Alexandra Villarreal

As the Forum’s Policy & Advocacy Associate, Alexandra Villarreal covers a portfolio that includes immigration detention, the immigration courts, and humanitarian relief. Before joining the Forum in January 2023, she oversaw students at the University of Texas at Austin as they developed creative policy solutions around contemporary issues, including migration. She also worked as a reporter covering topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic and immigration. Her byline has appeared in national and international publications, including The Guardian, The Associated Press, and NBC News. In 2022, she worked with the House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee as part of a Graduate Archer Fellowship. In 2018, she received the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Award for her piece, “Hiding in Plain Sight.” Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hispanic Studies from Columbia University and a Master of Arts in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, where her interdisciplinary research focused on humanitarian migration policy and history in the United States.