Gerardo Sandoval

Gerardo Sandoval, assistant professor of planning, public policy, and management at the University of Oregon, will make a presentation on the transnational effects of the Postville immigration raid at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 26, in Room 101 of Biology Building East.

Sandoval’s study traces the intertwined economic fortunes of Postville, Iowa, and El Rosario, Guatemala, centered on the May 2008 immigration raid on a meatpacking facility in Postville. Considering the factors of employment recruitment, smuggling networks, and remittance transfers, the study provides planners and other policymakers a better understanding of the vulnerability and interdependence of shadow economic mechanisms.

Sandoval, who formerly taught planning at Iowa State University, conducts research and teaches courses on the intersection of economic and community development in both rural small towns and inner-city neighborhoods in large metropolitan areas. Specifically, he studies the revitalization of low-income marginal communities.

The University of Iowa School of Urban and Regional Planning, Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, International Programs, and Public Policy Center are sponsoring Sandoval’s talk.