Nancy Hiemstra is a political geographer whose research focuses on U.S. immigration enforcement policies. In particular, she studies U.S. detention and deportation, detention facilities, and the consequences of U.S immigration enforcement policies in Latin America. Her 2019 book,  Detain and Deport: The Chaotic U.S. Immigration Enforcement Regime, details the history, operation, and effectiveness of the U.S. detention and deportation system, and its consequences in Ecuador. Another ongoing project (with Dr. Deirdre Conlon, Leeds University), focuses on the "internal economies" and operations of immigration detention facilities in the greater NYC area.  She is a member of the Scholar Strategy Network.