I joined the Department of Anthropology in 2020 to pursue a PhD in socio-cultural anthropology. My research focuses on the mobility experiences of transnational migrants moving in and through Latin America. I focus – in particular – on borders and border infrastructures, transit migration, and migrant facilitation in Panama and Mexico. Given my public policy background, I approach my anthropological research with an eye on the state responses of Latin American governments to different migrant populations and on how these state policy responses impact migrants’ individuals journeys.

Research Key Words:

Transnationalism, Transit migration, (Im)Mobility, (Il)Legality, Human Security, Anthropology of Borders, Anthropology of Mobility, Borderlands, South-South Migration, Mexico, Panama, Latin America

Research Summary:

My research is centered around both the anthropology of borders and the anthropology of transit migration to study the impacts of border security and immigration enforcement policies on the migration experiences of individuals transiting through Latin America. In particular, I focus on how immigration and border enforcement policies impact transcontinental migrants – or those migrants originating in countries on the African and Asian continents – as they travel through Panama and Mexico, en route to the U.S. and Canada. While these migration experiences are often overlooked in public discourse, in 2019, just shy of 13,000 migrants from countries on the African and Asian continents were apprehended by Mexican authorities while transiting toward the United States. As Panama and Mexico have both responded to transcontinental migrants with particular policy responses not directed toward more regional migrants – like those from Venezuela and parts of Central America – my multi-sited doctoral project seeks to highlight the mobility strategies of transcontinental migrants and the implications of these journeys in understanding the impact of border enforcement strategies in Latin America.

PhD Supervisors:  Dr. Shaylih Muehlmann

Committee Members: Dr. Alexia Bloch (UBC Anthropology) and Dr. Hugh Gusterson (UBC Anthropology)

Peer Reviewed Articles 

2021. “Fusion Points: The Perceived, Performed, and Passive Merging of Criminality and Mobility in Mexico.” Public Anthropologist, 3(1), 56-72.

2020. “A gender perspective of migrant kidnapping in Mexico.” Victims & Offenders, 15(3), 295-312. (With Stephanie Leutert)

Book Chapters

2019. “El Salvador and Honduras” chapter in Conflict in the 21st Century: Statelessness, Criminality, and Civilian Victimization. Ed. Francesca Grandi: International Institute for Strategic Studies. (With Douglas Farah)

2019. “Migrant Smuggling along Mexico’s Highway System” chapter in Critical Insights on Irregular Migration Facilitation: Global Perspectives. Eds. Gabriella Sanchez & Luigi Achilli. Florence: European University Institute. (With Stephanie Leutert)

Academic Conferences

2021. “Redirected Otherness along Mexico’s Migration Pathways.” Along and Out of the Way: Place-making Amidst Migrant Trajectories Workshop. Johannes Gutenberg University, virtual conference.

2020. “Degrees of Visibility – the Institutional Invisibilization of African Migrants in Mexico.” Extra-continental Migration in the Americas. University of North Texas. Virtual workshop.

2019. “Trends in Migrant Kidnapping Across Mexico.” Global Perspectives on Kidnapping & Crimes of (Im)mobility Workshop at the University of Texas at El Paso. El Paso, Texas.

2018. “A Gendered Approach to Migrant Kidnapping in Mexico.” The European University Institute (EUI): Migration Policy Centre. Florence, Italy.

2017. “Migrant Smuggling along Mexico’s Highway System.” The European University Institute (EUI): Migration Policy Centre. Florence, Italy.

2015. “The Growth of Drug Trafficking in Rosario”. University of Notre Dame Human Development Conference. Sound Bend, Indiana.

Selected Public Scholarship

2021. Yates, Caitlyn. “Extra-continental Migrant Children in Mexico: A Descriptive Review.” International Organization for Migration, Migration Policy Practice.

2021. “African Migration through the Americas: Drivers, Routes, and Policy Responses”. Migration Policy Institute. (With Jessica Bolter).

2021. “Metering Update – May 2021.” Strauss Center for International Security and Law. (With Savitri Arvey)

2020. “Great Power Competition in Latin America – A New Normal.” The Fletcher School Forum of World Affairs. 44(2): 45-64. (With Douglas Farah).

2019. “As More Migrants from Africa and Asia Arrive in Latin America, Governments Seek Orderly and Controlled Pathways.” Migration Policy Institute.

2018. “Asylum Processing and Waitlists at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and Migration Policy Centre. (With Stephanie Leutert, Gabriella Sanchez, Savitri Arvey, Ellie Ezzell, and Paul Kuhne).

2017. “Migrant Smuggling along Mexico’s Highway System.” Strauss Center for International Security and Law. (With Stephanie Leutert).

Selected Public Conferences and Presentations 

2021. “Extra-continental Migrant Children Dynamics in Mexico.” Migration Policy Center. Virtual.

2021. “Transcontinental Migrant Journeys through the Americas.” Centre for Migration Studies. Virtual Graduate Student Colloquia.

2019. “Migration as an Unforeseen Security Concern in the Hemisphere.” Inter-American Dialogue. LATAM Private Sector Forum. Washington DC.

2019. “Migration across the Region.” S. Southern Combatant Command (USSOUTHCOM). Security Conference. Miami, Florida.

2019. “Building a Strategic Vision for Venezuela’s Transition.” Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Roundtable. Washington DC.

2018. “Trends and Drivers of Migration from the Northern Triangle.” S. Department of State. Roundtable. Washington DC.

2018. “Asylum Processing and Waitlists at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. Brief. Mexico City, Mexico.

2018. “Asylum Processing and Waitlists at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Senate of Mexico. Brief. Mexico City, Mexico.

Popular Features

2021. “Recognising the role of women and small groups can help to combat migrant kidnappings in Mexico.” LSE Latin America and Caribbean blog, January 14, 2021. [online] Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2021/01/14/recognising-the-role-of-women-and-small-groups-can-help-to-combat-migrant-kidnappings-in-mexico/.

2019. “A Case Study in the Outsourcing of U.S. Border Control.” Lawfare Blog, April 11, 2019. [online] Available at: https://www.lawfareblog.com/case-study-outsourcing-us-border-control.

2018. How Panama Became the Most Treacherous Crossing Point for Migrants on a Long Journey to the U.S., Time, July 25, 2018. [online] Available at https://time.com/5340697/migration-america-panama/.

2018. “A ‘Safe Third Country’ Agreement with Mexico Won’t Fix U.S. Migratory Challenges.” Lawfare Blog, August 30, 2018. [online] Available at: https://www.lawfareblog.com/safe-third-country-agreement-mexico-wont-fix-us-migratory-challenges (With Stephanie Leutert).

2021 – Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

2020 – President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award

2020 – Four Year Fellowship (4YF)

2020 – International Tuition Award

Socio-Cultural Anthropology