Institute of Politics

IOP Pritzker Fellow Katie Tobin on "Innovation Born Out of Crisis: How the Biden-Harris Administration & Its Foreign Partners Are Leveraging Technology To Make Migration More Orderly & Safe" THIS SEMINAR IS OPEN TO CURRENT UCHICAGO STUDENTS ONLY Wednesday, November 20 12:30-1:45pm During this session, we will take a close look at the amazing innovations that the Biden Administration generated in recent years to more efficiently process migrants and refugees and compete with the smugglers. It started with Ukraine. Shortly after Russia’s invasion, President Biden announced that the U.S. would welcome 100,000 Ukrainians - a gesture of solidarity with Europe. I was part of the small team at the White House charged with making it happen, and fast. We used this opportunity to deploy a new technology that DHS had been testing. It allowed refugees to apply for humanitarian parole on their smart phone app (instead of going to a U.S. consulate). DHS was able to swiftly process and approve cases, and Ukrainians were safely on planes to the U.S. within weeks. The success of the Uniting for Ukraine program gave us confidence to test this model with Venezuelans, and then Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans. In 2023, Spain, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and the UN joined us in leveraging smart technology to open even more legal pathways through the Safe Mobility Offices Initiative. It's an exciting time in this respect and we’re just getting started. Pritzker Fellows seminars are off the record and open to current UChicago students only. Seating in the IOP Living Room is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact Sarah Palmisciano (spalmisciano@uchicago.edu).