauma. She works to mobilize local religious communities to support people in internal displacement situations (IDPs) to recover and flourish. As a bilingual/bicultural clinical psychologist, she strives to address the interrelationships between family, mental health, faith, and social justice.

Website: https://www.fuller.edu/faculty/lisseth-rojas-flores/
Twitter: @LRojasFlores

DACA and Families

Session Type: Invited Symposium

Abstract

This symposium will focus on families in the context of U.S. policies on immigration, notably DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

Sub Unit

• Invited Program

Individual Presentations

• Lives Still in Limbo: UnDACAmented and Navigating Uncertain Futures - Presenting Author: Roberto G. Gonzales, Harvard University

• Immigration Policies and COVID-19: Addressing Compounded Crises for Latinx Children in the US - Presenting Author: Lisseth Rojas-Flores, Fuller Theological Seminary

Moderator

• Andrea Jean Romero, University of Arizona

Introducer

• Kristina Schmid Callina, Converse