Andrea Silva is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. An award-winning teacher, her research has also been recognized by the Western Political Science Association and the Julian Samora Research Institute. She has also won competitive grants from The UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, and the UC Riverside Department of Political Science. Her work focuses on immigration, Latin@ politics, and minority representation in the United States. Her current research investigates the factors that influence state immigration policy for undocumented immigrants.