Why are there so many unauthorized migrants in the United States? Using unique survey and interview data, Emily Ryo shows that although economics might play a powerful role in unauthorized migration, the decision to migrate illegally cannot be fully understood without considering an individual’s underlying values and norms.

About the speaker

Emily Ryo is currently a research fellow at the Stanford Program in Law & Society. Her primary research interests are in international migration, poverty and inequality, race relations, criminal justice, and the sociology of law. Her current work focuses on the effects of immigration policy on social relations and racial inequality, and the role of racial bias and moral judgments in producing immigrant and criminal underclasses. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and Ph.D. in Sociology from Stanford University.

Related Media