Amy Hsin

Professor · Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights
Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame

I am a sociologist and demographer specializing in immigration, social inequality, education, and public policy, with particular attention to Asian Americans and undocumented young adults. I have published over 20 peer-reviewed articles in journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Demography, Social Forces, and International Migration Review. My work has been covered by major national outlets including the New York Times, NPR, and The Economist, and has informed policy debates at the city, state, and federal level. I have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation.

My forthcoming book, co-authored with Sofya Aptekar, Beyond Dream: Undocumented Young Adults in New York City (Russell Sage Foundation Press), draws on over 100 in-depth interviews with undocumented young adults in New York City. It examines how ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, alongside immigration policy, shapes education trajectories, life aspirations, and social connections.

My new project examines how Indian and Chinese immigrants understand and engage with democratic institutions and civil and human rights in the United States. Despite being racialized together as Asian Americans, these two groups arrive with starkly different political inheritances — one from the world's largest democracy, the other from a country with no history of democratic rule. Using a multi-site, mixed-methods approach, the project investigates how these distinct political histories shape civic orientations and rights consciousness after arrival.