College of Letters & Science
A recent feature story in the Badger Herald on the relationship between literature and politics of immigration drew on an interview with CLS Director Theresa Delgadillo, a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies. The article noted that fictional stories can shed light on larger truths of immigrant experiences and the realities of …
For CLS faculty member Marla Ramírez’s, Fall 2025 saw the publication of her highly successful first book and a notable research award from the Department of History. Her book Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women who Endured Repatriation (Harvard University Press 2025) promises to change the conversation about the expulsion of as …
On August 31, Marla Ramírez (Assistant Professor of History and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies) appeared on WPR’s “University of the Air” to discuss her research on removals of ethnic Mexicans from the United States between the two World Wars with host Norman Gilliland. Between 1921 and 1944, the U.S. expelled nearly one million people of …
What does it mean to display the Mexican flag, or any other national flag for that matter, on U.S. soil? That question is on many minds recently as the green, white, and red banner flies over demonstrations in Los Angeles and elsewhere against Federal immigration enforcement actions. In a June 11th television interview with Telemundo …
As part of an issue focused on immigration in Wisconsin, the Daily Cardinal highlighted the teaching and research of Michael Light. A Professor of Sociology and Chican@ & Latin@ Studies, Light has been teaching the class “Immigration, Crime, and Enforcement” since he arrived on campus in 2017. As the Cardinal notes, the class is consistently full and …
Wisconsin Public Radio recently spoke with CLS faculty member Armando Ibarra about the economic contributions of immigrants, documented and undocumented in Wisconsin. The interview aired November 5th. The occasion for the story was a new report by the New York-based nonprofit Upwardly Global that credits authorized migrants with revitalizing rural communities Great Lakes region. Among …
CLS faculty member Armando Ibarra shared his thoughts on migration and the upcoming US election with reporters Alfredo Corchado and Dudley Althaus of the online news outlet Palabra for a recent story about the politics of migration. Centered on profiles of recent immigrants from Nicaragua working in Milwaukee, the story sought to give context for ongoing debates …
Do undocumented immigrants commit more violent crimes than others? The answer might surprise you. Over the summer, CLS affiliate faculty member Michael Light spoke with Emily Auerbach of Wisconsin Public Radio about his research on the relationship between race, crime and immigration. Their conversation covered a range of topics including unauthorized migration and racial disparities …
As the 2024 Presidential election enters its final stretch and debates on immigration become increasingly heated, CLS faculty like Benjamin Márquez are helping journalists and the public understand the situation. In an interview with PBS Wisconsin that airs tonight (October 4, 2024) on the program Here and Now, helps distinguish fact from fiction and explains the …
Marla Ramírez’s essay “Gendered Banishment: Rewriting Mexican Repatriation through a Transgenerational Oral History Methodology” has won the Article Award from the Oral History Association, the principal membership organization for people committed to the value of oral history in the United States. Published in 2022, the article is part of a special issue of the journal …