Experts on countries of origin by country

Dr. Danica Anderson is a US-based international social scientist, researcher, and forensic counselor (criminal justice specialist) with a doctorate in clinical psychology. Dr. Anderson is a member of the UNESCO scientific and education CID council and of the International Criminal Court, a Psycho-social Victim Gender Expert for trauma with war crimes and war crimes survivors. She is a trauma clinician who has traveled the world bearing witness to―and researching how to heal transgenerational trauma and continues to make crisis responses while addressing the needs of immigrants and refugees during and in the aftermath of natural disasters and wars. Trauma response and social science and research fieldwork occurred in Afghanistan, Haiti, India, Sri Lanka, and many conflict-ridden regions and war regions.

Dr. Anderson's international trauma work occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa for the International Criminal Court and the United Nations World Food Program in Sudan. In former Yugoslavia, Bosnia Herzegovina, her study and clinically informed trauma for over two decades provided an archive of information on women's transgenerational trauma for war and war crimes survivors involving asylum and visas. Dr. Anderson worked with Mexico's National Human Rights, Mexico City, and the… Read more

Danielle Annoni is an associate professor of International Law and Human Rights at the Federal University of Parana (UFPR-Brazil), where she coordinates the Human Rights Observatory and Legal Practice in Human Rights and Migration. She has been conducting human rights research for 18 years. She is an educator, a mother and an active human rights defender, with a focus on migration, gender and the Latin American human rights protection system. Because of her work developed with vulnerable groups regarding the education of labor rights, the empowering of women through handicraft and gastronomy fairs, advocacy in the mediation of cultural conflicts, and access to justice and education, she has received several awards.

The expert is an analyst specializing in public affairs and political risk, currently working as a consultant in Mexico City. With a proven track record in anticipating policy developments, they design advocacy strategies for foreign embassies and develop risk scenarios for private sector clients. Their previous experience includes roles as Director of Political Risk Analysis at Integralia Consultores and Associate Director at Control Risks, where they produced influential reports and high-level speeches. The expert holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and has contributed to various reputable publications. Known for their insightful analyses of Mexico's political and security landscape, they are a respected voice in the field.

Leon Boyer is an expert in Mexico security conditions with over 24 years of service in the United States Border Patrol. Throughout his career, he held various leadership roles, including at the U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters’ Intelligence Division, where he contributed to national security efforts and intelligence operations. As the Director of United Voices Interpreting and Consulting, LLC, Mr. Boyer provides expert consultation and witness services on topics such as transnational criminal organizations, narcotics and human trafficking, alien smuggling, migration trends, and security conditions, with a specialized focus on Mexico. Mr. Boyer serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Social Science Division at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Michigan, and in the Public Service Institute at Macomb Community College in Clinton Township, Michigan. He develops and lectures courses in Political Science, Homeland Security, Intelligence Analysis and Security Management, and Border Security, shaping the next generation of security professionals. Mr. Boyer holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of Arizona, a Master of Arts in International Relations and Conflict Resolution from American Military University, and a Master of Science… Read more

Dr. María Alejandra Espinosa is a Mexican archaeologist. She earned her PhD in archaeology from the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, where she focused her research on native and indigenous cultures from the south of Mexico. She conducted her post-doctoral research on indigenous Mayan cultures and carried out her fieldwork in various states throughout Mexico. 

Dr. Espinosa is a former Professor of Anthropology at the Autonomous Yucatan University, Mexico, and has worked with vulnerable adolescent girls who have been victims of child trafficking within the country of Mexico. Her areas of specialization include domestic violence, education, child trafficking and social inequalities. She is the former co-founder of the school Nek’il Kuxtal, located in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, which aims to eliminate economic disparity in primary education. Dr. Espinosa currently resides in a Mayan community in the south of Mexico, where she established a non-profit equestrian association to help vulnerable people, through horse connections. She is dedicated to mitigating structural poverty and gender-based violence throughout Mexico.   

The expert is an experienced academic, researcher, and consultant specializing in social sciences, law, international relations, and peace studies. Expertise in territorial inequalities, peacebuilding, criminality, and international drug control policies.

Dr. Harding earned a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Miami with specializations in Latin American Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, and International Relations. His major professor and dissertation chair was the late Dr. Enrique Baloyra, a renowned Cuba-born scholar. Dr. Harding has held full-time academic appointments in Virginia, Alabama, and most recently Georgia, where he is the Professor of Political Science at Valdosta State University. He is the author of three books and several book chapters as well as over a dozen journal articles. Dr. Harding has been an invited presenter on Latin American politics in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. He has been a federally recognized asylum expert since 2018, working for asylum attorneys throughout the United States as well as the UK and and the Netherlands.

The Expert has expertise on forced displacement and migration in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean and the links with gang violence, organised crime and corruption in the region. For the last ten years they have conducted academic and professional research on migration and internal displacement linked to violence, criminal groups and impunity in Central America and Mexico and on human trafficking in the broader region of Latin America and Caribbean, making several fieldwork trips and authoring NGOs reports and academic articles. I also have expertise in gender issues in the region, including gender-based violence, LGBTQ+ discrimination and hate crimes, and access to abortion and reproductive rights.

Dr. Talia Mills received her PhD from King's College London in Geography and Master of Science from the London School of Economics in Gender, Development and Globalization. Her research focuses on the multiple forms of gendered violence that intersect across the displacement process in Mexico and Central America. She publishes on topics related to such violence including the gendered dimensions of impunity in seeking asylum as well as migrant women's resistance to violence in Mexico. In addition, she is an experienced program and project evaluator with areas of expertise in sexual and reproductive health, gender & climate change, gender-based violence and refugee protection. She works and conducts research in Mexico where she has lived since 2016.   

The Expert is the National Coordinator at Foundacion Scalabrini de Mexico (FSMX) NGO, leading a dedicated team of 50 professionals across Mexico in designing and executing impactful projects focused on migration, human trafficking, and children's rights in Central America. Throughout the years the expert has demonstrated expertise with federal, state, and international entities, including IOM, UNCHR, UNICEF and various embassies. The expert also works as University Professor at Universidad del Valle de Mexico, the expert delivers insightful instruction on strategic planning and international relations. He has held roles at the UNDP and the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin (U.S) which reflect a comprehensive skill set in advocacy, and bilateral relations, making a significant impact in protecting the rights of vulnerable populations.

Legal professional with extensive experience in human rights advocacy across Latin America. Skilled in researching political prisoners' profiles, supporting UN actions, and drafting legal documents. Proficient in transitional justice processes and gender equality initiatives. Experienced in roles at prestigious organizations such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations. Committed to advancing justice, equality, and human rights protections.

Dr. Sandoval-Cervantes is a cultural anthropologist from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He is an UDLAP alum, and obtained his PhD from the University of Oregon in 2016. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In the Spring 2022 semester, He will be a Visiting Research Fellow at the Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School where he will be working on his project “Dead Letter”: Animal Law, Activism, and Mexican Politics," which is part of a new research on the animal rights movement in urban Mexico. 

His research interests can be divided into two overlapping sub-fields. The first sub-field includes the anthropology of migration, particularly the analysis of internal and transnational migrations, gender (masculinity and femininity), indigeneity, kinship, and care. The second sub-field includes multi-species ethnography, legal anthropology and the anthropology of social movements, particularly through the study of activism and animal rights in the Mexico-U.S. borderlands.

Dr. Smith has been writing about Mexico for over twenty years. Currently, he specializes on twentieth-century politics, the narcotics trade and crime. His most recent book, The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade was published by Ebury/Norton in 2021. As a historian of nineteenth and twentieth-century politics, he started my research in the archives, villages, churches, and markets of the predominantly indigenous state of Oaxaca. Since then he has branched out to write about about indigenous politics, Catholicism, conservatism, newspapers, journalism, censorship and civil society. He has regularly appeared on TV, radio and in the press to talk about issues of Mexican politics, crime, social movements, Catholicism, and narcotics.

Dr. Smith has served as an expert witness in asylum cases in the United States and the United Kingdom. He has written c. 180 export reports, predominantly for Mexican asylum seekers in the United States. Most have concerned persons fleeing criminal or cartel violence. He has also dealt with cases involving religious, political, and gender discrimination.