(NewsNation) — The White House is looking to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Blas Nuñez-Neto to carry out the administration’s border security and immigration policies, NewsNation has confirmed.
One of the administration’s chief border architects, Nuñez-Neto has become a key player in communicating immigration policies to Congress and the public in both the U.S. and Latin America, NewsNation’s partner The Hill noted.
“The Administration will continue to fight to fix the broken immigration system and to push Republicans in Congress to pass the historic bipartisan border security agreement that they rejected for partisan political reasons,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said.
The timing of Nuñez-Neto’s move to the White House is unclear, according to Axios, which first reported the staffing change.
Nuñez-Neto is an immigrant himself and worked his way up from a congressional staffer.
He was the point person for a program placing new conditions on asylum at the border and helped the U.S. resume deportation flights to Venezuela.
“Blas Nuñez-Neto is a remarkably talented and devoted colleague,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement to NewsNation. “With commanding knowledge of immigration policy and deep expertise in foreign relations, he brings unique and invaluable perspective to some of the most complex issues we face. He is deeply admired and beloved, and, while we will miss him here at DHS, we look forward to working closely with him in his richly-deserved new role in the White House.”
The Hill and NewsNation digital reporter Katie Smith contributed to this report.
