Heather Ruth Lee is a historian of Asian American history with expertise at the intersection of immigration, law and policy, and digital methods. Her research examines the fundamental role of legal status in shaping race and ethnicity in the United States, revealing how immigration policies structured the lives of both documented and undocumented migrants. Using both quantitative data and archival sources, she uncovers historical patterns in transnational migration and the strategies migrants used to navigate legal barriers. Her work highlights how interracial encounters—particularly between Asians and Whites—shaped broader race relations and drove social, cultural, and political transformations.