The White House has announced the appointment of two new immigration advisers, Blas Nuñez-Neto and Marcela Escobar, to its team. Nuñez-Neto, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) veteran, has played a crucial role in shaping the Biden administration’s border enforcement policies, including the response to the lifting of Title 42 and the resumption of deportation flights to Venezuela.
Escobar, a development expert with a background in foreign relations, has served as the head of the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID. The dual appointments reflect the administration’s approach to immigration, which emphasizes both border security and development in Latin America to address migratory flows.
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Nuñez-Neto, who immigrated to the US from Argentina as a child, has been a key negotiator on immigration policy and has worked to find a middle ground on the issue. However, his enforcement-focused approach has drawn criticism from some immigrant advocates.
Escobari, on the other hand, has a deep understanding of development issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, having served in various roles at USAID, including during the Obama administration. She has written extensively on the need for inclusive and sustainable growth in the region and has experience working on poverty and economic contraction issues.
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The administration has welcomed the appointments, with White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández stating, “We are looking forward to DHS Assistant Secretary Blas Nuñez-Neto joining the White House and continuing his work implementing the Administration’s vision across the border security and immigration spaces.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also praised Nuñez-Neto, saying, “Blas Nuñez-Neto is a remarkably talented and devoted colleague… He brings unique and invaluable perspective to our most complicated issues.”
Escobari’s appointment has also been praised by USAID Acting Deputy Administrator Dennis Vega, who stated, “Marcela has had such a tremendous impact on USAID’s work across Latin America and the Caribbean… We are grateful that she will take her vision and commitment to USAID to the White House — where she will work tirelessly to drive policy change.”
The appointments come at a time when the administration is facing challenges on immigration, including the ongoing debate over Title 42 and the need for a comprehensive approach to address migratory flows. Adding Nuñez-Neto and Escobari to the White House team is a positive step towards solving these complicated issues.
