Soledad Álvarez Velasco

Dr. Soledad Álvarez Velasco is a Research Fellow in the Comparative Cultural Studies Department at the University of Houston's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS). She holds a PhD in Human Geography from King’s College London, a Master’s in Social Anthropology from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico), and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Universidad San Francisco (Ecuador).

Her research focuses on irregularized migration dynamics, particularly along the extended migratory corridor from Ecuador through Mexico to the U.S., examining how U.S. border policies intersect with South American migration governance. She combines historical analysis with three forms of ethnography: fieldwork among migrants/deportees in Ecuador, trajectory ethnography of mobility projects, and digital ethnography of migrant networks.

Dr. Álvarez Velasco collaborates with multiple research groups including the Critical Geography Collective of Ecuador (studying territorial tensions), Colectiva Infancia (analyzing child migration dynamics), and ObservaLaTrata (Latin American Observatory on Human Trafficking). Her work critiques the global formation of mobility control systems and highlights Ecuador’s role as a transit hub for diverse migrant groups.

• Key Areas: Critical migration studies, feminist political geography, transnational smuggling networks
• Labs/Teams: Critical Geography Collective, Colectiva Infancia, ObservaLaTrata