LPPI Faculty Director Amada Armenta’s Personal History Influences Her Policy Efforts Her research pushes back on the narrative that Latino communities don’t matter
Armenta, faculty director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) since May 2024, is the first Latina to hold the position. But her journey began 200 miles away, in El Centro, California, at the heart of the Imperial Valley.
Imperial County, which borders Mexico and Arizona, is 85% Hispanic and is California’s top producer of alfalfa and carrots. Yet the unemployment rate in the county continues to rank among the highest in the state. Growing up there taught Armenta the strength of community in the face of economic and social inequalities.
Like many other families in the area, Armenta’s great-grandmother and grandmother crossed the border from Jalisco, Mexico, without authorization to work in the fields. Immigration enforcement checkpoints, vehicles, and increasing surveillance shaped her everyday life.
“Attacks on undocumented immigrants have always felt personal to me,” Armenta said. “For many years, my family was undocumented, so these attacks make me feel like there are people in this country who wish we weren’t here. As a kid, I found that deeply painful.”
Despite Imperial County’s limited resources, Armenta’s family always reminded her to be proud of where she came from.
She recalls: “My dad used to tell me, ‘Brown, it’s beautiful!’ As a kid, I thought he was kind of insane. But now, I’m grateful he said it so often, because it stuck.”
Armenta’s family history and life experiences led her to UCLA’s sociology program for graduate school, where she found “the only institution that has truly felt like home.” Her personal research examines how and why immigration enforcement operates — and its consequences for families and communities.
Armenta’s leadership at LPPI embodies the phrase “knowledge is power.” The research and data-based recommendations provided by the institute to policymakers and advocates, she says, push back on the narrative that Latino communities don’t matter.
LPPI’s policy fellows program also advances one of the key recommendations to becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution by improving access to graduate and professional programs, extending opportunities for engagement in research, and ensuring mentorship support.
Students have the opportunity to work hands-on alongside professional staff and researchers to gain paid experience shaping academia, policy, and media. This experience provides pathways to careers in legislative offices, government agencies, and research institutions.
“Their opportunities — and mine — exist because of the trailblazers whose work and sacrifice opened doors for us,” Armenta said. “We’re building on their legacies every day.”
