Ernesto Castañeda is the Director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and the Immigration Lab. Full Professor, College of Arts and Sciences and School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC. He has published many books, most recently, “Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions” with Carina Cione (Columbia University Press 2024); “Reunited: Family Reunification and Central American Youth Migration” with Daniel Jenks (Russell Sage Foundation 2024). Castañeda’s insights and commentary are frequently featured in public talks, policy discussions, and major media outlets, making him a prominent voice in public debates on immigration and Latino issues. He is a frequent political analyst on Univision, Telemundo, CNN en Español, France24, NTN24, DW, and RTVE24. His analyses have appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill, CityLab, Bloomberg, Time, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, the BBC, NPR, HuffPost, El País, and in many other outlets around the world.

Castañeda briefed National Press Foundation fellows in May 2025: Do Immigration Reporters Need Trauma Training?