EXPERTS ADVISORY

ANN ARBOR—As he presses for change in U.S. immigration policy, President Barack Obama on Tuesday meets with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the White House. The agenda is expected to include cooperation on economic and security issues.

The following University of Michigan professors can discuss issues affecting U.S.-Mexico relations:

Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice at the Ford School of Public Policy, can discuss the drug trade and violence that has afflicted Mexico. Before his academic career, Levitsky worked as a U.S. diplomat for 35 years and served as assistant secretary of state for international narcotics matters. Contact: 734-615-4262, levitsky@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1xO1aCm

Sherrie Kossoudji is an associate professor of social work and adjunct associate professor of economics. She has written numerous articles on the legal status of immigrant workers in the U.S. and the incentives to cross the border illegally. Kossoudji has also written on wealth disparities for immigrants. Contact: 734-763-6320, kossoudj@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1wj7bB2

Ann Lin, associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy, can discuss recent federal efforts to reform immigration policies. Her research focuses on policy implementation: the provisions that make policy easy or difficult to implement, the beliefs and behavior of people who implement policies, and the reactions of those who are targeted by policy. Contact: 734-764-7507, annlin@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1DeVqmG

Jason De Leon, assistant professor of anthropology, can discuss the lives of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. He works in the Sonoran Desert, uncovering the stories behind the thousands of items—shoes, backpacks, photos, food wrappers—discarded by migrants. Contact: 734-764-8577, jpdeleon@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1AAspQ3