Jennifer Chacón

Jennifer Chacón is a Professor of Law at the University of California, specializing in the intersection of criminal and immigration law and enforcement. Her research critically examines the regulation of human trafficking, the securitization of immigration law, and the expanding role of state and local law enforcement in U.S. immigration enforcement. She has also investigated systemic failures in deterring unlawful immigration policing practices and the use of the criminal justice system as a tool for managing migration.

Professor Chacón recently completed a multi-year National Science Foundation-sponsored study analyzing how legal service providers, community organizers, and residents navigated the legal uncertainty of U.S. immigration law, particularly around programs like DACA and DAPA, in Southern California from 2014 to 2017. This research highlights the impact of shifting federal policies, mediating organizations, and local policing practices on immigrant communities.

She is currently coauthoring a book manuscript for Stanford University Press with Susan Bibler Coutin (UC Irvine), Stephen Lee (UC Irvine), and Sameer Ashar (UCLA). Her recent publications appear in the UC Davis Law Review, Fordham Law Review, and Citizenship Studies, with a forthcoming article in the UCLA Law Review detailing evolving immigration-related policing practices in Southern California.