Searchlight Welcomes Blas Nuñez-Neto as Senior Fellow for Immigration and Border Reform

Washington, DC – Blas Nuñez-Neto, former Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security, is joining the Searchlight Institute as senior fellow for immigration and border reform.

Nuñez-Neto brings decades of experience in advancing commonsense solutions for securing our nation’s border and reforming our broken immigration system. He served as a top negotiator for President Biden on Capitol Hill and led engagements with foreign governments to counter transnational criminal organizations. Nuñez-Neto developed and implemented policies in 2023 and 2024 that reduced illegal border crossings to their lowest level in years.

“At a time when few leaders in Washington were willing to challenge the status quo, Blas stood up and became a champion for commonsense border security and immigration reform,” said Adam Jentleson, president of Searchlight. “I look forward to working with Blas as we find real solutions that will fix our broken immigration system and address the American people’s concern over our border.”

Before his time in the Biden administration, Nuñez-Neto held senior roles at the RAND Corporation’s Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also served with the Democratic staff on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Nuñez-Neto was born in Argentina and raised in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and its Fels Institute of Government.

To learn more about Searchlight’s mission or speak with experts like Blas, contact [email protected].