Bertha's dissertation work explores the relationship between deportation, asylum policies, and different forms of violence acting simultaneously towards asylum seekers and Mexican deportees in heightened violent border cities. Her research is an ethnographic work combining participant observation and intensive interviews on the U.S.- Mexico border, in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Particularly at the Gateway International Bridge (GIB) refugee camp and the migrant shelters located in the city.
She was recently awarded the Graduate School Dissertation Completion Fellowship to support the process of completing her dissertation.
