The Bureaucratic Response to Zero Tolerance and Family Separation

Biography

Client or Primary Investigator: Rene Rocha, Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair; Director, Latina/o/x Studies; Professor, Department of Political Science

Project Manager: Cassidy Branch

Project Start: February 7th, 2024

Project Description: The project seeks to understand how bureaucrats in three different agencies—The Department of Homeland Security, The Department of Justice, and The Department of Health of Human Services—responded to the Trump Administration’s 2018 immigration policy of “zero tolerance” and family separation. The projects asks if different professional backgrounds and perceptions of organizational missions affected whether bureaucrats responded by complying with mandates, expressing objections, or disobeying directives. In doing so, this project discusses the challenges of implementing a controversial policy that requires coordination across multiple federal agencies.

Services Provided: IRB Consultation

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