Project Grant 2149449

This National Science Foundation SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities project grant award of $399,445 provides funding for an undergraduate research experience program focused on immigration policy. Over a three-year period ending in August 2025, the New Mexico State University awardee will deliver a collaborative research program for ten undergraduate students per summer through a nine-week experience.

Students will receive training in qualitative and quantitative research methods while partnering with local organizations engaged in immigration and border enforcement issues. They will explore topics such as the root causes of migration from Mexico and Central America, the impacts of border enforcement at ports of entry and interior checkpoints, and the relationships between federal immigration enforcement and border communities. The program aims to integrate scholarship in migration and border studies while preparing students, especially those from underrepresented groups in the social sciences, to conduct collaborative research and present findings. Ultimately, this National Science Foundation award under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences program (CFDA 47.075) seeks to address gaps in the existing immigration policy literature and support the next generation of applied social scientists.