Violence as an Element of Irregular Border Crossings': START researcher to speak on human smuggling operations in US Southwest

Date:

BY JR TAYLOR

START researcher Gabriella Sanchez will discuss the violence undocumented migrants face as they cross the U.S. border during a talk at noon Tuesday, March 19 in George Mason University's Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center (TraCCC) Founders Hall Room 121. Sanchez is the visiting lecturer on transnational feminisms and migration in Wellesley College's Women and Gender Studies Department.

Sanchez's talk, "Violence as an Element of Irregular Border Crossings: Human Smuggling Operations in the US Southwest," is based on her empirical research and ethnographic work. Sanchez will provide insights on how human smugglers use this violence, the role violence plays and how we can prevent the violence.

Sanchez was a post-doctoral researcher with START and a former START Terrorism Research Award recipient for her research on the "Dynamics and Human Smuggling Organizations Operation along the US-Mexico Border." Sanchez is also a Boren and Fulbright fellow who has conducted research fieldwork along the U.S.-Mexico border and in Central America, North Africa and the Middle East as part of projects examining the experience of individuals involved in drug and human smuggling operations.

To RSVP, contact Stu Mackenzie at traccc@gmu.edu or 703-993-9757.