MPI Welcomes Three Fellows with Distinguished Experience in Research and Policy Analysis in Latin America

WASHINGTON — The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is pleased to announce the selection of three non-resident fellows from Latin America who will help the institute deepen its existing work and networks in Mexico, Central America and South America. The three scholars, who have longstanding ties to MPI, have extensive experience leading and coordinating interdisciplinary research on migration and development in Latin America, as well as U.S.-Latin America relations.

They are:

• Luisa Feline Freier is an associate professor of political science at the Universidad del Pacifico in Peru, where she specializes in Latin American migration policies and the Venezuelan displacement crisis. She is a migration research and publication consultant for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and is a founding member of the Comparative Analysis on International Migration and Displacement in the Americas Research Group.
• Luciana Gandini is a senior researcher in sociology at the Institute of Legal Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a visiting scholar at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies. In 2017, she founded the international network Migrare, composed of more than 200 migration specialists from Latin America and beyond. She is also a member of the Comparative Analysis on International Migration and Displacement in the Americas Research Group.
• Jorge Schiavon is a professor of international relations at the International Studies Department of the Center of Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) in Mexico and is the coordinator of CIDE’s Interdisciplinary Program on Migration. He is also former president of the CIDE Foundation and of the Mexican International Studies Association (AMEI).

“We are delighted that Feline, Luciana and Jorge will be joining us at a crucial moment for migration research and policy development in Latin America,” said MPI President Andrew Selee. “As the region continues to be tested by the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of developing migration policies for the future, our new fellows have the deep knowledge, experience and regional ties to effectively understand the challenges the region is facing and advance innovative responses.”

Throughout its existence, MPI has focused on Mexico and Central America. More recently, under Selee’s leadership, the institute has deepened its focus in this region and extended its efforts to South America and the Caribbean.

Earlier this year, MPI launched its Latin America and Caribbean Migration Portal, which is a clearinghouse for original research, country-specific data and analysis on migration in the region. The portal, offered in English and Spanish, is updated weekly with authoritative research, insights, legislative texts, data and more. 

To learn more about MPI’s staff and fellows, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/about/staff.

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The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels.