Mara Ostfeld

Research faculty

Mara Ostfeld

Research Associate Professor, Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy and Faculty Associate, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research

Dr. Mara Cecilia Ostfeld is the research director at the Center for Racial Justice and a research associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She also serves as a faculty lead of the Detroit Metro Area Commu...

News

Proposed additional ID requirements for voting could disenfranchise more than 1 in 4 Detroit adults

Oct 21, 2026

More than 1 in 4 Detroiters cannot easily produce up-to-date documentation of their U.S. citizenship that matches their current name, according to a new survey from the University of Michigan's Detroit Metro Area Communities Study.

News

Midterm elections: Ford School experts available to discuss

Oct 12, 2026

As voters prepare to head to the polls for the 2026 midterm elections, University of Michigan experts are available to navigate the issues, political dynamics and key questions shaping the race. From voter behavior, campaign strategies and elect...

State & Hill

Whose Voices Count? Researcher’s focus asks U.S. territory residents to define their own futures

Oct 7, 2026

Nearly four million Americans and U.S. nationals live in U.S. territories, yet they have limited voice in the federal government that shapes their daily lives.

The flags of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands wave on flagpoles against a bright blue, partly cloudy sky.

State & Hill

Letter from Dean Watkins-Hayes, fall 2026

Oct 6, 2026

The nation’s 250th anniversary this summer invited us to reflect on how much has changed and to look ahead at the choices shaping our future. That forward-looking perspective feels especially important as emerging technologies are rapidly reshaping h...

Woman smiling in white blazer with off-white background

State & Hill

Fall 2026 Faculty News

Oct 6, 2026

Faculty news state & hill fall 2026

A collage of six professional headshots arranged in two rows of three, showing smiling individuals in office, academic, and outdoor settings.

News

Reauthoring political futures in U.S. territories

Oct 2, 2026

At a Ford School event during the University of Michigan's Democracy Week, "Decolonizing imagination: Narratives, memory and political possibility in the U.S. Territories," Ford School associate research professor Mara Cecilia Ostfeld led panelists i...

A speaker addresses attendees seated in a tiered lecture hall during a panel discussion, with a “Vision” presentation slide projected at the front.

News

Water shortages in Puerto Rico: U-M experts available to discuss

Aug 28, 2026

Mara Ostfeld is available for comment to discuss Puerto Rico's water shortage.

Mara Ostfeld speaking at a Poverty Solutions event.

News

Ford School faculty awarded U-M Strategic Initiative Fund grants

Aug 26, 2026

Ford School faculty to lead on: a new center for democracy, a Detroit-centered civic engagement platform, a food hardship tracker, practical insights about Michigan's clean energy and mobility transition, and shipbuilding revitalization.

University of Michigan flag flying over the Michigan Union

Publication

Who holds power? Puerto Ricans' distrust runs deep

Jul 24, 2026

New findings from U-M's Laboratorio Puertorriqueño de Opinión Pública (Puerto Rican Opinion Lab) show a profound disconnect between residents and their government.

In the Media

Ostfeld on ICE enforcement impacting Michigan immigrants' lives

May 27, 2026 Stateside

Mara Ostfeld explains new research about what enhanced ICE enforcement is doing to the lives of immigrants.

Publication

Immigration enforcement fears are reshaping daily life for Michigan immigrants, U-M study finds

May 19, 2026

A new report documents widespread immigration enforcement fears among immigrant Michiganders in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge with the words 'ICE' in the background

News

Detroiters cautious about government use of AI, U-M survey finds

Mar 24, 2026

Many Detroiters are still making up their minds about potential government use of artificial intelligence, with 41% of city residents reporting neutral views or uncertainty on whether AI's benefits to society outweigh its risks.

artificial-intelligence-byMikeMacKenzie-featured-1090x681.jpg

News

Ostfeld and Stragand discuss gun violence research in Detroit and lack of institutional trust

Mar 15, 2026

The Hispanic community in Detroit is not unfamiliar to gun violence and institutional harm under immigration policies. The Ford School's Mara Ostfeld and Sam Stragand share how recent policies have impacted community trust levels for law enforcement,...

News

Meet the faculty who shape the Ford School’s Online Master of Public Affairs (MPA) experience

Mar 10, 2026

Professors Morela Hernandez, Mara Ostfeld, Megan Tompkins-Stange, and Justin Wolfers will be teaching courses for the Ford School's Online MPA program this fall.

News

Will Virgin Islanders vote? Report reveals major constitutional awareness gap

Mar 10, 2026

A new report from the University of Michigan's Center for Racial Justice and the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras examines a critical disconnect in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

American Flag and United States Virgin Islands flag blowing in the wind

State & Hill

DMACS marks 10 years of listening to Detroiters for shared impact

Dec 8, 2025

The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) celebrates 10 years of amplifying Detroiters’ voices—over 5,000 participants have helped shape conversations, drive investments, and inspire change.

Street with Detroit skyline in the background

Policy Matters

Student curated programming to meet the moment

Nov 24, 2025

CRJ's Katrina Hamann recaps the the three-part "Let's Unpack That" series hosted by the Center for Racial Justice. Drawing on student feedback, the series focused on immigration policy, AI policy, and election policy.

students and community members gathered in the trotter multicultural center for unpacking immigration policy

News

New survey ahead of Sixth Constitutional Convention in the Virgin Islands

Oct 29, 2025

A new public opinion survey will be administered by University of Michigan researchers across the U.S. Virgin Islands in the weeks surrounding the territory’s Sixth Constitutional Convention.

News

Ford School Welcomes AEI President Robert Doar for “Whither the Center-Right?”

Oct 6, 2025

On a political spectrum that is becoming increasingly more divided, American Enterprise Institute president Robert Doar is optimistic that his center-right think tank is forging a path through the fray. “I think we're dividing into three countries: e...

News

DMACS Detroit election study widely reported

Sep 24, 2025

The survey by the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study about Detroiters’ Top Household Challenges Ahead of the 2025 Mayoral Election received wide media attention. The survey was conducted in conjunction with Outlier Media. In an interview with Michi...

News

Survey shows top challenges Detroiters want new mayor to address

Sep 17, 2025

New findings from a University of Michigan survey of Detroiters showing the top challenges households face in their daily lives and how they would like city leadership to respond have implications for Detroit's mayoral election in November.

News

Ostfeld conducting research on political status in Guam

Sep 10, 2025

Since the end of World War II, the United States has rhetorically championed the principle of “self-determination.” Yet today, more than four million Americans live in U.S. territories whose homelands are excluded from most maps and remain invisible ...

News

New survey aims to better understand public opinion in Puerto Rico

May 30, 2025

The Puerto Rico Public Opinion Lab has launched a new survey across the island of Puerto Rico as part of a project to better understand the political opinions and experiences of Puerto Ricans. The initiative is led by researchers from the University ...

Students, faculty and staff leading the survey administration process in Puerto Rico. Image credit: Laboratorio Puertorriqueño de Opinión Pública

News

Trump's 100 days in office: Ford School experts available

Apr 29, 2025

In the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump has unleashed a whirlwind of policy shifts that have sent ripples across the globe. The responses to his administration's actions have ranged from applause to skepticism. Ford School fa...

News

In Michigan, conspiracy thinking can be rooted in real historic harm

Apr 22, 2025

Franshelly Martinez Ortiz, a doctoral candidate in political science and public policy at the Ford School, recently wrote a blog post, "In Michigan, conspiracy thinking can be rooted in real historic harm" for U-M's Center for Political Studies based...

News

Faculty-led democracy projects receive presidential awards

Apr 18, 2025

Five faculty-led research projects from across the University of Michigan have received Presidential Awards for Understanding Democracy to enhance understanding of democracy’s operation and promise. The awards are part of the universitywide Year of D...

News

Government suspicion, conspiratorial thinking linked to historical harm in 3 Michigan communities, U-M report finds

Feb 20, 2025

More than half of residents surveyed in three Michigan communities believe significant events occur without public knowledge—a sentiment of government suspicion closely tied to conspiratorial thinking, according to a University of Michigan policy bri...

News

Immigration policies: U-M experts can discuss

Feb 6, 2025

Immigration continues to be a priority in U.S. politics, with the federal government intensifying enforcement efforts through large-scale raids and with the transfer of certain detained migrants to Guantanamo Bay. These actions have fueled ongoing de...

News

Detroit’s reparations task force's slow pace is not a bad thing - Ostfeld

Dec 20, 2024

Ford school professor Mara Ostfeld wrote with coauthors Kamri Hudgins, Erykah Noelle Benson, and Vincent Hutchings, in The Conversation about delays in the release of the Detroit Reparations Task Force report. She explains why it has been difficult f...