Bill De La Rosa named Senior Hulme Scholar

Senior Fellow and co-chair of the American Planning Board Bill De La Rosa was named Senior Hulme Scholar by Brasenose College at Oxford University. This award is given to the “best doctoral students as a recognition of academic distinction.”

As he shares in this instagram post, over the last eight years, Bill has been straddling the US-Mexico border, conducting ethnographic research in migrant shelters, the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, and federal courtrooms to answer the following question: what role has punishment played, legally and sociologically, in the development of contemporary U.S. immigration law and policy?

Bill seeks to expand our understanding of punishment to reveal how the infliction of pain imposed by a judge cannot be understood as the only punishment, but also the experiences that men, women, and children endure while crossing the border, in courtrooms, detention centers, and deportation proceedings.

For Bill, this research is personal. He hopes that one day it contributes to a more just and compassionate U.S. immigration system.

To stay updated on Bill’s endeavors, follow his Instagram page.