McNair Scholar 2022 Jesus Cazares-Reyes
Jesus Cazares-Reyes is a senior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, majoring in Sociology. He is also an upcoming first-year graduate student in the Master of Public Policy program in the early admission cohort. His research interest center on Latinx migration trends and understanding their lives and place in the United States from a sociological perspective.
My dream is to work in the policy field so that I can contribute to alleviating the economic and social disparity of immigrants and other marginalized groups in our society. I hope getting my Masters of Public Policy and pursuing a Law school degree afterwards will help me achieve my goals.
Research project
Mexicans in Minnesota: A Historical Analysis
Abstract: My project examines the migration of Mexicans to the state of Minnesota with the aim of assessing their experiences and their impact on this state. The analysis draws from secondary data analysis as I review the existing research on Mexican migration history and trends. The paper reviews immigration theories, historical analysis of migration, and centers on the influence of Mexican migration on Minnesota. The paper is organized into the following three sections: Modern immigration theories, historical and contemporary Mexican migration to the U.S., and Mexican migrants in Minnesota. My key interest in this analysis centers on how migrants contribute to their new settlements while also trying to understand the hardships that they might go through during migration. I hope my project helps us better understand the connections between these migrants, the mainstream dominant groups, and our institutions in the Midwest as well as across the US.
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Faculty mentor
Cawo Abdi is an associate professor in the Sociology department in the University of Minnesota. Dr. Abdi got her Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Ottawa in Economics. She also holds a Master of Art in Sociology from the University of Guelph and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Sussex, UK. Her research interest includes Migration, Education, Globalization and Human Rights. Dr. Abdi has widely published on these topics.