As a formerly incarcerated youth and rising scholar, Anthony Robles never thought he would attend college. His father had been deported, his mother overcame breast cancer and he witnessed the murder of his best friend. Now, Anthony is entering his senior year at California State University, Los Angeles majoring in sociology and minoring in Chicano studies.

Anthony’s life experiences have guided him towards community activism. He helped create an immigrant detention visitation and pen pal program on campus called the Migrant Liberation Collective. He is also the vice president of the Student Homie Union, a student club that assists formerly incarcerated students.

Anthony is currently writing a book chapter on the criminalization of immigration and a senior thesis about prosecutorial discretion and racialized decision-making in the criminal justice system. Anthony plans on pursuing a Ph.D. and becoming a professor in the CSU.