Searchlight Institute

Security for every family.
Coming soon.

Too many families are caught in a cycle of precarity — the feeling that they are one illness or missed paycheck away from financial ruin or insecurity. We're drafting the policy agenda that will restore America's social safety net for the 21st century.

We call it the American Security Guarantee.

Featured Research

Research Report March 2026

The Path Forward for Transgender Rights

Elected leaders and candidates should focus their efforts on how to protect and defend trans people, not using the issue for messaging purposes or purity tests. Instead of contemplating message bills, they should focus on keeping pernicious anti-trans policy riders out of must-pass legislation and building a broader coalition for locking in key non-discrimination protections.

By Mara Keisling

Civil Rights

Policy Brief March 2026

No More Back Doors: Recapturing the Public’s Trust on Immigration

By Blas Nuñez-Neto

ImmigrationNational Security

Polling & Analytics May 2026

A Generational Pullback From World Affairs

National Security

Go to all research

Fellows Program

Artistic graphic of six identical Winged Figures of the Republic statues in different colors and backdrops

Searchlight fellows develop timely proposals that address the big questions facing us — prioritizing impact and effectiveness over prevailing orthodoxy.

Learn more about the fellowship

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