Dr. Leo R. Chavez has examined issues related to migration for over 30 years. He has been working on transnational migration since the early 1980s. He is the author of Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Immigrants in American Society, 3rd ed., which examines life among undocumented immigrants in San Diego, California. His research then moved into medical care issues such as access to medical care, cultural beliefs and use of medical services, and cancer-related issues among Latinx women, and Anglo women in Orange County, California.

Chavez’s research then moved into analyzing media representations with his book, Covering Immigration: Popular Images and the Politics of the Nation, which was followed by the award winning The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation, which refuted many of the about Latinos so prevalent in political rhetoric.

Chavez’s latest book Anchor Babies and the Challenge of Birthright Citizenship examined the children of immigrants and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Chavez’ most recent research project extends his interest in the effect of political rhetoric on emotions and the psychological health of people it targets.

Chavez received the Margaret Mead Award in 1993. In 2009, he received the Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists’ Book Award for The Latino Threat, and the Society for the Anthropology of North America’s award for Distinguished Achievement in the Critical Study of North America. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2019 he received the Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists (ALLA) Distinguished Career Award.

Chavez is currently a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, and the President-Elect of the Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists.