Nancy Hiemstra is a political geographer whose research focuses on U.S. immigration enforcement policies. In particular, she studies:

• U.S. detention and deportation - Hiemstra's 2025 co-authored (with Dr. Deirdre Conlon, Leeds University) book, Immigration Detention Inc: The Big Business of Locking Up Migrants, focuses on the industries and money-making opportunities linked to the operation of immigration detention facilities. Her 2019 book, Detain and Deport: The Chaotic U.S. Immigration Enforcement Regime, details the history, operation, and rationales of the U.S. detention and deportation system, and its consequences in Ecuador. 
• Consequences of U.S immigration enforcement policies in Latin America - Hiemstra traces the influence and intervention of the U.S. government in Latin American policies and practices regarding immigration enforcement and U.S.-bound migrants. 
• Patterns and causes of Latin American immigration, with special expertise on Ecuador.
• Narratives / discourses around immigration in U.S. politics and public life

She is a member of the Scholar Strategy Network.