Research Area Spotlight: Migration Studies

Dr. Jamie Lew's research interests lie broadly within the fields of sociology of education, immigration and international migration, race and ethnicity. Her work explores intersections of immigration and race, particularly as it relates to education for migrant youths in urban space. In the context of black and white binary system inherent in the U.S. history, She is interested in understanding how geographical and metaphorical color line, in given space and time, changes and shifts in urban schools and contemporary cities. By paying particular attention to these changing race relations at the ground level, Dr. Lew examines the ways in which various migrant and racialized groups create spaces for articulating new politics of change.

Her current research project explores how urban refugee families and children negotiate their sense of belonging and placemaking in cities in the U.S. and abroad. In this study of urban refugees, She explores how urban spaces and its institutions of schooling, housing, and work are changing and being changed by contemporary migration. She explore how refugees with their own legal and political status, in relation to other migrants and native-born populations in cities, for instance, build relationships and produce political spaces with other spaces of urban marginality that have been historically disenfranchised. In exploring some of these questions, she uses a wide range of social science methodologies, including visual images and approaches. Her hope is that in doing so, she can cross boundaries of disciplines, theories, and methods to engage and understand a complex and changing social phenomenon of migration that is rapidly transforming our cities and society at large.

Dr. Lew's previous work examined social and economic inequalities faced by Asian American youths in urban schools. This three-year study resulted in a book titled, “Asian Americans in Class: Charting the Achievement Gap Among Korean American Youths” (Teachers College Press, 2006).  By using Korean Americans in New York City public schools as a case study, the book focused on how stratifying forces of class and race broadly, and social capital and racial segregation specifically, impact academic achievement of 1.5- and second-generation Asian American youths in urban context.  In comparing experiences of low- and high-achieving Asian American students, the findings challenge model minority stereotype and underscore the significance of structural resources all children need in order to achieve academically and social mobility.

Publications:

• Magno, C., Lew, J., & S. Rodriguez, Eds. (2022). “(Re)Mapping Migration and Education: Centering Methods
  and Methodologies” Brill Press, Leiden, The Netherlands.

• Lew, J. (2022). “Refugees and Claims-Making in Spaces of Urban Marginality: Syrian Refugees Build
  Alliances Across Racial Lines for Collective Action” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

• Lew, J. & Villanueva, V. (2022). “Urban Refugees and Education Advocacy: A Case of Syrian Refugees and Coalition Building in Urban Education” in C. Magno, J. Lew, & S. Rodriguez, (Re)Mapping Migration and Education: Centering Methods and Methodologies, Brill Press, pg. 89-111.

Media Appearances/Speaking Engagements:

• “Building Racial Solidarity Across Black and Asian American History in K-20 Education: Spencer Conference” Guest Faculty & Facilitator, Teachers College Columbia University, November 2023.

• “Migration, Race Relations, and Urban Communities in the Making” organizer and speaker, “Community is a Safety Net is a Trampoline: New Art Installation”, Art Opening at the Newark Public Library, Racial Healing & Community Arts Collaborative Project, May 2023.

• “Violence, Empowerment, and Allyship: The Asian Experience in America”, guest speaker, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Newark, New Jersey, May 2021.

Previous Organizations: 

• Columbia University

• The Newark Public Library

• Graduate Center, CUNY

Accomplishments:

• The Scholar-Teacher Award, Co-Director, Global Urban Studies, PhD Program in Urban Systems, 2019-2020

• Senior Faculty Fellow, Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice (ISGRJ), Rutgers University, Newark

Upcoming Projects:

• Lew, J. (forthcoming). Guest Editor for Special Issue, “Global Migration and Urban Education: Making of Race, Space, Place in Changing Multicultural Cities” European Education, Journal of Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE).

• Lew, J. (revise and resubmit). “Refugee Resettlement in Urban Housing: Race Relations and Place Making" City and Community, pp. 1-38.

• Transnational Families and Forced Migration

• Refugees and Mass Displacement: Sociospatial Marginalization and Encampment

How Do Social and Racial Justice Concerns Appear in Your Work?

My work explores how forced migrants build political alliances with other minoritized communities in urban spaces to resist inequality and articulate new politics of change.

Dr. Germán A. Cadenas is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP). Dr. Cadenas identifies as an immigrant from Latin America and his academic work is community-based, with intersecting foci on the psychology of immigration and on critical consciousness as a tool for social justice. This includes the development and validation of strategies to support the psychological well-being, education, career/work, and health of immigrants and other underserved communities. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology and serves on the Advocacy Coordinating Committee (ACC) of the American Psychological Association.

Publications:

• Cadenas, G. A., Domenech Rodríguez, M. M., Garcini, L. M., Mendoza, J. G., Suro, B., Mercado, A., Rojas Perez, O. F., Venta, A., Galvan, T., Moreno, O., & Paris, M. (2024). Antiracist activism for immigrant rights and healthy coping: Initial evidence for a community-based framework. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12769

• Cadenas, G. A., Akoto, M., Domenech Rodriguez, M., Garcini, L., Venta, A., Paris, M., Galvan, T., Moreno, O., Rojas Perez, O., & Neimeyer, G. (2025). Community, professional, and lived experiences shape competence in immigrant mental health service. Practice Innovations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000281

• Cadenas, G.A., Sosa, R., Mora Ringle, V., Aguilar, C., Akoto, M., Bahadori Fallah, Mohammad, & Hamilton, K. (Accepted). Practice guidelines for ALIVE co-mentoring: An approach to liberating psychology education and training from the inside out. American Psychologist.

Media Appearances/Speaking Engagements:

• Cadenas, G.A. (2025, March). Holding sanctuary for immigrant youth and families in educational spaces. Keynote Presented at Temple University's 44th Annual School Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and ABA Conference.

• Patel, S., Cadenas, G.A., Kia-Keating, M. (2024, August). Advocating for and with immigrant populations. In de las Fuentes, C. (Chair), Psychological science on the frontlines of the U.S. immigration landscape. Presidential Programming Symposium, Featured Stage, American Psychological Association Convention, Seattle, WA.

• Cadenas, G.A. (2024, April). Promoting Mental Health Equity Among Immigrants Globally. Invited Speaker at the 17th Annual Psychology Day at the United Nations. https://www.psychologydayun.com/eventspeakers

Previous Organizations: 

• Rutgers Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness

• American Psychological Association (APA)

• Immschools

Accomplishments:

• APA Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (2025). Selected by the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest.

• Excellence in Community and Publicly Engaged Scholarship Award (2025). Presented at the Chancellor and Provost Celebration of Faculty Excellence. Rutgers University, New Brunswick

• Distinguished Professional Early Career Award by the National Latinx Psychological Association (2022).

Upcoming Projects:

• Cadenas, G.A., *Sosa, R., Tule-Romain, L., & Carrizales, V. (Under Review). Empowered with information and flourishing psychologically: A preliminary study examining a school-based program for undocumented youth and families.

• Cadenas, G.A., Silamongkol, T., Nienhusser, H.K., Carlos Chavez, F., Capielo Rosario, C., Torres, L., & Moreno, O. (Under Review). Immigration-related racism and xenophobia in state policy: Links between structural oppression, working conditions, and mental health.

• Cadenas, G.A., Akoto, M., & Tschauner, M. (Revise and Resubmit). Learning to create career interventions for global justice: A critical and reciprocal education for equality (CREE) approach.

How Do Social and Racial Justice Concerns Appear in Your Work?

Social and racial justice are central to the framing, methods, and implementation of my work. The overall goal of my research program is to advance social and racial justice, hence, these aspirational ideals also serve as a guiding light for my work.

Dr. Sarah Tosh joined the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice in 2019 after receiving her PhD in Sociology from the Graduate Center, CUNY. Her research examines the punitive intersections between drug, crime, and immigration policy in the United States; and she teaches courses on inequality in criminal justice, migration and deportation, drugs and society, the sociology of deviance, and criminal justice research methods. Dr. Tosh’s book, The Immigration Law Death Penalty: Aggravated Felonies, Deportation, and Legal Resistance was published in 2023 by New York University Press. From 2021-2023, she was the co-PI of a National Science Foundation-funded study of “The Criminal Deportation Pipeline in New York City.” 

Publications:

• Sarah Tosh. 2023. The Immigration Law Death Penalty: Aggravated Felonies, Deportation, and Legal Resistance. New York: New York University Press.

• David Brotherton and Sarah Tosh. 2025. “The Dialectics of Migration: Social Bulimia and the De-portation Pipeline in New York City.” The British Journal of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaf010

• Lorena Avila and Sarah Tosh. 2024. “The Institutional Hearing Program and the Incarceration-to-Deportation-Pipeline.” Critical Criminology 32(2), pp. 217-233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-024-09783-3

Media Appearances/Speaking Engagements:

• “Mandatory Detention for Criminal Convictions and the Growth of the Modern Deportation Regime.” Elizabeth Detention Center: Past, Present, & Future Symposium. Rutgers University, New Brunswick. October 27, 2023

• 2024 “Abolishing Immigration Detention: A Teach-In on the Elizabeth New Jersey Detention Center.” Princeton University, March 22.

• 2024 “Finding Common Ground: Building Bridges on Immigration Law Ahead of the Election.” Rutgers Law School, October 16.

Previous Organizations:

• The Graduate Center, CUNY

• National Science Foundation

• New York University

Accomplishments:

• Book: Sarah Tosh. 2023. The Immigration Law Death Penalty: Aggravated Felonies, Deportation, and Legal Resistance. New York University Press.

• NSF Grant: 2021-2023 National Science Foundation. Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, Law & Science Program. “Collaborative Research: The Criminal Deportation Pipeline in New York City.” Co-PI with David Brotherton, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. ($371,967)

• Rutgers-Camden Chancellor's Grant: 2023-2024 Chancellor's Grant for Assistant Professor Research Development, Rutgers University-Camden. “‘Crimmigration’ Advisal in Public Defense Offices: A Comparative Study of Immigrant-Receiving Cities in the United States.” ($19,885)

Upcoming projects:

• Sarah Tosh, Lorena Avila, and Nick Rodrigo. “Social Bulimia and the Deportation of Incarcerated Non-Citizens from the Caribbean.”

• Edwin Grimsley and Sarah Tosh. “Broken Windows Policing and the Deportation of Black Immigrants: The Case of New York City.”

• Sarah Tosh, David Brotherton, Nick Rodrigo, and Edwin Grimsley, Eds. The Criminalization-to-Deportation Pipeline in New York City and Beyond (edited volume).

How Do Social and Racial Justice Concerns Appear in Your Work?

My work examines the reproduction of racial and social inequality through intertwining systems of drug, criminal justice, and immigration policy.