From American University:
- Professor Iwama’s research primarily focuses on examining local conditions and social processes that influence hate crimes and racial profiling, particularly against Latino and immigrant populations. Her work applies a theoretical framework to improving our understanding on hate crimes and racial profiling across communities while considering demographic, economic, and political, as well as spatial and temporal changes in the United States. Previously, she worked on an assessment study examining the 2014 Massachusetts Gun Violence Reduction Act funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) to examine the impact of the new gun legislation across the state. She has also served as a co-principal investigator and lead researcher in projects funded by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Unit, the National Institute of Justice, and other state and local agencies on hate crimes and racial profiling such as in Kansas, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington state. Additionally, Dr. Iwama has presented and testified on racial profiling at traffic stops before the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration and the Rhode Island State Senate and has been interviewed on the Spanish language television network, Univision, regarding the concerns surrounding hate crimes against Latinos following the outcome of the U.S. presidential election of 2016.