2020 Presidential Candidate Debates: Issues Explained by Experts

Expert on the history of the modern immigrants' rights movement.

Expert on the political inclusion of immigrants and minorities, the US-Mexico border, and the link between migration and mental health.

Expert on international migration, race and ethnicity, and social stratification. 

Expert on international migration, law and society, race and ethnicity, Latino/a sociology, and political sociology.

Expert on the social consequences of immigration policy, with a focus on deportations.

Expert on border security, immigration law enforcement, and attendant human rights issues.

Expert on how contemporary immigration is changing U.S. racial dynamics particularly with regard to racial classification and interracial relations.

Expert on immigration law enforcement in the United States with a particular focus on the nation's northern and southern borders. 

Expert on the interaction between law, legal institutions, and politics. Her substantive areas of expertise are in U.S. immigration and constitutional law, policy, and history. 

Expert on citizenship, legal status, and opportunities for mobility.

Expert on the integration of immigrants in the United States and the implications of immigrant-native relations for inequality and group politics. 

Expert on political and legal issues regarding immigration, civil rights, jobs and equal opportunity.

Expert on politics of immigration, citizenship, and migrant "illegality." 

Expert on the effects of body-worn cameras in policing, particularly the unforeseen impact on vulnerable victim populations as well as on police officers themselves.

Expert on juvenile justice as well as the fines and fees that people who make contact with all levels of U.S. systems of justice are charged upon citation or conviction. 

Expert on the intersection of violent behavior and victimization, the developmental outcomes associated with trauma and abuse, and violence prevention.

Expert on criminal justice reform surrounding marijuana convictions.

Expert on death penalty reform and the causes and consequences of the expansion of the U.S. criminal justice system. She also studies racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system, the assessment and consequences of legal financial obligations, urban social control, drug policy, and capital punishment.

Expert on prisons, prisoners’ rights, and the impact of prison and punishment policy on individuals, communities, and legal systems. Her research has examined medical experimentation on prisoners, record-clearing programs, gun control laws, and the use of long-term solitary confinement in the United States and internationally.

Expert on the politics of punishment and criminal justice with a particular focus on public opinion. 

Expert on interdisciplinary approaches to mental health, community violence, Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for law enforcement, and race and ethnic relations. 

Expert on policing in the United States, gangs, firearms, social networks, and violence prevention. 

Expert on criminal justice policies, practices, and institutions in the United States over the past half-century, including penal change, mass probation, and policing.

Expert on parole, racial disparities in criminal justice outcomes, and the dramatic reductions in New York, New Jersey, and California’s prison populations. 

Expert on the consequences of the prison boom for families, with an emphasis on childhood well-being and family functioning.

Expert on system reform and consumer protections to ensure that households and communities have access to safe and affordable financial products and services.

Expert on climate policy inaction in the face of dramatic economic and social costs associated with the climate crisis. 

Expert on environmental and public policy, subnational sustainability and climate action planning, climate and energy politics, policy process theories, the role of science and technical information in policymaking, and issues of urban social equity.

Expert on inequality by race, class and gender, and sustainable economics.

Expert on climate change policy, identity politics, and climate change communications.

Expert on public policy and environmental politics, with a focus on environmental and energy policies in the United States and Canada. 

Expert on violence prevention (with a particular focus on firearms), criminal justice policy and crime prevention.

Expert on the role of social movements and interest groups in representing less-advantaged groups in gun policy.

Expert on urban neighborhoods, street gangs, violent crime, gun violence, and social networks.

Expert on the effect of policy on family violence and gun violence prevention

Expert on how different public policies relate to varied outcomes, particularly those affecting the number of gun deaths in the American states.

Expert on disparities in access to care, prisoner health, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS.

Expert on health policy, quality improvement, health disparities, medical informatics, patient safety, and social epidemiology research.

Expert on health policy and politics, patient and consumer participation in health policymaking, and the American welfare state.

Served as a technical consultant to the Obama Administration and worked with both the Administration and Congress to help craft the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Expert on U.S. health care policy, the politics of health care reform, and Medicare.

Expert on health coverage and access to care, especially for low-income Americans.

Expert on ideology, campaign finance and interest groups politics.

Expert on the influence of legislators’ backgrounds on economic policy and inequalities of social class.

Expert on America's campaign finance system and political inequality.

Expert on party politics and dark money.

Expert on the role of donor access and money on voter persuasion.

 Expert on money in politics in federal and state elections.

Expert on campaign finance, election administration, and voting behavior.

Expert on campaign finance law and money in politics in both state and federal elections.

Expert on campaign finance, voting rights, and election administration cases in the courts. 

Expert on money in politics, strengthening election laws, and improving corporate governance.

Expert on interest group influence in the policy process, money in politics, and the politics of income inequality.

Expert on the intersection of family economics and social demography, including the role of education loans and credit card debt on early union formation and racial wealth differences in student loan repayment.

Expert on tuition reform in public universities. Eaton's research examines relationships between financialization and growing inequalities in U.S. higher education. 

Expert on rising tuition and college access, choice, and success for for low-income and minority students.

Expert on rising debt and social inequality, as well as how debt and the Great Recession are linked to population health and mental health.

Expert on minority student matriculation in higher education and postsecondary campus climate issues related to students of color.

Expert on America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Expert on the student debt crisis and identifying how social structures, educational practices, and public policies can promote college access and attainment, particularly for groups that continue to be underrepresented in higher education.