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Home / Amada Armenta
Amada
  • Urban Planning

Amada Armenta

Associate Professor of Urban Planning

Amada Armenta’s research examines the connections between the immigration enforcement system and the criminal justice system, and the implications of this connection for immigrants, bureaucracies, and cities.

Her award-winning book, “Protect Serve and Deport: The Rise of Policing as Immigration Enforcement” (University of California Press, 2017), analyzes the role of local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement in Nashville, Tennessee. Currently, she is working on her second book project, an examination of the legal attitudes of unauthorized Mexican immigrants in Philadelphia.

Dr. Armenta’s research has been published in journals of sociology, law and society, and policy. She has received research funding from the American Sociological Association, the National Science Foundation, the American Society of Criminology, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Prior to joining Luskin as a faculty member, she was an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Educational Background

  • MA and Ph.D., sociology, UCLA
  • BA, political science, Rice University

Areas of Expertise

  • Bureaucracies, Criminal Justice, Immigration, Law and Society, Qualitative Methods, Race and Ethnicity

Latest News

memorial in front of house with sign saying "Somos Lorenzo"
ICE’s Chilling Effect on Latino Commerce
September 4, 2026
boarded up commercial district
Ongoing Toll of ICE Raids on L.A.’s Latino Businesses
July 24, 2026

New study led by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute measures costs and consequences of immigration enforcement in L.A. Angeles County.

Latest News

memorial in front of house with sign saying "Somos Lorenzo"

ICE’s Chilling Effect on Latino Commerce

September 4, 2026
boarded up commercial district

Ongoing Toll of ICE Raids on L.A.’s Latino Businesses

July 24, 2026

New study led by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute measures costs and consequences of immigration enforcement in L.A. Angeles County.

Amada Armenta and José Loya Honored by Los Angeles City Council

May 15, 2026

Los Angeles City Council recognized Amada Armenta and José Loya during its “Impactful Chicanos in America” celebration.

Woman at podium

LPPI Faculty Director Amada Armenta’s Personal History Influences Her Policy Efforts

October 16, 2025

Her research pushes back on the narrative that Latino communities don’t matter.

woman typing on laptop

Latinas Remain the Lowest-Paid Group in the U.S. Workforce

October 8, 2025

A new UCLA data analysis identifies nationwide wage inequities that vary by age, national descent and geography.

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Contact Information

Email

armenta@ucla.edu

Office Location

5355, Public Affairs

Media Contact

For media inquiries, contact Kate Shirley at kshirley@luskin.ucla.edu (email preferred) or 310-206-5252.

Racializing crimmigration: Structural racism, colorblindness, and the institutional production of immigrant criminality

A Armenta
Sociology of race and ethnicity 3 (1), 82-95

Protect, serve, and deport

A Armenta
University of California Press

What we know about unauthorized migration

KM Donato, A Armenta
Annual review of sociology 37 (1), 529-543

From sheriff’s deputies to immigration officers: screening immigrant status in a Tennessee jail

A Armenta
Law & Policy 34 (2), 191-210

Between Public Service and Social Control: Policing Dilemmas in the Era of Immigration Enforcement

A Armenta
Social Problems

Legal Control of Marginal Groups

F Stuart, A Armenta, M Osborne
Annual Review of Law and Social Science 11, 235-254

Shifts in the employment conditions of Mexican migrant men and women: The effect of US immigration policy

KM Donato, C Wakabayashi, S Hakimzadeh, A Armenta
Work and Occupations 35 (4), 462-495

Policing immigrants or policing immigration? Understanding local law enforcement participation in immigration control

A Armenta, I Alvarez
Sociology Compass 11 (2), e12453

Beyond the fear of deportation: Understanding unauthorized immigrants’ ambivalence toward the police

A Armenta, R Rosales
American Behavioral Scientist 63 (9), 1350-1369

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  • Global Public Affairs
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Graduate Programs
  • Master of Global Public Affairs (MGPA)
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
  • Master of Global Public Affairs (MGPA)
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
Undergraduate Programs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
Professional Certificates
  • AI in Public Affairs Certificate
  • AI in Public Affairs Certificate
Admissions
Program Specific Admissions
  • Global Public Affairs
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  • Urban Planning
  • Undergraduate Program
  • Global Public Affairs
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Urban Planning
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Our Faculty
  • All Faculty
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  • All Faculty
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Leadership
  • Our Dean
  • Board of Advisors
  • Faculty Executive Committee
  • Our Dean
  • Board of Advisors
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Research Centers
  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL)

    Empowers stakeholders with data to make informed decisions for children, families, and communities.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL)

    Empowers stakeholders with data to make informed decisions for children, families, and communities.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    Advances research, education, and meaningful civic engagement on transportation issues.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship that confronts threats to democracy in America and around the world.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    Advances research, education, and meaningful civic engagement on transportation issues.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship that confronts threats to democracy in America and around the world.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Studying housing affordability and transportation equity in the L.A. region.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation

    Informing effective and equitable environmental policy that improves lives.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Studying housing affordability and transportation equity in the L.A. region.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation

    Informing effective and equitable environmental policy that improves lives.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

All Research Centers
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