Raquel E. Aldana

Professor Raquel Aldana wearing a black dress with a gold necklace. She is standing in the King Hall courtyard and smiling at the camera.

Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law

King Hall

Raquel E. Aldana joined UC Davis in 2017 to serve as the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity with a law faculty appointment. She returned to full time law teaching in 2020.

Aldana is a graduate of Arizona State University (earning a bachelor’s degree in English and another in Spanish) and Harvard Law School. She was a professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, before joining the McGeorge School of Law faculty in 2009. From 2006 to 2007, Aldana was a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala.

Aldana has led multiple research projects and programs around gender violence, transitional justice, criminal justice, sustainable development, immigrant justice, and immigrant trauma. Her research has focused on transitional justice, criminal justice reforms and sustainable development in Latin America, as well as immigrant rights. She has authored or edited five books and published over thirty law review articles or book chapters on transitional justice, criminal justice, sustainable development, inter-cultural legal sensibility, and immigration. She is the recipient of several research grants, including serving as Principal Investigator of Building Bridges: Narrowing the Legal-Scientific Divide in Immigration Forensic Assessments, UC Davis Academic Senate Interdisciplinary Grants 2019-2020. For more information about this collaboration, please visit the website, Compassion in Immigration.

Aldana teaches criminal procedure, asylum and refugee law, immigration law and policy, comparative forced displacement, and immigration federalism. She has also taught international human rights, lawyering for immigrants, “crimmigration,” criminal law and procedure, international labor law, Latin American comparative law, international public law, international human rights, statutes and regulations, and specialized courses such as the Central American migration corridor. 

Since 2021, Aldana serves as Co-Director of the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies. The mission of the Aoki Center is to honor the memory of Professor Keith Aoki by fostering multi-disciplinary scholarship and practice that critically examine the law through the lens of race, ethnicity, indigeneity, citizenship, and class. In 2023, the AOKI Center partnered with UC Press to produce a new Critical Race Theory Book Series. This series promises to break new ground in critical race theory by developing a global, interdisciplinary, multiracial, and accessible series of books that reveal how racial subordination and white supremacy are embedded in US life and law.  

Since starting at UC Davis, Aldana has received numerous awards including the American Bar Association  Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, the UC Davis Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity and Community and the UC Davis Office of Research and Policy for Equity Ubuntu Award for Inspiring Social Change. In 2019, Aldana was selected as an inaugural fellow of the Hispanic Association Colleges and Universities’ Academia de Liderazgo. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI), widely considered the nation's preeminent law reform organization. Aldana is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and previously served as the co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers. In 2022, she was selected as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

In June 2018 Chancellor May invited Aldana to join a task force to help UC Davis become a  Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The HSI Taskforce submitted a report forging a vision with concrete steps on how UC Davis can become a premier Hispanic Serving R1 land grant institution. In 2024, UC Davis joined dozens of other R1 universities and only a handful that are also land grant in becoming an HSI. For over a decade, Aldana has served in the Latin American and Caribbean Council of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI), including as its Chair, and as a member of the ROLI BOARD. She also serves as a Regent of the International Bar Association’s Foundation, and is a founding member of the Graciela Olivarez Latinas in the Legal Academy Initiative.

Education and Degree(s)
  • J.D. Harvard Law School, 1997
  • B.A. English and Spanish, summa cum laude, Arizona State University, 1993
Honors and Awards
  • Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity, UC Davis, 2017-2020
  • Associate Dean for Scholarship, Professor of Law, and Director of the Inter-American Program at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 2009-2017
  • Fulbright Scholar, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala City, 2006 and 2007
  • Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, UNLV, 2000-2009
  • Staff Attorney, Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Washington, DC, 1998-2000
  • Associate at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Washington, DC, 1997-1998
Research Interests & Expertise
  • Immigration Law And Policy
  • Latinos And The Law
  • International Human Rights
  • Sustainable Development in Latin America
  • Central American Studies
Membership and Service
  • The American Law Institute (since 2021)
  • The Association of American Law Schools, Member of the Program Committee on Assessment (2014); Curriculum Committee member (2011-2013); Chair of the Annual Meeting Presidential Program Planning Committee (2013)
  • The American Bar Association, Member, Member of the Latin America and Caribbean Council, ROLI (2014-present), Chair (2020-2023) Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline (2017-Present)
  • The Society of American Law Teachers/Board Member/Co-Chair Human Rights Committee; Co-President (2010-2012)
  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow (since 2017)
  • The International Bar Association, Regent of the Foundation (2022-Present)
  • Council on Foreign Relations (since 2022)
  • Lat Crit, Inc.
  • The American Society of Comparative Law
  • The American Society of International Law
  • Hispanic National Bar Association
  • The Cruz Reynoso Bar Association
  • Oasis Legal Services, Board Member (2021-Present)
  • The UC Davis Global Migration Center, Executive Committee
  • The UC Davis Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement, Advisory Council

Publications

Books

Understanding Immigration Law (Lexis-Nexis 2015) (3rd Ed.) (with Kevin Johnson, Bill Ong Hing, Enid Trucio-Haynes and Leticia Saucedo).

Global Issues in Immigration Law (West Academic Publishing 2013) (with Beth Lyon, Won Kidane, and Karla McKanders).

Everyday Law for Latinos (Paradigm Publisher 2008) (with Steve Bender and Gilbert Carrasco).

Co-Edited Books

From Extraction to Emancipation, Development Reimagined (edited collection, with Steve Bender) (American Bar Association and Carolina Academic Press 2018).

Vulnerable Populations and Transformative Law Teaching: A Critical Reader (Carolina Press 2011) (with SALT and Golden Gate).

Chapters in Books

Repairing Fixable Trauma in Immigration in Trauma Informed Law: A Primer for Practicing Lawyers and a Pathway for Resilience and Healing (Maki et al., ABA 2023).

A Long Term Vision on Faculty Diversity at UC Davis in Uprooting Bias in the Academy (with Joseph Moreno) (Springer 2021).

The Indispensable Ones:  A Story of Resistance from La Puya in From Extraction to Emancipation, Development Reimagined (edited collection, with Steve Bender) (American Bar Association 2018).

The Challenges and Potential of an International Human Rights Regime to Manage Migration in Compassionate Migration & Regional Policy in the Americas (William Arrocha et al., eds. Palgrave Macmillan) (forthcoming).

Local Immigration Regulations after 9/11 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements (Oxford University Press 2015).

Immigration Federalism and Rights in Immigration Regulation in Federal States:  Challenges and Responses in Comparative Perspectives (edited collection of essays) (Sasha Baglay and Delphine Nackache, eds.) (Springer 2013).  

A Reflection of Transitional Justice in Guatemala 15 years after the Peace Agreements in Victims of International Crimes: An Interdisciplinary Discourse (Christoph Safferling & Thorsten Bonacker, eds.) (TMC Asser Press 2013).

Learning in Mulukuku: A Journey of Transformation (with Leticia Saucedo) in Vulnerable Populations and Transformative Law Teaching:  A Critical Reader (Carolina Press 2011).

The International Rights of Migrants in Handbook on Human Rights (Thomas Cushman, ed.) (Routledge Books 2011).

Making Civil Liberties Matter in Local Immigration Enforcement (The Police Foundation 2009).

Of Katz and “Aliens”: Privacy Expectations and the Immigration Raids, 41 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1081 (2008), reprinted in AILA’s Guide to Worksite Enforcement & Corporate Compliance (Josie Gonzalez, et al. eds.) (2008).

Articles and Essays

Adjudicating Credibility and the Role of Mental Health Forensic Assessments, __ American J. of Law and Medicine – (2025 forthcoming) (with Sharon Howard, Alea Skwara, and Carmen Velazquez).

Lessons from Colombia’s response to Venezuelan forced displacement, 87 Alb. L. Rev. 1 (2024) (with Aldana, Raquel E. and Cruz, Efrain and Morello Peña, Sandra and Peterson, Kari).

Latinas in the Legal Academy: Progress and Promise, 26 Harv. Latin Am. L. Rev. 183 (2023) (with Emile Loza de Siles, Solangel Maldonado, and Rachel F. Moran).

Taming Immigration Trauma 44 Card. L. Rev. 387 (2023).

Trauma as Inclusion, 89 Tenn. L. Rev. 767 (2022) (with Patrick Marius Koga,Thomas O’Donnell, Caroline Perris, Alea Skwara).

Border Solutions from the Inside, 11 U. Miami Race & Soc. J. Rev. 77 (2021). 

A Look Back at the Warren Court’s Due Process Revolution through the Lens of Immigrants, 51 U. of the Pacif. L. Rev. 633 (2020) (with Thomas O’Donnell).

A Comparative Reflection on Refugees and National Security: What We Should Learn from Europe about Responding to Homegrown Terrorism, 37 Immi. & Nationality L. Rev. 651 (2016).

Banning Metal Mining in Guatemala, 40 Vt. L. Rev. 597 (2016) (with Randall S. Abate).

Congressional Dysfunction and Executive Lawmaking During the Obama Administration, 91 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 3 (2016)

Intercultural Legal Sensibility as Transformation , 25 S. Cal. Interdisc. L. J. (2016).

Raising the Bar: Law Schools and Legal Institutions Leading to Educate Undocumented Law Students (with Beth Lyon and Karla McKanders) 44 Ariz. St. L. J. 5 (2012).

Transforming Students, Transforming Selves: Teaching Social Justice in Context, 24 McGeorge Global Business & Development L. J. 53 (2011).

Silent Victims No More?:  Moral Indignation and the Potential for Latino Political Mobilization in Defense of Immigrants, 45 Hous. L. Rev. 73 (2008).

Of Katz and “Aliens”: Privacy Expectations and the Immigration Raids, 41 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1081 (2008).

The Illusion of Transformative Conflict Resolution:  Mediation Domestic Violence Cases in Nicaragua (with Leticia Saucedo) 55 Buff. L. Rev. 1261 (2008).

The Subordination and Anti-Subordination Story of the U.S. Immigrant Experience in the 21st  Century, 7 Nev. L. J. 713 (2007) ( Lat Crit Symposium Cluster Introduction).

On Rights, Federal Citizenship, and the “Alien”, 46 Washburn L. Rev. 101 (2007).

A Victim-Centered Reflection on Truth Commissions and Prosecutions as a Response to Mass Atrocities, 5  J. of Hum. Rts. 107 (2006).

Aliens in our Midst Post-911:  Legislating Outsiderness Within the Borders (With Sylvia Lazos) (Book Review), 38 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1683 (2005).

The September 11 Immigration Detentions and Unconstitutional Executive Legislation, 29 SIU L. J. 5 (2004).

An Emerging Universality of Justiciable Victims’ Rights in the Criminal Process to Curtail Impunity for State-Sponsored Crimes, 26 Hum. Rts. Q. 605 (2004).

Peace Without Justice: Obstacles to Building the Rule of Law in El Salvador by Margaret Popkin (Book Review), 25 Hum. Rts. Q. 257 (2003).

The 9/11 “National Security” Cases: Three Principles Guiding Judges’ Decision-Making, 81 Ore. L. Rev. 985 (2002).

In Vindication of Justiciable Victims’ Rights to Truth and Justice for State-Sponsored Crimes, 35 Vanderbilt J. of Transnational L. 1399 (2002).

Other Publications

Contesting Whiteness—Inventing “Hispanic”, Aoki Center Blog, 2024, https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-blog/contesting-whiteness-inventing-hispanic.

Reading List: Israel-Palestine and October 2023, Aoki Center Blog, 2023, https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-blog/reading-list-israel-palestine-october-2023.

The Immorality of DACA’s “Illegality,” AOKI Center Blog, 2023, https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-blog/immorality-dacas-illegality.

#Mujeres Resultas, AOKI Center Blog, 2023,  https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-blog/mujeres-resueltas.

The Stain of Colorblindness, AOKI Center Blog, 2023, https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-blog/stain-colorblindness.

Fall 2023 - Spring 2024 Annual Report, Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies.

Policy Brief, Lessons for Reform from the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis,Global Migration Center, June 2, 2022.

Guest Blog, Opening the Border but Shutting the Door, UCDavisSchoolofLawFacultyBlog, Mar. 28, 2022.

Guest Blog, Two Days at the Nogales Border, UCDavisSchoolofLawFacultyBlog, June 23, 2021.

Guest Blog, Undoing Asylum, ImmigrationProfBlog, July 15, 2020.

Public Comment on Asylum Rule, July 14, 2020.

Connecting Past and Present: Central America’s Forced Migration as an Unfinished Project of Building Just Nations Post-Colonization, Post-Conflict (with Mario Mancilla and Luis Mogollon, Border Humanitarian Health Initiative (2020), https://www.borderhumanitarianhealth.org/white-papers.

Stakeholder Perspectives Report: November 09, 2018 Focus Group Findings on

Migrant Legal-Mental Health Intersectionality (with Patrick Marius Koga) (2019).

Connecting Past and Present: Central America’s Forced Migration as an Unfinished Project of Building Just Nations Post-Colonization, Post-Conflict (with Mario Mancilla and Luis Mogollon, Border Humanitarian Health Initiative (2020). 

Stakeholder Perspectives Report: November 09, 2018 Focus Group Findings on Migrant Legal-Mental Health Intersectionality (with Patrick Marius Koga) (2019). 

Investing in Rising Scholars and Serving the State of California, HSI Taskforce Report (Co-Chair).

Op-Ed, Debunking Three Myths Behind “Chain Migration” and “Low-Skilled” Immigration, Jan. 2018.

When More than Half of Law Graduates Fail the Bar Exam, Nov. 2017.

Travel Ban 3.0: Legalese Cannot Mask a Harsh and Misguided Policy, Sept. 2017.

Select Academic Presentations

Immigration Forensic Assessments: Documenting the Practice, Texas A&M School of Law, April 2023.

CRT as an Abolitionist Project, Third Annual Graduate Anti-Racist Symposium, Ways of Knowing and Approaching Race, UC Davis, May 18, 2023.

Panel Organizer and Commentator, Gentrification and Forced Displacement: The Colonial Legacy of Puerto Rico’s Housing Crisis, Law and Society, Puerto Rico, May 2023.

Colombia’s Lessons to the World on the Treatment of Refugees, Separate and Unequal Spaces in Migration Panel, Law and Society, Puerto Rico, May 2023.

Reflections on the Challenges, Opportunities, Resources and Best Practices Regarding International Education in Mexico and Latin America, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Guadalajara, Mexico, June 2023.

 

Documents

Tags

Aoki Center American Law Institute