He has translated poetry, novels, short stories, and essays by many Latin American authors, including Alberto Ruy Sanchez, Virgilo Pinera, Jesus Gardea, Antonio Jose Ponte, and Sonia Rivera-Valdes. In 2004, Junction Books published Migrations, his translation of Gloria Gervitz's epic poem Migraciones. Schafer has received grants and awards for his translations, including the Robert Fitzgerald Prize, two translation fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the Fund for Culture Mexico-USA. Schafer's translation of Huerta's poetry was made possible by the second translation fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a residency at the Banff International Literary Translation Centre.