Her research interests include: race/class/gender, immigration, intersectionality, medical sociology, sociology of mental health, Latinx sociology, qualitative methods, and social determinants of health. Juanita’s research explores how a deportation regime and racialization practices embedded in an anti-immigrant climate fuel discrimination and impact intra-group relations, identity, stress, and the mental health of Mexican-origin women. Her current work explores a concept she develops called “vicarious illegality,” to highlight the stress and mental health impacts on those who witness the negative consequences of “illegality,” particularly family, romantic partners, and friends of the undocumented.