DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

Area(s) of Interest

Latin America, Central America, Mayan Studies, migration, race, childhood, ethnography and Sociology of Law

Ángel A. Escamilla García is a Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology and a Presidential Fellow at Northwestern University. His research focuses on how migrant youth negotiate high-risk environments. His current project uses ethnographic methods and interviews to explore the different strategies that Central American youth use to migrate through Mexico on their way to the United States. Since 2015, he has spent extensive time along the migrant route in Mexico and has interviewed Central American migrants, as well as a wide range of officials, aid workers, and stakeholders. His research reveals the capacity of Central American migrant youth to constantly adapt to their circumstances, employing a wide range of tactics to avoid the many harms and dangers of moving through Mexico. Ángel also studies the role of rumor, reputation, legal consciousness, and illegality in shaping youths’ journeys. His research ultimately challenges the characterization of migration journeys as linear events and sheds important light on the role of journeys in shaping overall migration flows.