Faculty Directory

Alejandro Olayo-Méndez, S.J.

Assistant Professor

Photo of Alejandro Olayo-Méndez, S.J.

Alejandro Olayo-Méndez, S.J.

Ph.D.

Contact

McGuinn 217

Telephone: 617-552-1605

Email: alejandro.olayomendez@bc.edu

Education

  • B.A., Universidad Pontificia de Mexico, Mexico
  • B.A., Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico
  • M.S.W., Loyola University Chicago
  • M.Div., Boston College
  • M.Sc., University of Oxford
  • D.Phil., University of Oxford

Research Interests

Migration, Refugees, and Humanitarian Interventions

Expertise

  • Global Practice
  • Immigrants and Refugees
  • Innovations in Research Methods
  • Latinx Communities
  • Mental Health
  • Poverty
  • Spirituality

Profile

Dr. Olayo-Méndez developed his expertise by analyzing the interactions between migrants and humanitarian aid organizations along migration routes in Mexico and the ways these interactions shape the migratory processes in the region. He is particularly interested in the intersection of humanitarian aid and migration, as well as questions regarding human rights, inequality, transit migration, meso-level structures, and the so-called “Migration Industry.” His latest report, which he co-authored with researchers from Harvard and Tufts, examines the physical and mental health of a growing number of asylum seekers who have been waiting along the northern Mexico border to apply for protection from violence and harm.

Alejandro has worked with Dr. Hein de Haas and Dr. Alexander Betts at the University of Oxford. He has collaborated with Jesuit Refugee Service by conducting interviews with internally displaced people (IDP) in Colombia and Tamil Nadu, India. He has also done clinical work with immigrant and refugee communities in Chicago, IL, and Spokane, WA. He is currently preparing a project to research the effects of 'Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)' on Mexican communities, humanitarian interventions, and the lived experiences of asylum seekers at the Mexico-US Border.

Alejandro is a Jesuit Priest from the West Coast Province in the U.S.

Clinical Practice Experience

Alejandro has done clinical work with migrant women in Chicago, IL, and was a school social worker at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, WA.

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